EKOSIHEALTH.COM

The Case for Medical Cannabis in Practice

Prepared for AFN, September, 2019PRESENTER:

• Dr. Shelley Turner, Ekosi Health, Founder & Chief Medical Officer

What I’ll Cover

• Brief Introduction

• About Ekosi Health

• The Case

• The Future

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Brief Introduction

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Background

Dr. Shelley Turner, MD CCFP, Founder & Chief Medical OfficerRaised in the rural community of Gimli, Manitoba, and a proud member of the Pimicikamak First Nation in Cross Lake, MB, Dr. Turner is regarded as a trailblazer in the medical cannabis community, specializing in cannabinoid therapies for addictions, sleep and mood disorders, and chronic pain. With over 17,000 patient interactions and a growing patient database, she is a leading clinical participant in McMaster University’s CANNabinoid Consumption and Study (DATACANN), and spearheaded the development of the post-secondary Cannabis 101 curriculum at Red River College’s School of Indigenous Education.

Committed to serving rural populations, Dr. Turner has been practicing in Thunder Bay, ON and has extended her operations to include her hometown of Gimli, Manitoba at the Ekosi Health Centre which provides a differentiated science and heart-based approach to patient care. Ekosi, a Cree word, means “this is it, this is good.”

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Positionality

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The View From Here

Addiction and Pain Management

Population Served

Stigma

Building Bridges

Research

About Ekosi Health

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WHO WE ARE:• INNOVATIVE• RESEARCH FOCUSED• TEAM OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, PLUS,

connected to Academia and Industry.

• Two current locations in:• Gimli, Manitoba• Thunder Bay, Ontario• 3rd in Winnipeg (Q1, 2020)

• Data Acquirer: • Over 17,000 patient interactions• Database of over 6,000 cannabinoid

patients

Ekosi HealthCentre

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WHAT WE DO:

• Build knowledge and resilience • Provide innovative and

personalized health care experiences.

• Build bridges for Health Care Practitioners and their patients.

• Offer educational support, data and evidence-based research for Academia & Public & Private Sectors.

Ekosi HealthCentre

Patient Plan of Care

WHO & WHAT WE SEE:If we combine pre-clinical, clinical, and patients’ perspectives or experience, medicinal cannabis can be applied to three broad categories:

1. Pain2. Mood3. Sleep

• Medical conditions often overlap• Cycle through medication that may not work or intolerable side

effects• Majority of patients are cannabis naive

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Our Specialized Expertise -

• Western medicine protocols• Suboxone• Current CDA standards

• Plant-based protocols• Cannabis• Other

• Evidence-based and evidence-informed • Guiding clinical decisions

The Case

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Tramacet, Codeine

Substances & AddictionAlcohol Opioids Cannabis Tobacco

% Population Using 76.9% (2015) 13.1% (2015) 18% (2019) 15.1% (2017)

% Addiction Rate20% heavy drinkers (leading to chronic illness’/AUD)

5-19% 9% (2019) 50+% (>15 y/o)

# of Death’s 14,827 (2014) 3,286 (Jan – Sept 2018)

75 (2014) due to motor vehicle accidents

47,526 (2014)

Facts:

2015-2016 77,000 hospitalizations due to alcohol75,000 hospitalization's due to heart attacks

17 Canadians were hospitalized every day due to opioid poisoning in 2017

75-80% of people trying to quit relapseAverage of 8-11 attempts before quitting

13*All rates are for the Canadian population

Opiate-related deaths in Canada

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Health & Safety

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• We are facing a crisis

• Alcohol, tobacco & opioids account, by far, for the greatest costs; costs are far more than monetary

• Alcohol, tobacco, opioids & the illicit supply & distribution of cannabis cause communities challenge

We all want to promote safety in our communities through safe drug supply

Health & Safety

Medical cannabis, research shows, may help relieve symptoms of various medical conditions including:

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• Aids/HIV

• ALS• Autism• Anxiety

• Appetite• Arthritis

• Burning Feet Syndrome• Cancer• Chronic Pain

• Crohn’s Disease• Depression

• Degenerative Disc Disease

• Diabetic Nerve Pain

• Dementia• Endometriosis• Epilepsy

• Fatigue• Fibromyalgia

• Glaucoma• Headaches• Huntington’s Disease

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)• Libido

• Lupus

• Lyme Disease

• Menopause• Menstrual Cramps• Migraines

• Multiple Sclerosis• Muscle Spasms

• Nausea• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)• Parkinson’s

• Pelvic Pain• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Restless Leg Syndrome

• Seizures

• Sleep Disorders• Spinal Cord Injury• Tremors

• Tourette’s Syndrome• Ulcerative Colitis

• Vomiting

The Future

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Moving Forward, … Working with Many -

• Most patients want to reduce medicines that cause side effects or the amount of pills they take.• To improve their quality of life. • Some patients who take medications for addiction, mental health, chronic pain

and insomnia have had many trials of medications and they just “don’t work.”• Patients who have diabetes have been able to reduce their medications that

reduce blood sugar.• Most patients are able to reduce alcohol and tobacco. • 80-90% of patients are reducing or stopping over the counter medications

(Tylenol, Advil, etc), AND STOPPING OR REDUCING OPIATES and other harmful or addictive medications.

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Tramacet, Codeine

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Questions?

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