Western Canada’s largest licensed medical cannabis producer is launching a cross-country tour next month to put potential customers in touch with doctors who can prescribe it on the spot.
“We’ve found there are a lot of regions in Canada where patients have had trouble finding a supportive physician to access medical cannabis,” said Philippe Lucas, vice-president of patient research and advocacy for Tilray, based in Nanaimo.
“Our goal is to provide information and, where possible, to provide access to medical cannabis to patients who might qualify for it,” said Lucas, a former Victoria city councillor.
Lucas said the proliferation of unlicensed medical marijuana shops in B.C. has nothing to do with Tilray’s tour, which will start June 6 in Nanaimo and end in Ottawa in August.
The mobile cannabis clinic is to visit Courtenay on June 7 and Victoria June 8-9.
Clients of the federally sanctioned system want tightly controlled, uncontaminated cannabis products prescribed by a doctor and delivered by mail to their homes, he said. Patients with such a prescription can travel freely within Canada with marijuana products.
In a time of rising deaths due to drug overdoses in B.C., Lucas said a survey of 300 Tilray clients found that 33 per cent who answered a question on drug substitution said they were taking cannabis rather than opioids. A total of 149 participants said they were substituting marijuana for a prescription drug.
Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall declared a public health emergency in April after 200 people died in the first three months of the year from drug overdoses caused by the powerful opioid fentanyl.
