Joint venture: health tech portal makes access to cannabis products easier
SA’S first online medical cannabis clinic opens but not everyone is happy with ‘colonisation of the internet’
A new development in SA’S medical marijuana industry is the setting up of the country’s first online cannabis clinics.
It’s a new health tech portal that allows patients to book a virtual consultation with a healthcare practitioner trained in medicinal cannabis use, and facilitates the process right through to delivery — anywhere in the country.
“A group of us got together when the laws changed and looked at international markets and how they were working. And then we looked at how we could bring that learning into the South African context,” said Craig Ludwig, chief strategy officer at Cannabis Clinics.
While cannabis use — both medical and recreational — is legal in SA, the main barrier blocking easy use is that it is a schedule six unregistered medication, requiring strict controls according to Section 21 of the Medicines & Related Substances Act.
This means that every individual application for medical cannabis has to be approved by the South African Health Product Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) — a complicated process.
“We identified the challenges and came up with the idea of a health tech portal that patients and doctors can register on. And we facilitate that link, enabling virtual consultations, Sahpra registrations, scripts and even couriered delivery of the medication,” said Ludwig, adding that the idea was driven by a desire to promote the benefits of medicinal cannabis as a natural alternative to strong medications that can have sideeffects and complications.
“People are naturally curious about cannabis use, and when they follow that interest they generally go down one of two paths. The one is the kitchen brew avenue where they get stuff from Betty who’s cooked it up in her own kitchen.
“The problem with that is that it’s inconsistent. You don’t know what you are getting or what’s actually in it — much less the dosage,” Ludwig said.
“We prefer the medicinal use path where we know the product comes from standard, regulated medical-grade facilities where things are controlled and science has been followed.
“We want to give people access as well as peace of mind, and the assurance they’re getting consistent levels of dosage and ingredients.”
So Cannabis Clinics joined up with Recomed to design and build a patient-to-doctor consultation program on an online platform.
“We have created access to medicinal cannabis products for patients who have previously been excluded from opting to include legal, high-quality medicinal cannabis in their healthcare and treatment regime,” said Ludwig.
Cannabis Clinics featured at the Sandton Cannabis Expo last year, where most of the exhibitors “were largely focused on the recreational scene”.
“I met an elderly woman there who looked utterly bewildered. She said her best friend had been diagnosed with cancer and she was looking for something that could help her. She absolutely lit up when I told her that’s exactly what we do,” he said.
“Doctors who work with us are trained by our chief medical officer Dr Anton Janse van Rensburg. He takes them through to Patient Zero stage
— the point at which they are qualified and able to prescribe medical cannabis,” said Ludwig.
Medicinal cannabis contains CBD [cannabidiol] and THC [tetrahydrocannabinol]. CBD has no psychoactive chemicals and is freely available, but the use of THC is tightly controlled.
“To illustrate — in recreational use, you could smoke a zol and end up with a hit of 200mg of THC in your system. That’s what gives the high. In a medicinal situation, with a very sick patient in extreme pain, you are looking maybe 30mg in small doses over an entire day in a very controlled but variable way.”
Medicinal cannabis products range from oil, sprays, capsules and vapes to dried flowers, and are widely used in the management of health conditions such as cancer symptoms, chronic pain, epilepsy, palliative care and mental health issues like anxiety and insomnia.
“Products and prices can’t be discussed because it’s a schedule six product, and it’s not covered by medical aid though the doctor’s consultation is,” said Ludwig.
Janet O’donoghue, a traditional cannabis health practitioner and founder of the South African Cannabis Community and Regulatory Association, said though she had not heard about the new development in online medical cannabis clinics, she was opposed to the “colonisation of the internet” in a legal process that should instead follow a “self-regulation model at community level with proper education and training”.
“Raw cannabis is a natural product with extracts that are not prescribable. So those who are selling medical cannabis are ripping patients off left, right and centre,” she said, in some cases giving patients synthetic cannabinoids rather than natural compounds.
“It’s sad to see so much healing hijacked by greed,” she said.