Medical and wellness dominate reasons for surveyed Canadians who consume cannabis, say findings of a newly released study representing 1,000 Canadians.

Nine out of 10 respondents cited “medical and/or wellness” as a driving component or their sole reason for cannabis consumption, although a significant number shied away from intoxicating products, notes a statement from Canadian PR and public affairs firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K).

The survey sample was provided by Leger Opinion (LEO) online panel, although H+K fielded the survey on their feedback platform. It offers new perspectives into the habits, behaviours and attitudes of individuals towards cannabis in the country.

Two Canadian companies have been approved as the first suppliers to the recently launched medical cannabis program in Ireland.

The Irish Government signed off on the launch of its five-year pilot in June, and now Aurora and MGC Pharmaceuticals have been selected to provide its first cannabis medicine.

Our patients’ lives improved in multiple ways after using CBD, including sleep, anxiety relief and hope. They began calling hemp a “miracle plant,” and we can understand why.

Chronic pain can be a very devastating diagnosis. For those of us without this condition, it’s hard to imagine what someone with chronic pain is going through. Chronic pain is usually secondary to some form of trauma, making a bad situation far worse. Imagine the worst pain you have every experienced and then try to imagine having that pain day in and day out for months or worse, for years.

People with chronic pain who use cannabis daily are far less likely to use illicit opioids, including fentanyl, a University of B.C. study shows.

The findings, based on self-reports over three years by 1,152 people about their drug use and pain, suggest cannabis might serve as a proxy for illicit opioids. The researchers did the study among marginalized residents of the Downtown Eastside, some of them injection drug users, to see if cannabis might be a potential alternative for opioids in a neighbourhood that’s been hit hard by the overdose epidemic.

The findings were reported in the publication PLOS Medicine.

A medical marijuana user was turned away from an Ottawa Loblaw store, after a cashier refused to sell her beer, because the cashier said the customer smelled like cannabis.

Christie Southward uses marijuana for back pain and anxiety, but she had not been using when she went shopping at the McArthur Avenue Loblaw this week.

“At first I thought he was joking and he was very serious”, Southward told CTV Ottawa.

 “I was getting my groceries, and when it came to my alcohol, the cashier stopped and said he will not sell it to me because I smelled like pot”, she said.

Southward says she had not used marijuana that day, and believes the cashier smelled it on her jacket.

A preliminary study continues to support evidence that CBD can be used as an alternative method to treat different kinds of seizures.

CBD’s positive effects on seizures has been supported by several different studies, and stands as the most definitive medicinal benefit of the compound. A new study found that CBD might also help with hard-to-treat seizures produced by a rare genetic disorder.

Of the many things we have learned from almost 100 years of drug prohibition, it is obvious to all but the most ideological that public health education and the cultivation of norms for responsible use of potentially toxic substances are more effective tools for the management of complex policy problems — particularly those that involve human appetites — than the hammer of law enforcement, courts and prisons.

The legalization of cannabis has shown Canadians that public policy can trade a big problem — the mass criminalization of racialized and inner-city youth — for the slightly smaller, more manageable ones that concern safe and responsible consumption of a regulated substance.

Cannabis has long been used to alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, but which cannabinoid is most effective has always been up for debate.

Today we will focus on Cannabigerol, or CBG, and the different reasons why it’s an excellent option for treating depression. According to the World Health Organization, depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 264 million people worldwide. Depression is a leading cause of disability as well as a major contributor to the overall poor health.

People adore coffee, and most of us are pretty dependant on it.

Coffee is one of the world’s most traded commodities, the most widely used legal psychoactive substance, and its impact on the modern way of life is simply undeniable.

A fresh cup of Joe is a source of flavor and enjoyment, but the core reason why people indulge in coffee is because of the invigorating effects it produces.

The main active ingredient in coffee (found also in the majority of teas and soft drinks) is caffeine, a powerful compound responsible for the energizing sensations we experience.

While caffeine is a strictly stimulating substance, cannabis is considered as both a stimulant and a depressant.

By conservative estimates, at least 54 million American adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation, and many of them are turning to cannabis to treat their painful symptoms, inflammation, and mood swings. And it's working.