Pubdate: Thu, 16 Apr 2015
Source: Caledon Enterprise, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Caledon Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.caledonenterprise.com/caledon-on/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4318
Author: Danielle Marr

MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLINIC TO SET UP IN CALEDON EAST - WITH OPEN HOUSE ON 4/20

A medical marijuana clinic is preparing to open its doors in Caledon
East.

Caledon Medical Cannabinoid Clinic will be run by Andrew Cooper, an
anaesthesiologist with William Osler Health System, and will be
located in the same Airport Road building as the Yoga Shala studio,
which is owned by his wife, Indra.

The clinic will provide cannabinoid-based therapies for pain relief to
patients who either do not want to use conventional opioid pain
management medications or for whom they are not suitable.

Clients will have to be aged 25 or older and be referred from a
doctor.

Andrew Cooper was not available to speak Tuesday afternoon, but
according to Indra, the pain management services will be offered
alongside the wellness facilities already provided at the studio,
which includes massage therapy, shiatsu and yoga.

The pair believes that will differentiate their service from the
handful of cannabinoid clinics that have sprung up around the GTA
since the government introduced new regulations on medical marijuana
last April.

"Usually a pain clinic is just a pain clinic but we are hoping that
with the yoga studio right there, patients will be encouraged to
incorporate yoga and the other services offered into their pain
management," said Indra.

"There are so many myths about the concept of cannabinoids being used
for pain management," she added. "People think that you smoke it but
that is not the case. Therapy is provided by pill or an inhalant which
is vaporized medicine and prescriptions are dependent upon what
someone is being treated for."

Because of legal restrictions on marijuana use, there has been
relatively little medical research into the safety and effectiveness
of cannabinoid therapies. The Canadian Medical Association has said
that doctors are reluctant to prescribe it because of a lack of data
on dosages and side effects. However, proponents assert that it can be
used effectively to reduce chronic pain as a result of conditions
including fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and cancers.

Want to know more?

The clinic will hold and open house on Monday (which just happens to
be 4/20) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Caledon Medical Cannabinoid Clinic is
at 16011 Airport Rd.
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MAP posted-by: Matt