Some in the industry call them “referral fees,” others “educational grants.” To at least one bioethicist, they are simply kickbacks. Licensed producers of medical cannabis are paying millions of dollars to cannabis clinics across the country in exchange for patients who register their marijuana prescriptions with the companies, corporate documents and interviews reveal. For some clinics, in fact, payments from licensed producers (LPs) represent the bulk of their income. And the fact they have contracts with multiple producers, they say, means the fees do not encourage favouritism toward any one firm. Clinics say their doctors and nurse practitioners do not personally receive referral fees, but their employers’ financial relationship with producers is still a powerful force, the bioethicist says.

Source: National Post January 11, 2019 14:26 UTC