Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX-V-ALEF) announced that it launched a new opiate replacement program across its 23 Aleafia/Canabo clinic network.

As the opioid health-crisis continues across North America, Aleafia believes that its new initiative puts it ahead of the curve in the battle against this life-destroying epidemic.

In light of new studies released by the American Medical Association that suggest cannabis may play a role in reducing some patients’ need for opioids, Aleafia’s opiate-replacement program is designed to:

• Increase the pace of Aleafia’s previously announced 1,000-patient study on the use of medical cannabis to reduce opioid addiction,
• Conduct extensive outreach to local and regional patients and physicians announcing Aleafia/Canabo program to substitute opioids with medical cannabis, and
• Boost clinic education initiatives about the potential positive outcomes of replacing opioids with medical cannabis within Aleafia’s patient-focused, physician-led and research-based environment. 

“While the problem of chronic opiate use is now well-identified, more work is needed to find solutions,” said Aleafia director, Dr. Michael Verbora. “Initial data from our opiate research study shows promise that cannabinoids can replace some—or all—of a patient’s opiate prescription when being used for chronic, non-cancer pain. We are keen to continue helping the millions of Canadians on opiates to consider replacing with cannabinoid therapy.”

Aleafia believes that it is uniquely positioned to have a meaningful role in the battle against opioids, which killed an estimated 4,000 Canadians in 2017, and kills an estimated 90 Americans per day. With a 40,000-strong physician-referred patient-base, and up to 1,500 additional patients joining the clinic network each month, Aleafia has the capacity to conduct large-scale studies on opioid reduction, as well as be a force for good in the education of medical practitioners across the country.

“From the very beginning, our goal at Aleafia was to provide evidence-based support for patients and their caregivers by introducing an effective alternative to the dangerous opioid option,” added Aleafia’s Executive Chairman, the Honourable Julian Fantino. “Today, we are ably positioned to make a meaningful difference with a large team of cannabinoid medicine experts, an established, cross-country clinic infrastructure, a much-sought-after, lucrative observational database, and an ambitious plan to grow our knowledge into more targeted, effective strains of medical cannabis for our patients.”

About Aleafia Health Inc.:

Aleafia Health Inc. is one of Canada’s leading, vertically integrated medical cannabis company with a unique patient-focused, medical cannabis healthcare solution. Led by a distinguished and experienced corporate leadership team, Aleafia Health Inc. is pioneering a patient-centric experience that includes personalized services before, during and after treatment. Aleafia’s 23 cannabis clinics are staffed by licensed, practicing physicians with more than 80 trained physicians. Aleafia Health Inc. has realized sustained patient acquisition growth and retention, underscoring the success of Canada’s first “patient-centric” cannabis-based health network.