There’s no shortage of parley from advocates of medical marijuana versus the skeptics.
With legalization by Health Canada less than a year away, there’s much on the line for all parties including the local green industry and their clients - so knowledge is key.
Proponents from Rossland, Trail and Castlegar are offering a Medical Marijuana Education Event on Thursday (Nov. 16) from 7-8 p.m. at Green Cannabis Consulting, located at 1320 Cedar Ave. in downtown Trail.
“There is consistent debate over marijuana, laws, regulations, taboos, addictions, jobs and so much more,” says Jeff Thompson, Green Cannabis Consultanting founder. “My intent is only to outline the basic component of this issue, the personal benefits of this herb. I am an avid supporter of this medicine and hope to spread the word as broadly as possible to all those interested.”
The evening will begin with the basics such as marijuana history, medicinal value and dosaging and move into topics such as drug interactions and potential side effects. Thompson and a host from the Rossland dispensary will talk about CBD versus THC, receptor sites, the endo cannabinoid system, methods of consumption and current legal requirements for prescription.
Marijuana for medical purpose has become a passion for Thompson.
He began by applying for a Licensed Production facility back in 2013.
“The process is quite lengthy for that type of licensing, (so) we started to look at other directions we could take the company and began working with our own clients to get them licensed,” Thompson told the Trail Times.
“Which turned into helping individuals navigate Health Canada’s requirements for personal production and personal possession licenses under the Government of Canada’s ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes) program,” he said.
“We are now moving forward to be included in the legalization regulations that will be introduced soon by the provincial government.”
Driven by touching stories of those in need of medical marijuana, Thompson says his goal is to create a resource to educate both doctors and patients.
When Green Cannabis Consulting first opened in August 2016, he provided information packages to local health care practitioners, though response was very limited.
That’s changed in the past year, Thompson says.
“Now we are seeing prescriptions come in daily from various local doctors.”
That could be due, in part, to the recent attention of CBD for medical use.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of many cannabinoid molecules produced by cannabis, and in most strains, second only to THC in abundance. These plant-derived cannabinoids are characterized by their ability to act on the cannabinoid receptors without any psycho-active effect.
While THC is the principal psychoactive component of cannabis and has certain medical uses, CBD stands out as a therapeutic agent because it is non-psychoactive and can be used in a broad range of medical applications.
“Its effects are favoured by doctors because of the few side effects associated with it, ” Thompson explained. “Today CBD can be used in a wide variety of applications, oral tincture, capsule or edible,” he added.
“CBD is non-psycho active because it does not react with the same receptors in the brain as THC - you can’t get “high” off a CBD product.
“What you can get is pain relief, lowered anxiety, sleep and a wide variety of other medical benefits. Pet owners are now finding relief for their animals with pet specific products.”
Thompson says anyone over the age of 19 with a prescription can access CBD products at the Trail location.
“Our caring staff share (my) vision and are vital to our success, providing numerous clients with the support and information that they need to better their lives through medical marijuana,” said Thompson.
“We are constantly improving and changing to meet the needs of our clients and the laws in Canada.”
For more information, www.greencannabisconsulting.com