Canadian medical marijuana patients buzz in anticipation of legalization

Marijuana is already legal in Canada for licensed patients—but many of them still experience barriers to access, and social stigma.

Legalization could change this. Increased dialogue about marijuana could improve information afforded to the public, doctors and patients.

Anna “Ania” Bula, 28, has been a medical marijuana patient for two years. She already feels isolated by her chronic pain caused by Crohn’s disease. Her choice to medicate with marijuana increases her isolation.

“Legalization would make it possible for me to smoke in other places,” she said “Not just at home.”

Social stigma still exists, and the laws are hazy for medical marijuana patients.

“I would really like to go outside and medicate if I need to, without being accosted by someone, or without having to worry about being kicked out of where I am because I’m taking marijuana,” said Bula.

“I would really like to go outside and medicate if I need to, without being accosted by someone, or without having to worry about being kicked out of where I am because I’m taking marijuana,” said Bula.

When Bula has to smoke outside, like at an outdoor fair, she wears a shirt that says, “Ask me about my prescription.”

“It’s so when I go out and I’m taking my medicine, I can just point to my shirt,” said Bula, it’s easier that way.

Each time Bula leaves the house, she has to ask herself whether it is safe to medicate where she’s going. Many times, the answer is no, causing her to stay home from social events. Bula needs to medicate constantly to keep her extreme pain at bay, which can be difficult when she tries to get out of the house to see friends.

“You can’t smoke on private property,” she said.

“I don’t know when I’m on private property or when I’m not,” said Bula.

She hopes legalization would alleviate this problem.

Bula is in full support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s proposed marijuana legalization. She believes legalization will lead to better access for users, and clearer laws for people already using medical marijuana.

Marijuana legalization has been made a priority under Trudeau’s new Liberal government. Legalization under the Liberals seeks to better regulate the industry and restrict access to youth.

It is unclear whether patients will be able to grow their own medicine, or whether marijuana producers licensed by Health Canada will continue to be the only suppliers under a new legalization model.

Canada should look towards examples like Colorado, who legalized marijuana in three years ago, said Bula.

She visited Colorado and said it’s like buying craft beer. You can access the marijuana you want, smoke it where you want, and are served by highly educated and open people.

While medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001, full-blown legalization would have a marked impact on patients already legally smoking up across the country.

Bula also believes legalization will have a positive impact on the access prospective patients will have to medical marijuana.

She uses marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, a condition that causes severe inflammation in her digestive system, causing extreme and unpredictable pain. At times, her pain is so bad that she becomes house bound.

Bula recalls the first time she used marijuana to medicate.

At first Bula was medicating illegally, getting marijuana from who she called her “stoner roommate.”

“It was the first time I had eaten dinner in weeks. It was amazing,” said Bula. “It was the first time that I could go to the bathroom without being in pain. It was pretty overwhelming how much it helped.”

Bula lights her afternoon joint, ironically rolled in a cigarette paper.

The first time Bula approached her doctor about using marijuana as medicine he said no.

“At first I was upset, and you accept it because they’re trained and they’re the expert,” said Bula. “But, the more research I was doing the more I realize that marijuana could help me.”

Bula went back to her doctor to ask why he had denied signing a prescription for her.

“He said that I’d really like to give you a prescription, but I can’t. I can only prescribe to people who have cancer,” said Bula

Bula’s doctor did not know that he could prescribe marijuana to patients with any chronic pain condition under the current law. So, she presented her doctor with studies linking medical marijuana to the remission of Crohn’s disease.

Once Bula’s doctor reviewed the studies, he did eventually write her a prescription for medical marijuana.

John Akpata is a marijuana activist and Marijuana Party of Canada veteran. He believes the problem Bula faced is a common one.

“The government wouldn’t give you a marijuana licence for a headache or glaucoma, or back pain, you had to be dying,” said Akpata. “I know that a licensing system is just another system of control, it’s another system of prohibition, it’s another system of exclusion.”

Admittedly, access to medical marijuana has increased since 2014, when the regulations surrounding medical marijuana became more open, but patient access is still inconsistent.

Patients no longer have to go through Health Canada to become an approved medical marijuana patient. They now only have to be approved by their physician to get access to their chosen medicine. Doctors are now the primary gatekeepers to medical marijuana in Canada, but many don’t have the training or knowledge to prescribe the drug.

Angelo Muscari, manager of Ottawa’s National Access Cannabis branch insists that more education for doctors is needed.

“It’s hard for doctors right now,” said Muscari. “I think in their defence they feel a little frustrated, because they were never properly educated or trained on something that’s taking off. So, I think that they kind of feel left behind.”

“It’s hard for doctors right now,” said Muscari. “I think in their defence they feel a little frustrated, because they were never properly educated or trained on something that’s taking off. So, I think that they kind of feel left behind.”

That’s why patients like Bula showed up to the doctor’s office with research in hand.

National Access Cannabis holds informational sessions for any doctor interested in learning more about medical marijuana.

“The ones who are willing to learn have approached us, and the ones who are a little bitter about the situation, kind of shut the door,” said Muscari.

The process for getting a medical marijuana licence is easier, but only five+ per cent of Canadian doctors have actually prescribed marijuana to patients, according to National Access Cannabis.

Bula has now been afforded the right to take her medicine legally by Health Canada. She rolls two joints a day, one to smoke in the morning and the other at night.

Bula acknowledges the freedom, but in the same breath, is still fearful of those who do not understand.

She has had the police called on her twice for taking medical marijuana in her own apartment.

“It was my upstairs neighbour,” Bula said. “They didn’t even knock on my door first, they just called the cops.”

Bula makes sure to tell every landlord that she has had that she is a medical marijuana user. She has to. If she doesn’t let them know Bula risks getting the police called, not finding her licence and being hauled to jail. If arrested, she would be evicted from her apartment.

“This creates a source of anxiety,” she says.

Bula relies on disability payments to live. If she got evicted, she wouldn’t be able to pay with first and last month’s rent for a new place.

A culture in which marijuana is legalized will erode the blurred lines of legality that impact medical marijuana users daily.

It is still unclear what marijuana reform will look like under the new Liberal government.

Trudeau outlined to the Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould in a mandate letter, that she would work closely with the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Ralph Goodale, and the Minister of Health, Jane Philpott, “to create a federal-provincial-territorial process that will lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana.”

The timeline is still unclear for when new legislation would be passed amending the current Criminal Code, which currently classifies marijuana as an illegal drug for non-licensed medical patients.

Until then, Bula and others wait on stand-by for more clear boundaries and improved access.