Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) (CGC) partners with Ontario Long Term Care Association

Canopy Growth Corporation (“Canopy Growth” or the “Company”) (WEED.TO) (CGC) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Spectrum Cannabis has partnered with the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) by way of an unrestricted educational grant to pursue the development and implementation of a long-term care (LTC) medical cannabis pilot study and care pathway for utilization in Ontario long term care homes. The six-month pilot aims to measure how medical cannabis use can potentially displace other, less-desirable therapeutics for both pain and cognitive function for residents in a select group of homes.

Development and implementation of the pilot will be coordinated by the OLTCA with Canopy Growth providing all product from its Spectrum Cannabis brand. Key components of the four phase program include: the initial recruiting of long-term care homes; identifying physicians to create a care pathway for the use of medical cannabis in LTC; providing education tools for front line staff and clinicians delivering care to residents; evaluating quality of life, clinical outcomes, caregiver stress and the economic and humanistic benefit of cannabis adoption for residents and ultimately, presenting the findings of the study. This will be one of the world’s first and largest medical cannabis pilot programs in the long-term care space and will register as many as 500 residents and follow them over the course of care.

“There is clearly an interest in the long-term care space to explore medical cannabis as an alternative to traditional medications for pain and degenerative cognitive function,” commented Mark Zekulin , President & Co-CEO, Canopy Growth. “The pilot study we’ve announced today is the first step in developing an evidence-based, best practice approach to medical cannabis that will result in consistent care for thousands of seniors and ultimately improve quality of life and outcomes in long-term care homes.”

The project will utilize a quality-improvement framework similar to that developed for the OMNI Diabetes Protocol (winner of the OLTCA Quality Improvement Innovation of the Year and now adopted as the provincial standard for diabetes care). This same approach has been used to develop care pathways for COPD, influenza, stroke prevention and spasticity, delivering exceptional outcomes each time, while ensuring the approach is truly interdisciplinary.

“Medical cannabis is currently prescribed for residents as appropriate, but it’s still an emerging area,” says Candace Chartier , CEO, Ontario Long Term Care Association. “Through this partnership and pilot study, we hope to provide more clarity to long-term care clinicians and frontline staff about the use of medical cannabis for residents.”

Today’s announcement aligns with Canopy Growth’s continued focus through Spectrum Cannabis to provide seniors with access to medical cannabis as well as education on its potential benefits and applications. Most recently, Spectrum Cannabis was named the preferred education partner and supplier of choice of medical cannabis for Centric Health and the seniors that it serves both in long-term care and retirement residences, as well as seniors living in the community.