Pubdate: Sun, 05 Apr 2015
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Kevin Maimann
Page: 3

GOING UNDERGROUND FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Dr. Brian Knight, facility chief of anaesthesia at Misericordia 
Hospital, deals in chronic pain management and occasionally 
prescribes marijuana to patients who have struggled with conventional 
treatments.

He said patients often have difficulty accessing the plant, even with 
a prescription, and are forced to go elsewhere.

"Quite a few of them are accessing it illegally," Knight said. "Some, 
for example, have authorizations but either can't afford to buy it 
from one of the registered companies, or the registered company can't 
supply them."

Knight admits he was hesitant to prescribe marijuana after Health 
Canada legalized it for medical purposes in 2001, and he still views 
it as a third-line treatment, but he said it has proven more 
effective than conventional medications for certain people.

"For some patients it has worked extremely well," he said.

Chris, who spoke to the Sun on condition of anonymity, has gone 
through three licensed suppliers (not including Aurora, which opened 
this year) and all have reneged on promises of discounts for people 
like himself with financial limitations.

There are 50,000 patients across Canada registered for medical pot 
and fewer than 20 registered producers, and Chris has been told on 
several occasions there is not enough stock to supply his 90 grams a month.

The 59-year-old has resorted to buying pot illegally when he's been 
shut out by the big producers. He said the street price is roughly 
the same, but it's impossible to know what he's getting.

"I'm not in a criminal group or I don't have people to talk to, so I 
can't get good stuff. The couple times that I went to the street to 
buy it, I was getting crap," he said.

Chris was first prescribed medical marijuana in 2014 to help 
alleviate a long list of ailments including pain caused by a chest 
injury and surgeries on his left shoulder and both knees.

"I've got a health file that would scare a person," he said.

He was on 360 mg of Oxyneo daily but since has been able to lower his 
dose to 100 mg since starting marijuana. He is trying to get off of 
the opiate, which leaves him constantly fatigued.

"The term I guess they use for heroin addicted people, after they've 
taken a dose of heroin, is they nod off. And that's basically what 
was happening with me (on Oxyneo)," he said. "I was nodding off in 
mid-conversation with people, even. My eyes would close and I'd be 
asleep for maybe five minutes."

Drug plans have covered medical marijuana on rare occasions in Canada 
- - injured soldiers are covered under Veterans Affairs.

But while a 2014 Angus Reid poll showed 59 per cent of Canadians 
favour flat-out legalization of marijuana, the current government is 
intent on keeping it out of reach for many.

Knight does not want his patients to break the law, but he knows 
their hands are sometimes tied.

"A significant number of Canadians smoke marijuana recreationally, 
and most people would say that's OK. So who are we to then say you 
can't smoke it because you have pain?" Knight said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom