Lindsay laid on the couch at her Nova Scotia home, hours after receiving her monthly cancer treatment, and waited for the side effects to kick in. 

Aches, pains, upset stomach, nausea and cramps are just some of her symptoms from the hormone suppressant. 

Normally Lindsay, who asked to be identified by only her first name for legal purposes, would place a drop of cannabis oil under her tongue and go about her day. 

But Lindsay has been left to find her own supply or suffer through the pain after CannTrust, her medical cannabis provider, placed a voluntary hold on its products in early July while undergoing a review by Health Canada. On Sept. 17, Health Canada suspended CannTrust’s licence. 

“I’m stuck and I know I’m just going to have to work through the pain,” Lindsay said.

“Everything is left up to my husband. He’s working 12-hour shifts and then he has to come home and then has to deal with the family on top of everything else and a wife that can’t really do anything.” 

In order to switch medical cannabis providers, Health Canada requires the patient to obtain a new medical document from a health-care practitioner. Lindsay’s prescription is up for renewal within the next month and she plans to talk to her doctor about switching providers. 

In the meantime, other pain medication is an option, but it’s not an option Lindsay wants to try again.

Lindsay was prescribed morphine after she entered remission from Stage 3 breast cancer.

“They gave me pain medication, like morphine or hydromorphone or something along those lines, and then they told me, ‘You’re in pain? Take more. You’ll be fine,’ and that bothered me,” she said. 

“I didn’t want to be so oblivious to daily activities by being on pills.” 

In early 2018, Lindsay met with her oncologist to discuss alternative pain medications and was given a prescription for medical cannabis. 

She ordered her products online through her medical cannabis provider for a while but was struggling to dish out $90 each prescription without her insurance chipping in, so she started going to an illegal dispensary. 

“They were selling it at a price that’s affordable for someone that’s on disability, so I kept going to them,” Lindsay said.

That was until the police raided and shut down the dispensary, causing Lindsay to turn to the NSLC.

“When I go to the NSLC, it’s self-medication and I know I could be arrested because I have a prescription,” she said. 

Lindsay said she knows other people who purchase cannabis for medical reasons from the NSLC or an illegal dispensary. And they’re not alone. 

About 20 per cent of Canadian men aged 15 years or older that used cannabis said they used it for medical purposes, but not all had a prescription, according to a Statistics Canada data from the first half of 2019.  

In a recent study, researchers at the University of California San Diego suggest recreational cannabis legalization may have reduced Schedule III opioid use. Schedule III is defined by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration as “drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” 

Alaska, D.C. and Oregon implemented recreational cannabis legalization in 2015 and saw a reduction of roughly 30 per cent in the number of prescriptions, total doses and spending of Schedule III opioids by Medicaid enrollees, the study found. 

“Schedule III opioids are often used to treat mild to moderate pain symptoms, for which marijuana is suggested to also be effective,” the study reads. 

In a 2016 focus group, researchers with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse noted that teenagers with high stress and anxiety were self-medicating with cannabis. 

While more people are self-medicating with cannabis, mental health and addictions clinicians with the Nova Scotia Health Authority said they haven’t seen an increase in cannabis users as most clients already use cannabis, a spokeswoman said. 

Beverley Ware, NSLC spokeswoman, said customers seeking medical recommendations on products has been one of the biggest issues the Crown Corporation's had since rolling out cannabis in its stores.

The NSLC was appointed by the provincial government to be the province’s recreational cannabis retailer and its employees aren’t allowed to give medical advice on its products.

“If you say, ‘I have a sore back,’ or something, we wouldn’t address issues like that, but we can talk about the types of products that would provide the experience that you’re looking for,” Ware said. 

Ware said customers seeking medical cannabis should be going through Health Canada, as “it is the only body that can fill a prescription.” 

But in Lindsay’s case, she’s not sure where else to turn. 

“The recreational product from the NSLC isn’t the same, but I’m buying it so I can walk and function like a normal human being,” she said, admitting it’s not much cheaper than buying from her medical cannabis provider. 

“Every time I go to the NSLC for medical reasons, it’s a risk, but it’s what I have to do. I’m not doing it so I can get high. I’m doing it so I can walk.” 

RECREATIONAL ACCESS

In person:
• Go to authorized retailer.
• Show proof of age and buy.

Online:
• Go to authorized dealer's website.
• Order desired product(s).
• Show proof of age to delivery person.

MEDICINAL ACCESS

• See health-care practitioner.
• Get prescription for medical cannabis provider from health-care practitioner.
• Register with a licensed producer by filling out forms and providing medical document.
• Order from provider.

232
Number of licensed cannabis producers in Canada.

20
Number of licensed producers in Atlantic Canada. The breakdown: N.S. 9, N.B. 6, P.E.I. 3, N.L. 2. Source: Health Canada

3
Number suspended by Health Canada for violating terms of license.