Cannabis and Pregnancy; Is it Harmful?
Introduction Since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada and several US States, it’s use in pregnancy has increased. In the US its estimated cannabis use during pregnancy has increased from 1.95% to 7%1. The question on many people’s mind is; how does cannabis affect the baby during pregnancy and breastfeeding? Is it a positive […]
Therapeutic Value of Cannabis Terpenes
Introduction The therapeutic value of cannabis is becoming more understood by healthcare professionals as research is continually published. However, one area of cannabis that is lacking strong studies is terpenes. Terpenes are molecules found in plants and cannabis that help create unique aroma and flavours. There is some research, largely in animal and test tube […]
Cannabis and Psychosis – What you should know
The Author’s Background I am a psychiatric pharmacist that works in the emergency department of one of the largest mental health hospitals in North America. I work extensively with the patient population susceptible to psychosis. I will be using my experience along with clinical data to provide some background on cannabis and it’s relationship with […]
Cannabis Creams – Do They Work?
Cannabinoid topicals are an exciting area of cannabis treatment that is gaining a lot of interest. Many patients find topicals to be less intimidating compared to inhaling or ingesting cannabis because of how easy creams and ointments are to use. However, the caveat is that there has been relatively minimal research in this area, so […]
Can Cannabis Cause Psychosis? Thoughts of a Psychiatric Pharmacist
(Update) For the latest and most robust blog on this topic check out: Cannabis and Psychosis – What you should know Cannabis induced psychosis is a volatile topic on the internet with many divisive opinions about the subject. One argument that has been gaining momentum on social media platforms claim that cannabis induced psychosis is […]
Brilliant, Benign or Bust: What is CBD and is it useful medicinally?
CBD (cannabidiol) has taken more of the cannabis spotlight as it has gained popularity among patients for its therapeutic potential and minimal side effects. CBD is an isolated compound from cannabis that can be used for many ailments such as insomnia, pain, anxiety, epilepsy etc. However, much of the information available online fails to evaluate […]
The Good Ol’ Reliable: How Vape Pens Compare to Traditional Cannabis Vaporizers
Vape pens have been getting a lot of negative press recently due to reports of these devices causing lung damage, hospitalizations, and death. The issue is that vape pens can be confused with traditional cannabis vaporizers since many news articles have not done a good job differentiating them. It is important that Canadians know the […]
Recreational Cannabis – No Prescription Necessary
Cannabis is a complicated and evolving topic in the medical community. Its fundamentally different than traditional prescription therapy since it can be used medicinally and recreationally. And therein lies the rub, can recreationally sourced cannabis be used for medical purposes? Technically yes, however, there are several key factors to consider before you start self-medicating with […]
Medical Cannabis – Assurance of Insurance
It’s not surprising to see prescription cannabis consumption decline with the emergence of recreational cannabis. A recent report from Health Canada showed that monthly sales of medical cannabis have fallen by 25% from October 2018 to June 2019. Clearly consumers don’t want to jump through hoops to source their cannabis via prescription, when it’s easily accessible […]
