July 10, 2015 - by Cam Battley, Vice President Communications and Corporate Development

For more than a year, Canada has had a federally-regulated medical cannabis regime. It's a system unique in the world - tightly regulated by Health Canada, market-based with multiple competing licensed producers, and arguably represents Canadian leadership in an emerging area of medical research and treatment. Our national medical cannabis system works well, specifically because it treats cannabis as medicine.

But not everyone agrees. The Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente thinks it's misleading to call cannabis medicine ("Medical marijuana is a charade ", July 7). Ms. Wente and others who scoff at the medical use of cannabis are incorrect. Let's look at some basic facts about medical cannabis, and how it differs from the recreational use of "street marijuana".

First, the evidence. There is a large and growing body of clinical data regarding the potential benefits, as well as the risks and side effects of cannabis as medicine. These studies are small, typically involving dozens of patients, as opposed to the thousands of patients enrolled in big clinical trials sponsored by large pharmaceutical companies seeking approval of a standard prescription drug. Because cannabis is a plant, and can't be patented, no company can invest the 10 years and roughly one billion dollars it takes to bring cannabis to market in the conventional way. But all those smaller studies over the years, in aggregate, have told us some useful things about how cannabis works, and what it can and cannot do for patients.

Cannabis is not a miracle drug. It doesn't cure cancer, and there's no solid evidence that it is a "disease modifying therapy", such as an antibiotic or a drug that acts to lower blood pressure. However, multiple studies have shown it to be beneficial in helping patients manage the symptoms of a range of health conditions. And this is an area of enormous unmet medical need. Specialist physicians will testify to the fact that they have patients with chronic pain, certain anxiety disorders, intractable seizures from epilepsy, or conditions like fibromyalgia, for which none of the standard prescription drugs provide sufficient relief - or the patients simply can't tolerate the side effects of conventional therapies.

My company and other Canadian licensed producers have thousands of registered patients who will tell you that using regulated, properly labeled medical cannabis, under their doctor's supervision, has helped them manage the symptoms of their condition, and allowed them to function better. To me, that's a fair standard of evidence when it comes to symptom control: If a patient tells you it's working - their pain is reduced; their anxiety is less; they are sleeping better - you have to take them at their word. And, I'd argue, you have to treat them with seriousness and respect, not write them off as part of a "charade".

Ms. Wente is incorrect, too, when she states that "the people who promote and sell the stuff can make any claims they want about it". In fact, licensed producers are prohibited by Health Canada from making claims to patients about efficacy or specific disease indications. Whether to try medical cannabis, and which strain to use to manage symptoms of a given condition, are decisions patients make themselves, in consultation with a doctor.

Cannabis is a plant that has medicinal properties. There is a regulatory system overseeing its medical use. There is evidence it works, when it is regulated for quality control and proper labeling, and when it is used in appropriate doses by legitimate patients, under a doctor's care. Patients say it alleviates their symptoms where other treatments have not. What exactly do you call a substance like that? I call it "medicine". So should we all.

Cam Battley is Vice President, Communications and Corporate Development for Bedrocan Canada, which produces standardized, pharmaceutical grade medical cannabis, under license by Health Canada.

distributed by