Health Canada plans to let certified medical-marijuana patients get their drugs from pharmacies, basing the distribution system on that used in the Netherlands. Currently, a government contractor grows and distributes marijuana to 237 Health Canada patients, sending $150, 30-gram bags of marijuana by courier to patients or their physicians. Other medical-marijuana patients are authorized to grow the drug themselves, but Health Canada would like to see a pharmacist act as an intermediary between the drugs and patients.

The agency is now identifying a network of urban and rural pharmacies that can distribute marijuana. "Ideally, we'd like to run it in more than one province," said Health Canada spokesperson Christopher Williams. "Once we recruit the pharmacists, we'll make sure (they) receive specialized training in dispensing the marijuana for medical purposes."

A nationwide distribution system could take up to three years to establish, according to the agency.

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