Two leading medical bodies in Canada have expressed grave concern over the federal government's plan to have doctors dispense marijuana to patients for medicinal use.

The Canadian Medical Association (the national body representing Canadian physicians) and the Canadian Medical Protective Association, which protects doctors against litigation, have seriously questioned the proposal, which was announced on 9 July. The Canadian Medical Association has advised doctors not to participate in the programme, and some doctors say it isn't workable.

At the same time, the federal government, forced by an Ontario provincial court ruling to come up with a dispensing plan, is itself …