420 (April 20th) is here but before everyone
smokes a big fatty to celebrate, I wanted write about my thoughts about the
legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in Canada.
First and foremost, Smoking pot should not be a criminal offense
and I am happy that Canada has started the liberalization process to make
cannabis legal, however, I think there are many things that some have
overlooked during this process, Mainly the
difference between recreational and medical use and the rules and regulations behind
each.
The regulation on access to cannabis for medical purposes was established
in 2002, where medical Doctors could legally prescribe cannabis to their
patients for certain conditions without the fear of prosecution. Then in 2014 Marijuana for Medical Purposes
Regulations authorized licensed production of medical cannabis and the prescriptions
for pot skyrocketed and dispensaries started popping up everywhere, even though
selling marijuana over the counter is still illegal, with or without a pot
card. Yes, it is illegal to sell cannabis and related products over the counter
to anyone. Hence the all the raids you
hear about in the news. Even some employees that worked at some of these dispensaries
didn’t know it was illegal until they got arrested. The dispensaries are operating
illegally in anticipation that the law will pass that they can legally sell
their products. In the long run, the risk of fines and court costs are minimal compared
to the potential of being one of the selected few that will be allowed to operate
in any given city once the law has changed. So if it is illegal to sell pot
over the counter to anyone, then why do I need to prescription to buy a product
that it illegal anyway? Truth is, you really don’t. it’s up to the dispensary to determine who
they sell to and most try to “weed” out random pot heads by requiring a prescription
or pot license, to show they are trying to have some type of regulation in place. They are pushing for decimalization but are
further stigmatizing it by only selling it for medical purposes. This is what I have a problem with. I’ll get back to this in a minute.
Several years ago, I suffered a debilitating back injury.
Many avenues were explored to help elevate the pain associated with it. After years of physiotherapy, traction, exercise
and medication I still live with the chronic pain. Though surgery is pending because I healed crocked,
I still have one option before this last resort for relief. Cannabis.
I had lengthy discussions with my doctors about it and for me the pros definitely
outweigh the cons. Ok Doc, sign me
up. It’s better then relaying on heavy pain
killers I was afraid to take. To “legally”
buy pot for medical use in Canada, you must have a prescription from a medical
doctor and/or obtain a license, order it from a licensed producer and get in
sent through the mail. Once I am registered
at any of the regulated producers, I can go on their web site and order pretty
much whatever I want. some places and
companies have different rules but this was my experience. As someone that hasn’t touched this stuff in several years I was
overwhelmed and frustrated with this. This
is the first time I realized the benefits and need for dispensaries. My first attempt at self medication involved
me blindly ordering some cannabis oil I read in a short description on the company’s
web site. It came in the mail 4 days later with my pot
card (license to tell the authorizes that I am allowed to have this stuff) a syringe
and a chart on how to take it. Basically
It says to take a tiny amount (0.2 ml) and
build up from there until I can feel the effects of it. I don’t know when to take it, how often to
take it, what kind I should take. Nothing.
Just me and this stupid chart to figure it out. The call center is useless because they have
no way of knowing how I will react to it.
Almost a full bottle later and several weeks of figuring out my dose I’m
at 20ml to notice any relief. And at $90
a bottle, its was an expensive experiment.
If I continue I’m looking at
about $200 a month, significantly more then the few dollars I paid for my pills
at the pharmacy. This is not looking good.
I went out for a dinner one evening and while I was walking
from my car to the restaurant, I noticed a dispensary. I popped in after dinner. I had to be buzzed in. I meet with an employee, told him about my
issues and my recent experiences and asked what I needed to do to buy their
products. I didn’t have my card with me
but I just happened to be at my doctors that day and had a new prescription for
my back with me. That was enough and I was
signed up on the spot. It was nice that I
could talk to an actual person about the different types of pot, strains, edibles,
oils, and their benefits. I told him
that I wanted something for my back but I also suffered from an anxiety disorder
for most of my life and I didn’t want to take something that was going to make
that worse. He told me that he suffered
from the same thing, that he was on antidepressants for years, tried pot and he’s
off all the evils pharmaceuticals for good.
This is where I walked out of store and brings me back to my first
point.
If people want to use cannabis for recreational use, they
should be able to. They should be able
to walk into a dispensary without a card or prescription and pick out their pot
like they are picking out flavours for a blizzard at dairy queen. Its no different then someone walking into the
LCBO or beer store. What I have a big problem
with is marketing Marijuana for Medical Purposes and how it is sold. Before you get your panties in a bunch ask
yourself this; would it be ok for someone to walk into the liquor store, go up
to a random employee, tell them that they have back pain and ask the employee to
recommend something that will help? Sounds
ridiculous doesn’t it but this is what is going on at some of these dispensaries. But they
have a prescription right? Yes they do,
but if I had a prescription for penicillin, I have to get it from a licensed pharmacist,
that knows what other medications I am taking, the side effects, if it counteracts
with other things I am taking, detailed instructions on how to take it, medical
information and its dispensed by medical professional. But
its natural and none additive (unlike alcohol).
Just because something natural doesn’t mean its safe and just because
something physically none habit forming doesn’t mean its not additive. Opium is natural too. People have died from water poisoning and addiction
is a state of being enslaved to a habit that is psychologically or
physically habit-forming which could mean anything can be addictive. Its naïve to think that pot is completely harmless
and its very dangerous for people at these dispensary’s to convey this message.
Someone with no medical background
should not being giving out medical advice. Period. There is a reason while medical doctors go
through several years of school and sales staff do not. They might be experts on the products they
are selling but in no way does that qualify them to dole out medical advice. The dispensaries are there to do one thing,
sell their products. If I went to shopper’s
drug mart with prescription for antidepressants and a staff member recommended
that I take vitamins instead, they’d be fired on the spot. It makes
sense why the government was looking at the idea of having pot dispensed at
pharmacies. This needs to be regulated
better then it is. While that employee didn’t directly tell me I should go off
all my meds and take pot instead, I also wasn’t warned of the possible repercussions
if I did or possible side effects of their products and who would be responsible if i did have a bad reaction? what if i ate too much of the of brownies i bought and ended up falling on the sidewalk? i guess you really dont know how you are going to react to any medications natural or not but there are no warning labels on my brownies like they are on my pill bottles. and its the edibles that the government has a big problem with.
There
is a connection between drug use and mental illness. Studies have shown that while drug use (including
and especially marijuana) doesn’t directly “cause” a mental illness, someone
that has a predisposition to mental illness might get triggered by it and can
make someone with a pre-existing condition worse. That thought terrifies me, which is why I was so
reluctant to try it in the first place. i have only begone too dive into this subject.
To be continued........
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