Obtaining medical marijuana in Canada could soon be as easy as strolling into the neighborhood pharmacy. Shoppers Drug Mart, the nation’s largest drug store chain, has asked the government for permission to dispense pot to patients, it said Tuesday.

“We have applied to be a licensed producer strictly for the purposes of distributing medical marijuana,” Tammy Smitham, the vice president of external communication for Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart, said in a statement Tuesday.

“We have applied to be a licensed producer strictly for the purposes of distributing medical marijuana,” Tammy Smitham, the vice president of external communication for Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart, said in a statement Tuesday.

More than 75,000 Canadians participate in the national government’s medical marijuana program as of June 30, but current law only allows patients to obtain their prescriptions from licensed producers through the mail. With legislative changes likely to occur across the board in the couple years, however, Shoppers has begun laying the groundwork to potentially become Canada’s first legal coast-to-coast pot dispensary.

Shoppers doesn’t intend on growing its own weed, but wants to be considered a licensed producer by the government so its pharmacists can fill marijuana scripts like any other prescription handled at its 1,200-plus drug stores.

Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/25/shoppers-drug-mart-canadas-largest-pharmacy-chain-/