BEDROCAN LAUNCHES PATIENT ADVISORY BOARD (PAB)
The PAB will advise Bedrocan on Patient Education Needs, Customer Care, Interactions with Health Professionals, and Anti-Stigma Efforts.
Leading Medical Cannabis Advocate Hilary Black Joins Bedrocan as Director of Patient and Community Services.
Bedrocan is pleased to announce the establishment of a Patient Advisory Board to provide insights on the experience of medicinal cannabis patients, how patients use cannabis and other medicines, and how Bedrocan can best meet the needs of current and future patients. The Advisory Board currently includes nine patients with a wide range of chronic health conditions, including post-cancer pain, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, persistent headache, and colitis, as well as the mother of a child with Dravet Syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of pediatric epilepsy.
The Patient Advisory Board will counsel Bedrocan on patient education needs, continuous improvement in the customer care process, interactions with healthcare professionals regarding medicinal cannabis, and addressing the stigma sometimes associated with the use of cannabis to manage the symptoms of chronic health conditions.
In addition, the Company announced the appointment of Hilary Black, a leading Canadian medicinal cannabis advocate, as Director of Patient and Community Services. Ms. Black is the founder of the British Columbia Compassion Club Society (BCCCS), the first medical cannabis dispensary in Canada, has consulted for the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabis (CCIC), and was a co-author of The Patient Handbook on Medical Cannabis with Dr. Danial Schecter and Dr. Mark Ware. In 2013, she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, recognizing an outstanding contribution to Canada for founding the BCCCS, and for 17 years of patient advocacy. Among Ms. Black’s responsibilities will be managing Bedrocan’s patient education and outreach initiatives, as well as the Patient Advisory Board.
“Bedrocan’s professional and responsible approach, to include the patient’s experience as well as the doctor’s perspective, is an important reason why I’m excited to be part of the first medicinal cannabis Patient Advisory Board in Canada,” said Grant Wallace, an Advisory Board member and businessperson living in Oakville, Ontario. “I’ve been using prescription medicines for 30 years to treat migraines, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, with only partial success. Bedrocan’s medicinal cannabis has been very effective in helping me manage my symptoms, and I want to support the company in helping more patients to get access to standardized, pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis.”
“The body of clinical evidence on the safe and effective therapeutic use of cannabis is growing rapidly, but unfortunately, because of the street use of marijuana, there is still a certain stigma associated with the legitimate use of medicinal cannabis,” said Marc Wayne, President and CEO of Bedrocan. “Patients’ voices are an important and powerful element of the public discussion of this regulated medicine. We have to listen to and learn from the experience of patients with chronic illnesses who can describe the benefits they have received from appropriate use of cannabis, under the care and supervision of a health care provider.”
“The addition of Hilary Black to the Bedrocan team significantly enhances our ability to work collaboratively with patients, patient groups and health professional organizations,” added Mr. Wayne. “Her strong reputation in this field, along with her wealth of experience in patient advocacy, make her the ideal person to lead our patient and community services initiatives, as well as to coordinate the work of our Patient Advisory Board.”