Rec. Store Medicine Undocumented
The doctors, who encourage patients to go to recreational cannabis stores are demonstrating a careless, lazy way of practicing. It is no secret accessing medical cannabis is cumbersome. It is easier to go to a Rec. Store and due to this ease, many physicians tell their patients, to do just that. I have heard doctors say, “why come to me to get your pot, just walk down the street and buy it at the Rec. Store.” I fear most of those doctors who direct patients to the Rec. Store do not document the event, nor track the use, dose, and or the positive/negative effects of the product. I know of no other medicine which is treated this way.
I have visited many recreational outlets and have collected a lot of stories from the owners, managers, workers, and even customers. Gathering tales helps me learn how society is changing its perception of cannabis. I will record these stories with an understanding they may be published within an episode of Reefer Medness – The Podcast. With every visit, I ask this question, “do people come here to buy cannabis as medicine?” The answer is a resounding “yes!”
Sleeplessness is one of the top struggles facing society today. Back in the day, I remember how patients were prescribed, ‘a wee dram before bed.’ Physicians were known to suggest patients keep a bottle on the shelf, to help with sleep. I also remember reading through charts where this medical advice was well documented. Tracking alcohol consumption was, and still is, considered a standard of care, because many medications react poorly to alcohol. This is why doctors will document the alcohol use as part of the sleeplessness care planning.
Although brandy may help some people sleep, it is not a medicine. Whereas cannabis is considered a medicine and recent research suggests specific cannabinoids assist with sleep. Like all medicine, cannabis use should be documented within patients’ chart. And if the patient finds cannabis beneficial, then a pharmacist should complete a medication audit, which is done whenever a new pharmaceutical therapeutic is introduced into the health care plan.
These are the stories I hear at the Rec. Store, regarding cannabis for sleep medicine. The want-to-be medical cannabis patient will say to a budtender, “I am having difficulties sleeping and I hear cannabis can help.” The budtender will have the customer peruse the shelves where they will find products listed as “Deep Dreamz,” “Calm Drops,” and “Transquil.” Now comes the inevitable questions. The budtender is trained to sell product, not to give medical advice, but there is a work around. The knowledgeable budtender will share what they know about the product, probably from personal experience, while others will share how other customers have benefitted from using any given product. The new medical cannabis user has basically crowd-sourced how this “sleep aid” will help them with sleeplessness. They are not getting this information from a medical professional, therefore limited documentation is done in the chart. Without adequate documentation, a pharmacist doing an audit does not have a complete picture of the patients’ medication profile, leading to poor health care outcomes.
I think it is fair to say the Canadian Medical Association is not known to be an advocate of medical cannabis. From all appearances, they are slow to react to the changes happening within the medical cannabis space. An example is how the CMA policy, “Cannabis for Medical Purpose” was written close to a decade after the Canadian government legalized medical cannabis; closer scrutiny of the references also makes this policy suspect. I bet the organization supports those doctors who are directing people to the Rec. Store with no consideration how this is a dangerous and irresponsible practice. Although Nurse Practitioners are quite capable, physicians remain the political gatekeepers to the Canadian health care system. Their behaviours with immerging cannabis research and ignoring how society is changing its perspective, provides insights on how doctors may no longer deserve this privilege.
Although it should not be happening, budtenders are providing advice on the medical use of cannabis, which is technically illegal. The true irony is that many have a deeper education and understanding of cannabis than your average medical professional, so maybe the law needs to change. Yet, budtenders do not have medical education, are not registered as health care providers, and essentially, are not trained to see the bigger picture of care planning. When new research tells us some cannabinoids are better for sleep than a wee dram of brandy, it is a no brainer for people to try cannabis to help them sleep. So, why then are doctors so slow with catching up with how society is changing? Maybe a better question should be, ‘why are doctors not held responsible with having a better understanding of cannabinoid research and learning to apply this new research to their care planning?’
KN