In November I wrote about Canada's medical marijuana exemption laws that have been enforced since 1999.

If you missed that article, you can view it here:

https://steemit.com/marijuana/@rebeccaryan/i-hear-the-whistles-blowing-the-trainwreck-is-coming-as-it-rolls-round-the-track

Today, the Canadian medical marijuana laws and regulations are called the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. These regulations state that all medical marijuana license holders in Canada can either buy their plant material directly from a Licensed producer or if they want to grow for themselves or designate a grower on their behalf, they can fill out an 18-page application, have it signed by two doctors and wait for Health Canada to give their approval. The application to grow stipulates that all genetic material, be it seeds or clones must be purchased from a Licensed Producer and can not come for alternate sources or those plants will be considered illegal.

Simply put, the rules and regulations surrounding the production and distribution of "legal cannabis in Canada" is a government sanctioned monopoly which supports and protects the corporate interests of big businesses, many of which boast traded stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

I've been a "legal medical marijuana license holder" in Canada since 2015.

When I go to purchase legal cannabis, my documentation at the Licensed Producer that I chose and was assigned to, must be up to date.

Then, I can shop on-line through their secure website and purchase the plant material that I have selected. I must pay for it with a valid credit card and then, the company will ship it to me via the post office. If I have any questions about anything related to my purchase, I must phone in and wait until a customer service representative has the time to speak with me...just like what you'd expect when attempting to do business with any company over the internet.

I received an order last week, but didn't have a chance to open it until today and I thought it was worth sharing.

I ordered 5 grams of a strain called Alaska.

Alaska is a premium strain coming in at 22.69 % THC.

It is a Sativa dominant hybrid, being 70% Sativa.

I purchased it to use as a daytime strain and it was priced at $15 (Canadian dollars) per gram.

Here's what it looked like when I picked it up at the Post Office:

I thought it was a huge box for a 5 gram container and I wondered if I really needed to pay $10 for shipping on what should be a tiny container that doesn't weigh very much.

Once I opened the top of the box, this is what it looked like inside. There was something additional that I was not expecting.

It was a winter toque, logoed with their company crest and a Christmas card. I suppose they thought I'd be happy to advertise that I am one of their customers. I'm not being ungrateful but it will be a bloody cold day in HELL before I ever advertise that I am being screwed by them and the government of Canada at the same time.

Several month ago, this company offered a huge promotion to a segment of their customer base but they sent me the paperwork on it by accident.

They thought that due to my "higher than average gram per day prescription" that I was a military veteran, but I'm not.

When I questioned them, they apologized and said that the promotion was only available to their Veterans and that I, not being a Veteran, wasn't eligible. They apologized again and stated that they shouldn't have sent me the details about their promotion. (End of story, until now.)

All the Veterans had to do to take advantage of their promotion was to order 30 grams of a particular strain of plant material that this company was launching. The Canadian government currently pays for all the plant material that the Veterans order so exactly "0" dollars were coming out of the individual veterans' pockets, yet this company gave each of them a Magical Butter Machine for free.

These machines regularly retail for $230 Canadian each. I have been paying out of my own pocket for every single gram I order, plus shipping, plus taxes, I might add, and I'm not eligible.

I would have bought the 30 grams because the whole promotion was a great deal and the company's motivation was to keep their customers' loyalty.

Odd how that works isn't it? I thought. Here they are trying to keep the loyalty of a group of their customers who have never paid for their own cannabis.

If anything, they should be rewarding the arm of the government who is paying for it and it certain leaves me speculating whether this company actually billed the government for the machines they gave away...allegedly for free, but only to certain customers.

(I'll let you decide what you think about this situation.)

Here's the Christmas card in which they wish me good health and hope that I'll stay warm by wearing their togue.

About all I can say is, "Yeah, I'll wear the togue, but just pull my nightie down when you're done."

This is the 5 gram container that I ordered. You can see that it is sealed in a plastic bag, the lid is shrink wrapped and it has a child-proof safety cap.

Here's a closer look at the packaging.

Here's what it looked like once I opened it.

Here's my bill and my plastic identification card which I am supposed to present if I get questioned by the police about having cannabis in my possession. You can see that I was charged shipping and taxes on my 5 gram purchase.

Cannabis is currently the only prescribed medication, that I am aware of in Canada, that you are required to pay taxes on.

Let's just let that detail sink in for a minute shall we...

If you are prescribed Morphine, Oxycontin or Percocet, no tax is charged on these drugs.

It's another double standard and should be illegal for our government to do, in my humble opinion.

Not to disappoint, I thought I'd wrap up my personal quality control check by weighing the cannabis that I purchased. Please remember that I had to pay for this first and have it shipped to me without being able to see it or smell it.

I don't think that it's a great way to select plant medicine.

At least I didn't get shorted and the additional .22 grams that you are able to read on my scale's display is the weight of the buds on my scale.

I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey.

~ Rebecca Ryan