Some facts and figures on medical marijuana, subject to new rules Tuesday

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OTTAWA – Facts and figures on medical marijuana in Canada, which is subject to new rules on Tuesday that require patients to acquire their pot from government-approved producers rather than home-grown supplies. (A temporary Federal Court injunction has delayed full implementation of the new regime until a legal hearing.

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Number of authorizations to possess under the old rules: 37,800

Patients authorized to grow for themselves: 25,000

People designated to grow for someone else: 3,900

Estimated number of home-grown plants under the old system: 3.3 million

Price of dried marijuana, per gram, when purchased directly from Health Canada under the old rules: $5

Number of commercial producers currently licensed under the new regime: 12

Number of applications to Health Canada, as of early February, to become a licensed producer: 454, with about 25 new applications coming in each week

Expected price of dried marijuana, per gram, under the new rules: Varies among producers and their individual products, but expected to average about $8 initially.

Projected total additional cost to all approved patients as a result of the new system: $166 million a year for 10 years

Projection of number of medical marijuana patients by 2024: Up to 450,000

Sales projections for the new industry by 2024: $1.3 billion a year.

(Source: Health Canada)