There’s a lot going on in the world of healthcare right now, and many countries are struggling with their current systems due to lack of resources and overcrowded facilities. There’s a lot that’s up in the air at the moment, but one thing’s for sure: Canada seems to have it all figured out with its federal medical marijuana program, the ACMPR.
While medical marijuana has yet to be legalized on a federal level by the US government, Canada has been ahead of the game for over 2 decades. Starting in 2001, ACMPR members have been able to easily access medical marijuana from a local canna clinic, and they can even grow it from home.
This medical marijuana program has received a lot of feedback, both good and bad, but mostly good. Although not everyone agrees with the practice of using cannabis to treat medical conditions, there’s no denying that the ACMPR has done some wonderful things for Canada’s healthcare system over the years.
Basics of the ACMPR Program
Before going into the ways in which the ACMPR has made an impact on Canada’s healthcare system, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the program and its regulations. ACMPR is short for Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, and the entire concept behind it is to give Canadians easier access to medical weed (for those who need it, of course).
This program has been around in some form or another since the early 2000s, but it saw a brief relapse between 2014 and 2016 before being reinstated as the ACMPR. The program works by giving licenses to Canadians who apply and are able to provide proof (and doctor’s prescription) that medical marijuana is a necessary form of treatment.
Applicants either receive a license for accessing medical-grade cannabis from a licensed producer (like a canna clinic) or they’re given permission to grow their own plants from home. The type of license and number of allowed home-grown plants depends on the applicant’s preferences as well as the size of the medical professional’s prescription.
How Medical Marijuana Has Changed Canada’s Health Systems
The main impact that the ACMPR has had on Canada’s overall health systems is that it gives patients easier access to their medical marijuana needs. This is a massive deal for individuals who use marijuana for treatment of a specific medical condition.
Benefits to Cancer Patients
The main people who benefit from the ACMPR are cancer patients who are seeking relief from their symptoms. The symptoms of cancer are bad enough, but what’s even worse are the symptoms of cancer treatment. The list of side effects from chemo and radiation is a long one, and it includes everything from fatigue and nausea to depression and infection.
Cannabis has been proven to help drastically with alleviating some of these symptoms. On cannabis for cancer treatment, the National Cancer Institute even says that “cannabinoids may cause antitumor effects by various mechanisms, including induction of cell death, inhibition of cell growth, and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis invasion and metastasis.”
So not only can cannabis help with the symptoms of cancer and its common treatment routes, but it is thought to actually help reduce the size of tumors. But the best part of all is that cannabis is not just proven to help with cancer, but a whole bevy of medical conditions.
Cost Benefits to ACMPR Members
No matter how easy the access may be to medical marijuana, the cost of purchasing it from a licensed producer isn’t cheap. Even for patients who purchase their medicine in bulk can’t escape from the high prices that are tacked onto medical cannabis products these days. But the fact of the matter is that ACMPR growers don’t have to deal with this.
With an ACMPR license to grow, a license holder is legally allowed to grow a specific number of medical plants for personal use. These plants are to be consumed only by the license holder, and each ACMPR grower has a unique plant count based on his or her medical marijuana needs.
Not only does growing from home with an ACMPR license provide easy access to medical treatment involving cannabis, but it can also save patients a lot of money in the long run. Once the medical grow op is up and running, there’s very little cost involved to growing from home compared to purchasing medical weed from a licensed producer.
Whether you’re on board with the medical marijuana movement or not, it’s impossible to deny that the ACMPR has brought about some positive changes to Canada in relation to the health and well-being of its citizens.
