Opinion: AU/NZ College of Anaesthetists Position Statement On the Use of Medicinal Cannabis

My opinion on the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists position statement on the use of medical cannabis for non-cancer chronic pain: Unbalanced, uninformed and hypocritical.

Last week, the Faculty of Pain Management at the Australian and New Zealand’s College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) published guidance for health practitioners recommending against the prescription of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP). We’ve seen a number of similar reviews over the last few years in both Australia and Canada and they continue to follow the same playbook. I weigh-in on the latest one in this video. I also encourage you to check out the balanced and very well-researched analysis written by Rhys Cohen here: https://www.cannabiz.com.au/medicinal-cannabis-and-chronic-pain-absence-of-evidence-is-not-evidence-of-absence/

Remember: “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

Medical Cannabis and Long-Term Care

When assessing under what circumstances the Government and private insurers should #CoverCannabis, residents living in long term care facilities would be a great place to start. These people have been through so much over the last year--particularly those living with dementia, as the prolonged isolation and disruption to their routines can lead to increased behavioural and psychological symptoms.

Medical cannabis offers a safe & effective multimodal medication that can improve quality of life amongst LTC residents in a range of medical scenarios, including dementia, chronic pain, insomnia and mental health--but the cost is precluding too many seniors from accessing this treatment. We must do better for our most vulnerable citizens.

Special thanks to my colleague Kelly Batson, Manager, Resident Care, Education and Operations at Steeves & Rozema’s Trillium Villa for her vision, leadership and sharing her experience.