The Medicinal Cannabis Stigma in Canada Prevails

It’s been several years since the legalization of recreational cannabis, and almost a decade since medicinal cannabis was first made widely available to patients across Canada. Yet, patients trying to access medical marijuana are still encountering roadblocks when talking to their doctors, with many heading to friends, family, and budtenders for advice.

A recent survey published by Medical Cannabis Canada (MCC) revealed that patients are facing systematic barriers in the medical marijuana system, which is forcing them to find other outlets for cannabis and advice. The results of the survey highlight the need for policy changes in the medical marijuana system to increase access and make it easier for patients to receive the advice that they need.

Medical Marijuana in Canada

In Canada, you have access to both legal recreational and medicinal marijuana. If you want to access medical marijuana, you’ll require a medical document from an authorized healthcare practitioner. The MSPS found that out of every three using marijuana for medicinal reasons, only one of them was utilizing a medical document and the medical marijuana system.

What the data highlights are that the medical marijuana system isn’t working and is overly tricky for patients to access. Two-thirds of patients are self-medicating using either the recreational marijuana system or seeking marijuana from other markets.

The Stigma Associated with Medical Cannabis

Many of the patients, 83%, feel that there is still a stigma associated with traditional medical practitioners about using medical marijuana, and 57% have struggled to find a medical practitioner that can help them access a medical document.

What’s even more disturbing is that over 60% of people believe that they need to access marijuana on the unregulated market because the regulated system is too challenging, too expensive, and too difficult to navigate.

One of the biggest challenges to accessing marijuana through the regulated medical system was cost. Patients reported that it was more affordable to access marijuana through dealers, friends, and family rather than try to access medical marijuana. 36% of patients reported that due to the overly complicated regulated system, they had to turn back to opioid-based pain medications. In the middle of a global opioid addiction crisis, anything we can do to assist patients moving away from opioid-based pain medications must be done.

As a result of the study, two key areas need to be addressed:

• Expanded access to the medical marijuana system – 90% of people surveyed supported pharmacists being able to issue medical documents, prescribe medical marijuana, and provide medical advice to patients seeking medicinal marijuana.
• Making medical marijuana more affordable – Some ways that could make medical marijuana more affordable is to remove some of the taxes, including excise duty, HST, GST, and PST, while at the same time expanding the benefits coverage. 90% of medical marijuana patients are supportive of reducing the cost of medical marijuana. 25% of patients believe that if the medical marijuana program were more affordable, they would away from unregulated markets.

The Medical Marijuana Program in Canada Still Has A Long Way to Go

The Canadian medical marijuana program has a lot of promise, but some urgent changes are needed if it wants to help as many people as possible. Having access to shop nationwide mail-order deals and online ordering and delivery of affordable medical marijuana would be a significant step forward to help more people move onto the regulated medical marijuana market.