Health Canada is easing its prohibitions against safety testing of medical marijuana, which will allow registered growers and patients to have the product scrutinized at federally certified laboratories to ensure it is safe. The federal government plans to legalize marijuana for recreational use next year, and the move will give added protection in an unregulated market to consumers, many of whom worry that some marijuana being sold as medicine could contain harmful contaminants. The shift follows a Globe and Mail investigation into the contents of marijuana. (See also Pot dispensaries shut out of Health Canada's new safety-testing rules)