TORONTO, March 9, 2016 /CNW/ - Bedrocan Canada Inc. (Bedrocan Canada) is today launching a personalized insurance claim concierge service in collaboration with Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM).

Jonathan Zaid, the Executive Director of CFAMM and the first Canadian to have his medical cannabis covered by a group insurance plan, will work with a group of Bedrocan clients to identify individuals who may be able to attain coverage under their pre-existing insurance plans.

Cannabis costs have been routinely covered in some instances, most notably under the Veterans Affairs health plan. Canadians who have injured themselves on the job have also been granted coverage under provincial workers compensation boards on a case-by-case basis. These are positive signs that can and should be built upon.

"Medical cannabis should be covered like every other medication, yet patients often struggle to obtain coverage under their health plans," said Jonathan Zaid. "This partnership with Bedrocan Canada, we hope will help enable patients to successfully advocate for coverage."

Cannabis has been clinically proven to effectively treat a number of symptoms associated with serious conditions such as HIV & AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and chronic pain, yet its users continue to be denied coverage by the insurance industry.

"We see this is as an important first step in a larger process. Our hope is this personalized service will help to identify case studies that will successfully engage insurance companies in understanding both the therapeutic and economic benefits of medical cannabis use. The goal is to lay the groundwork in the short term while leading to cost coverage for tens of thousands of Canadians in the long run," said Marc Wayne, Bedrocan Canada President. "Whether you're a Bedrocan customer or not, we are working with medical cannabis patients across Canada to address this inconsistency."

In order to apply for the concierge service, Bedrocan Canada clients are asked to fill out a short survey. The data will be used to identify applicants who may be eligible for some form of insurance coverage. Although participants will be identified based on their potential eligibility for insurance coverage, the organizations will leverage individual cases that can lead to systemic change across the industry.

Please visit www.bedrocan.ca/pages/insurance or www.cfamm.ca/insurance-support/ for more information.

About CFAMM: Founded in 2014, Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM) is a federal non-profit, patient-run organization dedicated to protecting and improving the rights of medical cannabis patients. CFAMM's goal is to enable patients to obtain fair and safe access to medical cannabis with a special focus on affordability, including private and public insurance coverage.

About Bedrocan Canada: Bedrocan Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX.V:CGC). The company is focused on medicinal cannabis production and research, including, the EQUAL Study, which is currently enrolling patients and evaluating how cannabis is affecting the quality of life of Canadian patients. Recently, through True Compassionate Pricing and advocacy and engagement efforts with the federal government and the insurance industry, Bedrocan Canada has intensified its commitment to cannabis affordability for all Canadian patients. Bedrocan's standardized strains have been used by thousands of patients in seven countries around the world. www.bedrocan.ca

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth Corporation, Tweed Inc., Tweed Farms Inc. or Bedrocan Cannabis Corp. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and Canopy Growth Corporation does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation