Thank you very much.
I'm very pleased, Madam Chair, to respond to this question.
As the committee has reflected in the past, or discussed in the past, the courts have been clear that what we need to maintain in the country is reasonable access to marijuana for medical purposes, but there have been challenges with the way the system has been structured.
The go-forward plan is to treat marijuana as much as possible like other narcotics that are used for medical purposes. We want to create the conditions for a new industry that would be responsible for its production and distribution, where the quality is controlled.
Therefore, under that system, Health Canada would no longer receive applications from program participants, but rather, a new supply and distribution system based on licensed producers, who would be audited and inspected by Health Canada, would be established. The production of marijuana in homes and in communities would be phased out, so as I said, it would treat this medication, which is very helpful when used for medical purposes for some individuals, as was noted, more like other substances—controlled through licensed producers, and as prescribed by medical practitioners, shipped to patients directly.