Should Stash Club members be allowed access to Health Canada System?

As OG members know, our staff and leadership team thrives on feedback. Understanding that perfection is a foolish pursuit we employ the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen which is an iterative approach to working and reworking improvements so that, if we can’t be perfect, at least we can be improving. Since relaunching into the legal medical world we have been subject to criticism. Some of it totally fair as we adjust to new systems and ecosystems. We know we can’t make everyone happy, but there was a comment forwarded to me from a cohort that I thought would make for a great blog post.

Essentially, we had someone suggest that we be shut down by Health Canada for promoting “Bro Culture” and the "MoMification" of Health Canada’s medical system. Essentially, this individual's argument is we are not taking the health of people seriously enough and therefore should be banned from accessing the legal market.

This topic has been discussed at length around the office, with some differing opinions. One thing we all agree on is that it is undeniable that modern medical cannabis' roots can be directly traced back to recreational cannabis, and by virtue, cannabis culture. We are the first to admit, that is where we all started our journey with cannabis. Whether it was smoking weed out of a pop can behind your high school, or being passed a joint at a party, the vast majority of people's introduction to cannabis was recreational in a social setting. Over the years, many of these same folks who first tried cannabis out of a pop can are the same people who helped cannabis get to where is it is today; a government recognised and regulated medicine.

The next point we must consider is, should the imagery and essence of medical cannabis take a more sterile and pedestrian approach? Taking it away from its roots as a social and fun promoting medicine. What we can tell you, from our 8 years of servicing Canadians from all walks of life, is that many people DO like our approach. We've had cancer patients reach out to thank us for being different and accessible - no body likes being dependant on our western medical system. The sterile environments, bright lights and lab coats is designed to cave our lives very well. But if you are in an extended care situation it is easy to understand that this environment can be hard to rest and heal in. The mental strain and heart heaviness is a rutouine complaint we get from our members. We've had countless folks with crippling anxiety tell us stories of consuming cannabis and overcoming social issues, or members who were finally able to get out of bed and clean their house after smoking their first true Saliva strain. If that isn't "cool", then I don't know what is!

Let's think about the alternative; Stash Club's website and marketing taking the pharmaceutical approach. "Try marijuana today! Side effects include dry mouth, paranoia, fits of laughter, insatiable hunger... Ask your doctor if Marijuana is right for you!" Although this could be a good skit, this just isn't who we are.

We love helping people feel better without the use of pharmaceuticals. We love helping people sleep, we love helping people eat when they have no appetite, we love helping people manage their pain... and we also love helping people feel good, have a few laughs and have a fun time! Can't cannabis be medical, but fun at the same time? We certainly think so. And just to drive home the point of how medical-oriented we have always been, here are some of the accomplishments from the past work we have done in the past 8 years. We managed $5 Million in research and development of plant-based alternative medicines, treatments and products. Some results of that work include the following:

     - Fielded over 300,000 public inquiries to help people learn more about Cannabis

     - Facilitated over 3,000,000 online interactions between members discussing and learning from each other about cannabis.

     - Every week we work with families suffering from Parkinson’s, MS, and cancer.

     - Worked with Canadian epilepsy associations designing and providing treatments that the government deemed illegal at the time; then taxed and regulated to the point that anyone suffering from severe epilepsy could not find affordable treatments available on the regulated market. For three years, at no expense to a group of single moms, we deigned treatments for their children.

     - Connected a wide range of alternative healers to Canadians all over the country - Our club helped many Canadians suffering from age-related conditions or not being able to rest and sleep well.

     - One big thing we learned is that huge amounts of Canadians of all shapes, colors and creeds are suffering from anxiety and depression. We believe this is the major pandemic of our time.

Even today our team works every day in urban centres such as the downtown east side of Vancouver and in small town Canada creating safe, stigma-free and enjoyable spaces where more the 2 million people have been able to explore cannabis culture and share time together.

In closing, we feel it's important to remember that life is so hard that no one survives it; why not make it as enjoyable as possible? Are we going to be able to smoke our problems away? No, but generally our country needs to explore ways to reframe issues, chill out and, enjoy life together.