“A lot of us have come off of our own addiction because of cannabis,” Backer said. “So it’s one of those things that if you know it works, how can you not help people with it?”

A study set in Vancouver and published earlier this year in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed scientific and medical journal, found that for some street youth, cannabis is a “reverse gateway drug.”

The study was conducted from 2017 to 2019 and focused on 56 “street-involved youth” in Vancouver. Young people “may use cannabis to reduce the harms caused by other forms of substance use and in order to transition away from more harmful forms of substance use,” it found.

“I’ve been sleeping on the beach for three months. I smoke a lot of weed. And then I don’t have sadness,” 19-year-old Jeremiah told researchers. “My environment is still sad, but smoking weed helps me a lot. That’s very, like, therapeutic for me. And it just lets me, like, keep going.”

A recent study from the University of Victoria also found that medical cannabis consumption led to a reduction or even discontinuation of alcohol use for individuals seeking to cut back on drinking. The study, which was done in partnership with cannabis company Tilray, found that medical cannabis consumers also cut back on tobacco and nicotine, opioids and other prescription drugs.

In Halifax, Backer says his group, which is a registered non-profit, would be out more than once a week if they had the resources to allow it.

“The kits, in my opinion, don’t last a week for most people,” he said. “But for a lot of people that are battling heavier addiction, I mean, stronger doses than what I’m providing would be better.”