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Cannabis Topicals Ban Coming to Quebec?

Samantha Rose Gold
Samantha Rose Gold

Provincial Ban on Cannabis Topicals and Edibles Will Hurt Patients, Says One Woman – LPC

Ban on cannabis topicals will hurt patients with chronic pain, says Montreal womanWhen Canada legalizes cannabis topicals, edibles, and extracts on October 17, 2019, Quebec may opt out from many products. Lionel Carmant, junior health minister in ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party, said the ban would be to protect children. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that cannabis edibles safety is a concern. Cannabis topicals, though, should simply not be in sold recreationally, Carmant said.

“The topical creams are usually a medicinal use, so we don’t think they should be sold at the SQDC (Société québécoise du cannabis),” Carmant said.

Samantha Gold disagrees. She suffers from chronic back pain caused by from osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis and three herniated disks.

Though most of her pain is on the left side of her back, she Gold also suffers from nerve damage on her right side. Currently, she treats it with caffeine, opioids, and medical cannabis. She wanted to try the cannabis topicals when they became available – something that may not happen now.

“If they want chronic pain patients to cut their opioid use, then they need to make alternative treatments available,” Gold said. “To just ban it arbitrarily without having pain patients in the conversation is not very fair to us.”

Do Topicals Even Work for Pain Relief? – LPC

Like most things connected to medical cannabis, there is debate about whether cannabis topicals even work. Dr. Yoram Shir, who works in a pain management program at McGill University, said there is “no real data supporting its use.”

“On the other hand, anecdotal reports indicate it might be useful, and I carefully agree with the notion that it might be found beneficial,” Shir said. There are several cannabis research projects underway including one involving NHL players using opioids for pain medication.

Meanwhile in the US, topical CBD products are already being sold at CVS Pharmacy. Even Martha Stewart is helping create hemp-derived CBD products in partnership with Canopy Growth.

Cannabis edibles legalization – which include cannabis topicals – will be legalized on October 17, 2019. However, companies will have to submit products they plan to sell. Effectively, that means they won’t hit the market until at least mid-December.

This editorial content from the LPC News Editor is meant to provide analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below.

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