As the legalization of cannabis draws near for Canadians, the uses for the herb are still ‘hazy’ for some.
Whether it is retail, commercial production or medical use, the general population may not be up to speed with what will be possible in Canada starting on October 17, 2018.
Lets take a look at the medical uses of cannabis.
There are companies in Canada and the U.S. proactively taking steps to provide cannabis derive CBD (cannabidiol) oil for medicinal use.
There are more than 104 different cannabinoids, which are naturally taken out of the plants, however only two are well known.
THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the compound mostly responsible for the psychoactive effects of the plant and offers therapeutic effects.
CBD offers those same therapeutic effects, but without the psychoactive side effect.
Canadians have the option to access cannabis for medical reasons through their health care practitioner. This allows a person to have access to a safe, quality controlled substance from one of the producers licensed by Health Canada.
CBD oil offers pain relief and contains anti-inflammatory properties. It also aids in treating neuropsychiatric disorders, such as epilepsy. It can also against cancer, it controls nausea, helps those with anxiety disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, acne and more.
THC oil aids in many of the same areas medically as CBD oil and also has had a beneficial effect on spasticity from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or a spinal cord injury. It can aid in movement disorders, asthma and other medical conditions.
For the fiscal year 2017/18, Health Canada reported an increase in client registration to acquire cannabis for medical purposes. The total number of clients in April 2017 (first quarter) was 174,503 Canada wide. In March 2018 (fourth quarter) that number rose to 296,702 clients.
That number in Alberta alone almost doubled from 60,479 in April 2017 to 112,207 by the end of March 2018.
The amount of cannabis oil sound to clients in kilograms also saw a dramatic increase from 1,918 kg in April 2017 to 3,677 kg by the end of March 2018.
There has also been an increase in the number of Health Care Practitioners provided a medical document for a client who registered with an LP during the reporting period, from 2,359 to 3,494.
When it comes to production of cannabis for medical purposes, Health Canada reported the active number of registrations increased in Canada from 4,480 to 15,618.
The production of cannabis for a person’s own medical purposes also rose Countrywide from 4,148 in April 2017 to 14,707 by the end of March 2018.
The University of Calgary conducted a study on cannabis consumption in 2017, which showed over a 12-month period 10.5 per cent of Canadians had used cannabis, this of Couse is before its legalization. The study also showed 15.4 per cent of Americans admitted to consuming cannabis, with the highest usage in Iceland at 18.3 per cent.
According to statistics, the cannabis industry in North America is predicted to exceed $20 billion in size by 2020.
Sources include: www.alberta.ca/cannabis, www.mmjcanada.ca, www.cannabis-med.org and www.canada.ca
