For Canadians suffering from chronic and terminal illnesses including severe pain, chronic inflammation due to arthritis or the nausea associated with chemotherapy, medical marijuana has become a well-recognized option for patients and doctors to try when conventional medicine just isn’t enough.
Health Canada licensed the first two companies under the new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations - Prairie Plant Systems Inc. and CanniMed Ltd.
“As the sole supplier to Health Canada for the last 13 years, patients and physicians have come to trust the safety and efficacy of the Prairie Plant Systems pharmaceutical-grade cannabis,” said Brent Zettl, CEO, Prairie Plant Systems. “We are very pleased to have been awarded the first two licenses under the new medical marijuana regulations.”
In addition to receiving a license for Prairie Plant Systems, today marks the launch of CanniMed Ltd., a subsidiary to Prairie Plant Systems, which will be the distribution and support hub for patients and physicians, as well as the brand name of the three pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products that will be made available as soon as physically possible – CanniMed® 17.1, CanniMed® 12.0 and CanniMed® 9.9.
About Medical Marijuana
Marijuana is the common name for the cannabis plant. The active ingredients, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), bind to chemical receptors in the human body, which appears to enhance some responses like appetite, and inhibiting others, such as pain and nausea. These effects are what make it potentially useful in treating certain medical conditions.
Scientific studies have begun to demonstrate some of the beneficial effects of cannabis treatment on chronic disease symptom management. Much more clinical research is required to fully understand the modes of action of the various cannabinoids and their effects on the human body.
Medical marijuana has been used for many conditions, including, but not limited to:
- Alleviating pain due to advanced cancer or rheumatoid arthritis
- Alleviating neuropathic pain common with patients with spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis
- Relieving nausea and reducing the incidence of vomiting
- Increasing food consumption and caloric intake with HIV/AIDS patients
About Prairie Plant Systems & CanniMed
Prairie Plant Systems has been the sole supplier of medical marijuana to Health Canada for the last 13 years and our pharmaceutical-grade cannabis is produced with the same standards and procedures as required of all pharmaceutical companies in Canada.
CanniMed Ltd. (www.cannimed.ca) is our distribution and support network for both patients and physicians and Prairie Plant Systems will continue to focus on research and development, conducting clinical trials and quality control.
“Patient safety is our primary focus, which means that patients and their healthcare professionals can trust our consistent and reliable product every time,” added Mr. Zettl. “We have a quality control process with 281 points of control, ensuring that there is no variability, giving patient’s confidence in dose consistency.”
We are committed to standardizing care by taking a leadership role in closing the gap between the anecdotal benefit of medical marijuana and evidenced-based scientific research. Our goal is to provide improved access for Canadians who rely on medical marijuana through scientific collaborations with external partners including academic institutions and healthcare professionals.
To date, the pharmaceutical grade cannabis produced by Prairie Plant Systems has been used in published clinical trial results demonstrating the efficacy of smoked cannabis for chronic pain.i Additional clinical trials are currently underway using different medical marijuana varieties, in controlled medical conditions.
Source: The Compassion Chronicles
