Cannabis is constantly growing as a popular option for medical treatments due to its beneficial and diverse treatment option pool.
Currently, many countries have adopted regulatory medical cannabis legislation to treat conditions such as cancer, chronic pain, depression, arthritis, epilepsy, Tourette’s, and many others.
Nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many others have all moved to adopt cannabis for medical applications. Overall, the number of countries that have already moved to legalize cannabis on some level has prompted other countries to consider cannabis for medicinal use as well.
According to data compiled by Imarc Group, the global medical cannabis market was estimated to become more than USD 11 Billion in 2017. By 2023, the market is expected to reach USD 37 Billion, registering a CAGR of 22% during the forecast period. The medical marketplace is expected to continuously accelerate, pending research and development. MediPharm Labs Corp. (OTC: MLCPF) (TSX-V: LABS), Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYNE), Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CWBHF) (CSE: CWEB), Level Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LEVB), Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. (OTC: HRVSF) (CSE: HARV)
In the medical field, healthcare facilities prescribe patients with specific drugs to treat their conditions. Most commonly, in the U.S., patients are prescribed with drugs such as hydrocodone, acetaminophen, levothyroxine, gabapentin, and others.
Most of these drugs have similar results, such they are highly addictive and cause serious side effects. Unlike these common prescription drugs however, Imarc’s research suggests that cannabis is much safer and has less severe side effects. For instance, cannabis is very effective at reducing nausea while also building appetite among chemotherapy patients.
Similarly, cannabis is also being used as an alternative to opioids because it significantly reduces the dosage and frequency of use of opioids. Patients are commonly ingesting cannabis through forms such as flowers, oils, foods, extracts and capsules.
“We would ask a doctor to certify as they would with another medical condition, that the patient has a condition for which an opioid has been prescribed or could be prescribed in the ordinary course of care,” said Illinois State Sen. Don Harmon, who advocated for medical cannabis adoption. “There’s talk of medical cannabis being addicting; I don’t know if that’s true. I do know that opioids are addicting and we’re seeing the ravishing costs of that right now. I’m perfectly comfortable offering this as an alternative course of treatment.”
MediPharm Labs Corp. (OTCQB: MLCPF) (TSX-V: LABS) is also listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker (TSX-V: LABS). Earlier last week the company announced breaking cannabis news that, “its wholly-owned subsidiary, MediPharm Labs Inc. (“MediPharm Labs” or the “Company”), has entered into its first definitive international sales agreement, dated February 20, 2019, with AusCann Group Holdings Ltd. (“AusCann”) to supply private label purified, pharmaceutical grade cannabis oil concentrates, or resin, from MediPharm Labs’ own inventory of oil for export to Australia. AusCann will use MediPharm Labs’ concentrates to manufacture hard-shell cannabinoid capsules to address the medical patient demand and critical need for precision and consistency of dose in cannabinoid medicines.
“MediPharm Labs has quickly established a global reputation as the go-to producer of high quality, pharmaceutical grade cannabis concentrates at commercial scale. We are thrilled to have been selected by AusCann as a supplier of choice for their medical products and clinical trials,” said Patrick McCutcheon, Chief Executive Officer of MediPharm Labs. “As the first extraction-only LP to begin exporting to Australia, this agreement marks an important milestone that accelerates our expectations for future growth. Looking ahead, we expect to begin supplying additional international markets to build our robust global distribution platform.”
