Shoppers Drug Mart given licence to sell medical marijuana online

Shoppers Drug Mart has been granted a licence to sell medical marijuana online.

Health Canada's list of authorized cannabis sellers and producers has been updated to reflect that the pharmacy can sell dried and fresh cannabis, as well as plants, seeds and oil.

A website has been set up by the company, which says patients "with a valid medical document will soon be able to purchase a wide selection of medical cannabis products" from Shoppers.

A spokeswoman for Shoppers' parent company Loblaw Companies Limited says it's too soon to say when people will be able to start making orders.

She says the company is still working through a "technical issue" with Health Canada.

The company was granted a medical marijuana producer licence in September, after initially applying in October 2016.

Shoppers has said it had no interest in producing medical cannabis, but the licence is required in order to sell the product to patients.

Under the current Health Canada regulations for medical pot, the only legal distribution method is by mail order from licensed producers direct to patients.