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. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt