Pubdate: Fri, 14 Aug 2015
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Windsor Star
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Doug Schmidt
Page: A3

CANNABIS CLINIC COMING TO CITY

Facility Aims to Dispel Myths of Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana should become easier to obtain for local patients 
with the opening next month of a new medical clinic in Windsor 
specializing in cannabis treatment.

Those behind the local branch of the Canadian Cannabis Clinics - the 
sixth such facility in Ontario - also hope the facility can help 
educate local physicians about the therapeutic and health benefits of 
pot, as well as to help dispel the myths.

"Definitely, some doctors are hostile to it," said CCC spokesman 
Ronan Levy. "Our experience has been that attitudes, quite negative 
at first, start to shift as doctors are exposed (to medical 
marijuana), and they become more open to it."

Levy is a director and general counsel for CanvasRx, a Toronto-based 
cannabis counselling service that created the Canadian Cannabis 
Clinics, the first of which was established a year ago in St. 
Catharines. They've since expanded into London, Toronto, Ottawa and Etobicoke.

Levy said a lease was signed this week for space at Med-Cen Centre, 
1883 Turner Rd., and that the hope is to have the clinic operational 
sometime in September.

"We'll be able to see patients for a number of conditions ... and 
assess them for medical cannabis," said Levy.

Initially, he said, the clinic will likely operate several days a 
week and be staffed by a physician and several staff, including a 
"cannabis counsellor."

Levy said the most common symptom for which patients have been 
seeking relief at the other CCC clinics is pain - related to 
arthritis, for example.

He is quick to caution the clinics are not marijuana dispensaries and 
that patients should not treat them as "a first-line agent." Rather, 
medical cannabis should be considered a supplement or alternative to 
more conventional health treatments the patients are first prescribed 
by their physicians.

"Our doctors are very thorough - they're not prescribing to just 
anyone," said Levy, adding that, "For most, it's a medication of last resort."

Part of the clinic's assessment and screening process requires 
patients to be referred by their family doctor and to submit their 
medical documentation and history. "Until you provide that, we won't 
see you," Levy said.

The clinic, however, does provide counselling to anyone, and if 
someone needs a physician, Levy said the staff can facilitate that 
through the Ontario Telemedicine Network. Under Canada's current 
laws, patients must have a doctor's prescription before they can 
access medical marijuana, which is only available through Health 
Canada- approved licensed producers (of which there are now 25).

Part of CCC's role, said Levy, is raising awareness of the 
therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana with the local health 
professional community. He expects the Windsor clinic to host its 
first "medical education event" for doctors shortly after opening day.

Such outreach would be useful for the local medical community, said 
Dr. Amit Bagga, vice-president of the Essex County Medical Society.

"Cannabinoids are not really first-line meds, but there's good 
evidence for their use in certain types of pain and in certain types 
of medical conditions," said Bagga, who is also chief nephrologist at 
Windsor Regional Hospital. As long as the new clinic follows the 
regulations of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the code of 
medical ethics, "then I think a majority of medical doctors would be 
comfortable interacting with these clinics," he added.

"It's not your first option, but it's an option in the management of 
pain," said Bagga.

"This is exciting stuff," Vic Neufeld, CEO of Leamington's Aphria 
Inc., said of Windsor's first cannabis clinic.

Neufeld, who heads one of the largest of Canada's producers licensed 
to grow and sell medical marijuana, said one of the biggest problems 
with the nascent industry is a lack of understanding and knowledge on 
the part of patients and health professionals.

Having a cannabis clinic locally allows both now to "have a true 
conversation with a specialist and get comfortable" on the subject, 
said Neufeld.

Bagga said the most controversial aspect of medical marijuana, for 
both the general public and physicians, is the concern over its 
misuse as a recreational drug.

With recent controversy in Windsor over neighbourhoods voicing 
opposition to methadone clinics, Levy said that - aside from the word 
"cannabis" in the name - there's nothing to worry about with Canadian 
Cannabis Clinics. "At all our clinics, we put a big sign up: 'No 
cannabis on-site,' and there's no cash."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom