Pubdate: Sun, 06 Dec 2015
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Matt Day
Page: 3

MOBILE MARIJUANA SERVICE ON A ROLL

He brings pot information right to your door

If Frank Medewar could have it his way, his Toyota Corolla would be
known as the Weedmobile.

"I just think there's a little bit too much stigma for me to pull up
to a house in a little, white Beetle with the word 'cannabis' across
the door," says the owner of InfoCannabis, a mobile medical marijuana
service.

To be clear, Medewar isn't passing off any pot to the people he meets
with.

Inside the well-dressed man's tote bag aren't baggies of weed, just
papers.

No, not those papers.

The 38-year-old Sun Life financial adviser leaves behind his cushy day
job to help those with mobility issues receive information on
medicinal marijuana from the comfort of their own home.

He drives to homes all around the Ottawa area and sets up
consultations.

Since beginning in 2013, he says he's helped hundreds get access to
pot for medicinal purposes, but there's a hazy thin line he can't cross.

Medewar himself benefits from the use of medicinal marijuana, citing
chronic pain and anxiety.

Health Canada frowns upon any promotion of medicinal marijuana and the
Food and Drugs Act states it is "prohibited to advertise any drug to
the general public as a treatment."

When asked if he promotes the use of medicinal marijuana, Medewar
responds with, "From my own personal opinion, yes, absolutely. As a
clinic, no. That's what makes me so different, but I'm allowed to."

He insists he plays by the rules by simply taking a client's medical
history and sending it off to one of the numerous practitioners he
deals with.

If everything checks out, he says his clients can be approved in days
and can start receiving their medication in the mail.

Medewar's business isn't the only one dabbling in a budding medicinal
pot culture.

The Ottawa Medical Dispensary opened to some controversy last month by
being the city's first walk-in pot shop -- allowing those with a
prescription to buy on-site.

National Access Cannabis on Wellington St. W. offers in-house
consultations for people wanting to learn more.

Medewar said he's just taking it one step further.

On Friday, he visited an Arnprior man suffering from pain due to a
serious ATV crash where he shattered four of his vertebrae in May 2014.

Ryan, who asked his last name not be used for privacy reasons, says he
was prescribed opioids from his doctor and used them as directed by
his doctor for 185 days.

But it got to a point where he couldn't function properly, he
says.

"You wake up in the morning knowing you passed out wondering when your
kids went to bed," he says.

"When that happened I said never again."

That's when he decided to revisit his smoking habit.

"I found when I smoked I could move a bit more freely, I could bend
over," he says.

At the end of their consultation, Medewar gets back into his car and
goes home.

He receives no payment, and admits the business right now isn't in the
green.

Even with the legalization of pot potentially looming, he says there
will still be a need for InfoCannabis as people will want to get it
indiscreetly.

The Weedmobile idea just went up in smoke.
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MAP posted-by: Matt