Pain Management for the Young Adult Rheumatology Patient in an Era of Medicinal Marijuana Legalization.

The Challenges of Projecting the Public Health Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Canada; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts”

A recent editorial in this journal provides a summary of key economic, social, and public health considerations of the forthcoming legislation to legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana in Canada. As our government plans to implement an evidence-based public health framework for marijuana legalization, we reflect and expand on recent discussions of the public health implications of...

The dilemma of medical marijuana use by rheumatology patients.

“Severe pain” is the most common reason for medicinal herbal cannabis use, with arthritis and musculoskeletal pain cited as the most prevalent specific medical condition (1,2). Eighty percent of marijuana users in a US pain clinic report use for myofascial pain, whereas up to one-third of persons in population studies in the UK and Australia reported use for treatment of arthritis pain (1–3). S...

Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts

Notwithstanding a century of prohibition, marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in Canada. Due to the growing public acceptance of recreational marijuana use and ineffectiveness of the existing control system in Canada, the issue surrounding legalizing this illicit drug has received considerable public and political attentions in recent years. Consequently, the newly elected Liber...

Legalizing Marijuana in Canada — A Double-Edged Sword: A Response to Recent Commentaries

The Devil Is in the Details! On Regulating Cannabis Use in Canada Based on Public Health Criteria; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts”

This commentary to the editorial of Hajizadeh argues that the economic, social and health consequences of legalizing cannabis in Canada will depend in large part on the exact stipulations (mainly from the federal government) and on the implementation, regulation and practice of the legalization act (on provincial and municipal levels). A strict regulatory framework is necessary to minimize the ...