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When doctors at the Solace Health Network of cannabis clinics prescribe their patients medical marijuana, one government-licensed producer of the drug might come quickly to mind.

The clinics’ parent company, after all, is Terrascend, which also owns a cannabis grower and seller.

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A direct ownership link between doctor-staffed clinics and the manufacturer of their main treatment tool would be unheard of if it involved a pharmaceutical firm. But in the fast-evolving cannabis industry, Terrascend’s arrangement is far from unique — and quite legal.

The National Post has found close to a dozen companies across the country have combined pot-producing operations and marijuana-treatment clinics under the same corporate umbrella, in what seems to be a growing trend.

Some insist they isolate the two functions from each other, but others are frank about the benefits of vertical integration. The Leaf Wise clinics in Alberta, for instance, will provide “a direct channel to Invictus-owned licensed producers,” said parent-company Invictus MD Strategies in a recent news release.