Report: Loblaw, SDM to cover employee medical marijuana

TORONTO — Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart are taking a big step for employees using medical marijuana, Toronto’s “Breakfast Television” is reporting. The company is set to cover up to $1,500 in expenses related to medical marijuana, the report said, making 45,000 employees eligible.

“As other companies realize how the landscape is shifting maybe they themselves will expand benefits,” University of Toronto director of the division of social and administrative pharmacy Paul Grootendorst told “Breakfast Television.”

Besides the company’s efforts to provide financial support for employees with medical marijuana expenses, it applied in fall 2016 for a license to be a licensed producer with the goal of dispensing medical marijuana to patients alongside pharmacist counseling.

“We believe that allowing medical marijuana to be dispensed through pharmacy would increase access, safety, quality and security for the thousands of Canadians who use the drug as part of their medication therapy," Tammy Smitham, VP external communication for Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart, told Drug Store News in October.