Canadian Lawyer InHouse

45 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 P r o f e s s i o n a l P r o f i l e figure out how they are going to accommo- date," says Alexander. When people become educated about medical cannabis use in the workplace, they seem much more open and receptive to it, he says. "We are seeing people designing these policies who are realizing 'Wait, there is cannabis that won't get you high?' People didn't even know that at the beginning. The conversation has changed and there is an understanding that it's medicine that can help people with chronic pain." Alexander is the solo legal officer at Star - seed, but he has a compliance and regulato- ry team that knows how to operate in what is a heavily regulated environment. He started his legal career at Miller Thomson LLP in the commercial real estate group, where he practised for four- and-a-half years before going to Shoppers Drug Mart in 2014. There he had the op - portunity to work on the cannabis file for the mega retailer. This summer, Starseed reached an agreement to be the medical cannabis supplier for Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. Subject to Health Canada's approval of Shoppers Drug Mart's application to be a licensed producer, under the terms of the agreement, Starseed will supply Shoppers Drug Mart with Starseed-branded medi - cal cannabis products. Shoppers has signed agreements with six licenced producers. "It [the job at Shoppers] prepared me for the job at Starseed, balancing employer and employee needs with the needs of the cor - porate entity as well. It's a difficult balance, but it keeps me on my toes and I absolutely love my job," he says. "It's cutting edge and so interesting — there are new issues every day you wouldn't otherwise have to deal with elsewhere." Starseed has to be aware of the cannabis legislation in each province as well as the federal legislation. Not only is the Cannabis Act the overarching legislation, but, some - times, it brings in the U.S. Federal Drug Administration and has to consult the Con- trolled Drugs and Substances Act. "We're bouncing around a lot and we have to look at literally everything under the sun. Even a poster in a store is a very difficult question in which you have to look at many pieces of legislation." IH It's sort of crazy when you're talking about medical cannabis and people with prescriptions and medical documents from doctors being subjected to a lifetime ban because they are taking medicine. CORPORATE COUNSEL Connect with Find more than 4,100 corporate counsel and over 1,500 organizations along with fresh editorial content, information on deals and links to important resources. Lexpert.ca/ccca Untitled-5 1 2018-10-23 2:26 PM

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