Realeaf ownership change won't impact medical cannabis access in Kamloops | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Realeaf ownership change won't impact medical cannabis access in Kamloops

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KAMLOOPS – The name might change but the function and location of the Realeaf Wellness Centre won't.

The president of Medical Cannabis Resource Centre Inc. out of Vancouver, Terry Roycroft, says his organization is taking over the business and treatment of Releaf’s current patients but will still operate out of the St. Paul Street clinic. He says the resource centre will also continue to work with Kamloops based physician Dr. Ian Mitchell.

“We are taking over the assets. We are a much larger organization better served to support the patients,” Roycroft says, adding his organization has been operational for roughly six years, seen thousands of patients and has pioneered the model of care everyone uses.

Roycroft says he was approached by Releaf president of Ron Bell who asked if his organization would be interested in taking over the business. Roycroft is unsure of the reasons behind the request, but says a medical cannabis clinic “is not the easiest business to maintain.” He cites restrictive regulation from both the federal government and the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Mictchell has been associated with the Releaf Centre in Kamloops since it opened in February and says he believes very much in the work the clinic does.

“I’m still interested in continuing on with a clinic," he says. “Only seven per cent of doctors prescribe cannabis but are more than happy to prescribe OxyContin."

Mitchell says of there is a proclivity to treat chronic pain with narcotics and alternatives are necessary in Kamloops so he will continue to see patients at the clinic.

Roycroft says the new centre could open as early as Oct. 16.

The Realeaf Wellness Centre is a clinic which can prescribe cannabis, but does not dispense it.

Recently, the City of Kamloops received a rezoning application to potentially open the city’s first medical marijuana grow operation.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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