Medical Insurance — News + Research

I’d like to introduce you to my patient, Ron who was kind enough to share his experience with cannabinoid medicine as part of our #CoverCannabis Project.

Prior to initiating cannabinoid therapy, Ron suffered from extreme chronic pain, resulting from football injuries and a serious car accident. He was prescribed physiotherapy and a number of pain medications but saw no improvement. His pain was so severe that he was unable to walk even short distances. He was also chronically drowsy-- a side-effect of his painkillers and the underlying sleep disorder that developed as a result of his chronic pain.

Here is just a short snapshot of my conversation with Ron, which includes an important message for both patients and practitioners alike: It can take some time to see the benefits of cannabinoid therapy, as dosing and titration is highly individualized.

Just like you shouldn’t stop taking an antibiotic before the full course is complete, patients should follow their practitioner’s dosing instructions carefully and not get discouraged if they’re not seeing immediate results. Oftentimes it can take 4-6 weeks to reach your personal therapeutic dose -- but if you give up on therapy within a week or two, you’ll never know how your life could have changed.

Today, I’m excited to announce the launch of The #CoverCannabis Project.

Through this series of conversations with real patients and their families, my goal is to shine a light on the REAL PEOPLE who are benefitting from cannabinoid therapy and raise awareness of the public health and economic benefit of providing coverage amongst Government, private insurance companies, employers, unions and other stakeholders.

Every day, I see the life-changing effects that cannabinoid-based medicine can have on improving people’s quality of life. Sadly, every day, I also have patients who are forced to stop a treatment that is working due to the cost barrier. In many cases, this means a return to the opioid therapy, antidepressants, benzodiazepines and antipsychotics that medical cannabis replaced.

Quite simply, no one should have to choose between paying for groceries and paying for their medicine.

It shows a pervasive lack of understanding and bias amongst policymakers--and is frankly discriminatory--that people living with cancer, dementia, refractory epilepsy, or some other serious condition, have to pay out-of-pocket for their PRESCRIBED cannabinoid-based medicines. Not only that, but unlike any other prescription medication, they are taxed in the same way as someone picking up a high THC joint for weekend recreational use. This is not right, and no one should be okay with this.

I’m so grateful to the many patients, families and care providers who have generously agreed to share their stories so that we can raise awareness of this important cause. This will be one of my top priorities for 2021. If you’d like to show your support, I invite you to share your own story on social media using the hashtag #CoverCannabis or write to your local MP and MPP to show this is an issue that’s important to you. We’d also appreciate it if you could re-share our #CoverCannabis posts on social to help spread the word. Together, we can do hard things.

Wishing you good health,

Blake Pearson, M.D.