A lack of oversight into who is growing medical cannabis and how much is being grown is allowing criminals to sell pot on the illegal market, according to police and pot activists.
That's creating tension in residential neighbourhoods in Winnipeg where large amounts of plants are being grown and with medical cannabis users who say it's not fair the laws meant to help people who need pot are being exploited for financial gain.
"The lack of oversight by Health Canada has allowed the system to be manipulated and abused by people who are only in it for their own personal benefit," said cannabis activist and medical license holder Steven Stairs.
There are nearly 34,000 Canadians with a license to grow medical cannabis, including 11,000 in Ontario and a little more than 1,600 in Manitoba.
Health Canada doesn't limit the amount of cannabis doctors can authorize for a patient's use and Stairs says that opens the door for people to get medical licenses to grow cannabis legally to skirt the system and sell it for profit.
Read more at cbc.ca