Medical marijuana system to remain in place after legalization
Opinion mixed on how patients will proceed after Oct. 17
Medical cannabis patients can continue to use their current providers after recreational marijuana becomes legal for adults in Canada on Oct. 17.
Health Canada has decided to maintain a system that’s been growing since marijuana was first made legal for health purposes 17 years ago.
“The cannabis for medical purposes regime will continue to provide access to individuals who have the authorization of their healthcare practitioner to use cannabis for medical purposes,” Health Canada said in an emailed statement.
It will re-evaluate that position within five years.
That’s in line with the approach of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, says spokesman Steve Buick.
“The status of it as a recreational product has changed, but the status of it as a medical product has not,” says Buick. “If patients are using it as part of care for a real clinical condition, it’s better for the doctor to know that and be able to manage it in a structured way with oversight from the regulator.
“We would rather have more knowledge and more input into how it’s being used given that it can interact with other drugs and medical products, it is potentially addictive and it is intoxicating.”
The college isn’t suggesting there is great value in using cannabis to treat health conditions, he adds, but it wants to keep track of its use.
In the most recent figures available, it found 357 doctors in Alberta prescribed some form of cannabis to 25,766 patients in 2017. That’s an increase from 17,195 patients in 2016 linked to about the same number of doctors.
What’s unknown is whether all those patients will choose to purchase their supply at one of the newly minted recreational weed stores expected to open across the country in October.
Kait Shane is a community outreach educator with Natural Health Services in Calgary, a company that offers health advice to patients and links them with federally regulated medical cannabis producers. She believes legalization will ultimately bring in more patients.
“Sure, we’ll lose a portion of our patients who know what helps them and will feel confident going into a recreational facility or dispensary and they know exactly what they want.
“But there is a whole, huge portion of the population who have not tried it because of its legal status even though it’s been medically legal since 2001, they just don’t want the stigma attached to them,” says Shane.
“That’s all changing. We feel like we’re going to able to help a lot of people who were scared to enter into this realm before legalization.”
But Jeff Mooij, president of 420 Clinic in Calgary, says he expects a decline in business for medical marijuana clinics as consumers turn to the new storefront operations. That means customers won’t be dealing with vendors who are knowledgable about possible health effects, he says.
“I’d say patients beware. After Oct. 17, you will not get any medical information out of any of these dispensaries,” says Mooij. “Fortunately, we have a medical clinic so they can get information.”
There are already few doctors willing to prescribe cannabis and that number will continue to fall, he predicts. In addition, he says patients who use products containing mostly CBD (cannabidiol) — rather than THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the intoxicating ingredient in cannabis — will have a harder time finding it because producers are moving toward what’s most popular in a recreational crop.
420 will continue to run its clinic, but it’s also entering the recreational market with eight new shops set to open in southern Alberta on Oct. 17.
While medical cannabis promoters hope to get a credibility boost from the legalization of recreational pot, the Canadian Medical Association continues to call for the existing system to be dismantled. The organization, which represents doctors across the country, noted in a 2016 submission to the federal government that there is not enough scientific evidence to prove it’s effective as a medication.
Furthermore, the CMA warns that using marijuana can cause its own health issues including addiction, lung problems, mental illness and cognitive impairment, particularly if taken by young people whose brains are still developing.