Shoppers Drug Mart strikes deal with Aurora Cannabis

By Nicole Neuts

 

Patients who rely on medical marijuana will now be able to access it through Shoppers Drug Mart’s online store.

The pharmacy chain first applied for a dispensary license through Health Canada in October 2016 and was approved in December 2017. Shoppers Drug Mart has now reached a business deal with Aurora Cannabis.

Nicole Hanson, a patient who recently started to use medical marijuana for post operation pain, approves of the business move.

“I highly agree with the movement of Shoppers joining Aurora,” said Hanson. “Waiting for a delivery seems odd. What if my neighbour knows I’m waiting for it? What if I’m asleep when they attempt to deliver?”

Hanson has been using medical marijuana for just five days and says her pain, which should have been tremendous post-operation, has been minimal.

“I believe that cannabis has massive medical benefits. I have done lots of my own research,” said Hanson. “I don’t believe in recreational use and I hope that it will be more acceptable in the medical world.”

Medical marijuana is offered in many forms such as cooking oil, oil drops, baked goods and a vaporized form. Partnering with Shoppers, Aurora Cannabis will now be able to extend their business and their product nationwide.

“Partnering with Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada’s largest pharmacy retailer, is yet another validation of the scale and maturity of our company and of the demand for Aurora’s medical cannabis,” Aurora Cannabis CEO and founder, Terry Booth told Global News.

According to greenrelief.ca, getting high on medical marijuana depends on the compound and strain. There are two strains of cannabis. One compound is called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – this strain gets you high.  The other strain contains a compound known as cannabidiol (CBD), which does not get you high. Most doctors prescribe the CBD strain although some might prescribe the THC strain, but in lower amounts.

Anecdotal stories from patients credit medical marijuana with reducing epileptic seizures, severe forms of turrets, anxiety, depression and some say it can even kill cancerous cells.

While many physicians prescribe medical marijuana for their patients, some members of the medical community say they are not yet convinced that it does what patients say it does. Health Canada data shows the number of clients registered with licensed medical marijuana producers jumped to more than 200,000 in June 2017, about 2.7 times greater than the 75,166 people registered around the same time last year. Registrations tripled in both 2016 and 2015.

Health Canada published an information bulletin on their website for medical professionals about the benefits and harms of medical marijuana, along with a disclaimer that cannabis is not an approved therapeutic product they endorse.