Cannabis for Medical Purposes Program

Physicians wishing to authorize medical cannabis for a patient must register with CPSA as a cannabis authorizer. This can be done via expressing interest to the Cannabis for Medical Purposes program at CPSA through an email or the online form on this page. There are no educational or experiential pre-requisites.

The use of medical cannabis is no different than any other therapy that may be considered as part of a patient’s overall care and deserves the same care and attention as any other diagnostic or management decision. The family physician is often (usually) in the best position to provide comprehensive care for their patients, as s/he is aware of the patient’s medical conditions and can counsel the patient about the relative risks and benefits of a proposed therapeutic decision. If other specialists are considering authorizing cannabis, the same considerations apply.

Physicians are not obligated to authorize cannabis for medical purposes. Physicians must use their knowledge of the patient and evidence-based guidelines to decide whether or not to use (or approve) any therapy for a patient, recognizing that the best interest of the patient is paramount.

When physicians are employed by cannabis clinics merely to act as “authorizers”, the physician-patient relationship can be undermined. Physicians who work in cannabis clinics must comply with the standards of practice: Cannabis for Medical Purposes, Responsibility for a Medical Practice, Advertising, Patient Record Retention and Conflict of Interest and should be aware of their responsibilities before entering into this type of arrangement.
Individual physicians are responsible for:

• processes used to interview and counsel patients;
• advertising about the indications for medical cannabis;
• information provided about the products;
• clinic fees for providing services; and
• the accurate and secure documentation of the patient record.

If a physician cannot influence the factors above to comply with the standards of practice, s/he should not practice in this clinical setting.

Depending on the patient situation, medical history and clinical condition, the appropriate follow-up interval may vary from patient to patient. It is expected that physicians will assess risks for development of a cannabis use disorder at baseline and continue to monitor for this and safety of ongoing medical cannabis use periodically, at least once every six months. Refer to CPSA’s Cannabis for medical purposes standard of practice and related Advice document for more information.