Canadian AIDS Society
The Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) received funding to study the barriers to access to cannabis for medicinal purposes for people living with HIV/AIDS. We conducted an extensive consultation of people living with HIV/AIDS from across Canada through focus groups and a widely distributed questionnaire. The project was overseen by a National Steering Committee and was conducted in consultation with a legal consultant.
The results of this consultation were published in AIDS Care, a publication the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health in the United States.
The full report and accompanying executive summary outline the barriers to access to the federal medical cannabis program, to a legal source of cannabis, and to adequate information and services. Recommendations are made to address these barriers so that people living with HIV/AIDS can treat themselves without fear of criminal prosecution, with a legal, safe and affordable source of cannabis, with adequate information to make informed decisions and with the necessary support to optimize their health. A series of Fact Sheets were also published.