Did you know that Canada is the largest per capita consumer of prescription opioids? We are closely followed by the USA, which is no big surprise, but the countries rounding out the top 5 may be surprising: Denmark, Australia and Switzerland.
Unfortunately, we have a lot more in common with our Australian compatriots than having the Queen on our money: they too are facing an opioid crisis with opioid-related deaths up 114% since 2006.
Encouragingly, the Australian Government appears to be taking steps to explore reasonable opioid-alternatives and recently announced a $3 million research grant to investigate the use of cannabinoids to help cancer patients. Building on this momentum, I was excited to be invited to Australia for two weeks, where I met with pain, cancer, addiction and geriatric specialists, as well as primary care physicians, pharmacists and nurses in Sydney and Melbourne. Together we shared learnings and best practice and I provided in-depth training in cannabinoid-based medicine to help increase understanding amongst the Australian medical community.
Sharing my experiences with other practitioners, so that more patients can benefit, is one of the best parts of my job. I’m proud to be playing a small role in the evolution of medical cannabis in another part of the world and can’t wait to get back there and see how everyone’s making out.
The Sydney Harbour, October 2019
