On October 17th, 2018, the Cannabis Act was passed throughout Canada, legalizing weed at a recreational level for the first time. This new legislation not only legalized the buying and distribution of cannabis by licensed producers and sellers but it also allows Canadians to grow a limited amount of plants from the comforts of home.

The recreational growing laws apply to nearly all provinces, giving Canadians of legal age the power to grow 4 plants per household. But what’s even more interesting is that the percentage of medical growers has seen a spike, even after these new laws allowing for recreational growing have been passed.

Canadians have used sites like CGC for an ACMPR license for over 4 years now, but within the past 2 years, things have really taken off for the ACMPR. Not quite sure what the ACMPR program in Canada is? You can read all about it here, but more importantly, you can learn how it is working to help medical patients across the country.

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What Is Canada’s ACMPR?

The ACMPR is the ruling legislation over all things medical marijuana in Canada. Short for Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, the ACMPR is governed by Health Canada, which is the sector of the federal government that is dedicated to helping Canadians maintain and improve their health.

In today’s day and age, research supports the fact that cannabis can help patients suffering from a variety of conditions to maintain health, alleviate symptoms, and even boost overall well-being. This is why Health Canada implemented a medical marijuana program - to improve access to marijuana for those who need it.

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ACMPR Basics: What Does It Do for Canadians?

The main reason that so many medical patients apply for an ACMPR license is to grow cannabis from home. Even though the Cannabis Act allows Canadians everywhere (except for Quebec and Manitoba) to grow 4 plants from home, the ACMPR goes much further than this.

Every medical license is different based on each individual patient’s needs. A medical patient that requires large quantities of cannabis for treatment will be able to receive a license that allows for dozen - even hundreds - of plants.

Having the legal power to grow dozens or hundreds of medical plants from home is by far the greatest benefit of this program, but it’s not the only one. Medical license holders who are registered with the ACMPR and aren’t interested in cultivating cannabis, for whatever reason, can access their treatment through licensed producers instead.

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Who Can Benefit from the ACMPR?

To be considered eligible for the ACMPR program, you first must be of legal age (which is 18). On top of that, you must ordinarily live in Canada, contest that you have no been convicted of a cannabis-related offense, and not already be registered through the program.

Aside from these requirements, you must also receive an official medical marijuana prescription from a healthcare professional.

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How the ACMPR Is Helping Patients Every Day

The ACMPR has been around in some form or another since 2001; first, it was the MMAR, then it changed to the MMPR. There have been some minor changes and improvements made with each of these programs, but the main thing they all have in common is that they’ve been helping Canadian patients for nearly two decades.

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Easy Access to an Alternative Treatment Route

There will always be some skepticism regarding medical marijuana, and although it’s certainly not for everyone, many patients have found success through cannabis. But the main problem for many patients is accessing marijuana, and this is where the ACMPR can help.

Applying for a license requires some patience since Health Canada is constantly bombarded with new applicants, but once a patient is registered, access is no longer a problem. This is because the ACMPR allows patients to grow plants from home, and there’s no easier access than an at-home grow op.

More Control Over Treatment

The second major benefit of the ACMPR to patients is enhanced control over their own medical condition. In many cases, patients are required to hand over all control to the doctors and healthcare professionals that are assigned to their case. But with the ACMPR, a patient has complete control over the treatment process.

This mainly applies to cannabis strains; an ACMPR license holder doesn’t have to rely on a dispensary to carry the ideal strain for treating his/her condition. Instead, he or she can grow the desired strains, plus it allows for more experimentation with growing different types of cannabis.

Savings for Medical Costs

The potential savings involved with registering to the ACMPR program is the #1 reason why so many patients apply in the first place. Every regular cannabis user knows that the cost of shopping at a dispensary can quickly add up. Growing from home requires an initial investment (equipment, seeds, etc.), but in the end, there’s room for some major savings.