STATISTICS MATTER: VCBC Survey Results
Towards the end of last year, the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club conducted a survey of its members over a couple of weeks to collect some data for its rezoning application. Though the duration during which we accepted surveys was short, we were able to receive about 130, giving us enough to generate some interesting data. Hopefully some more thorough research along these lines can be done later, but for now we are quite happy with the results.
The study began by looking into how many members can access the legal federal medical program, which is mail order only. We learned that about 6% of our members do not have a permanent address and that ⅓ do not have credit cards, both of which are necessary to purchase from the legal medical program. These statistics highlight the importance of storefront accessibility, as many low-income patients living day-to-day in a cash economy cannot afford to wait for their medicine to arrive in the mail.
Another important component of the federal program is the requirement of a doctor’s authorization to use cannabis. With 28% of the members unable to even find a family doctor, there are clearly some significant barriers for many patients trying to access legal cannabis for medical purposes. These patients could find a doctor on-line, which often charge a fee, but those physicians only get a narrow understanding of the patient’s overall situation.
Of those that have a doctor, only 32% of our patients have a physician that actually supports their use of cannabis. That number should be much higher, as clearly every single one of these patients would rather pay money to purchase cannabis rather than use the prescription drugs being offered by their doctors. The fact that 67% of the doctors that our patients see do not condone their use of cannabis as medicine points to the broader problem of the lack of information about the endocannabinoid system and cannabis medicines in the education of medical professionals.
Though a significant number of our patients have held a legal licence to possess or grow cannabis for medical purposes, 27%, only half of them still have an active licence. This is likely because fewer people are growing their own medicine and fewer people are looking to become a designated grower for a patient since legalization. With the number of people enrolled in the federal program decreasing after legalization, it is evident that the program is only designed to accommodate a select few patients, leaving the vast majority of people that use cannabis as medicine outside of the system.
When asked why our members purchase at the VCBC, 100% of respondents indicated that affordability and selection of medical products were significant factors in the decision. Most of the members (78%) consider the product advice another reason why they choose us over the legal medical program. Storefront access was another important rationale for preferring the VCBC, with 82% acknowledging that was imperative, and the fact that the VCBC acts as a community center was vital to 73% of the members that responded.
Looking at the products that VCBC members require, 56% claimed that access to high dosage edibles was important to them. The same percentage of members stated that access to CBD products was another reason they frequented the VCBC. In both cases, the club has gone out of its way to provide several affordable options, as the legal systems for both medical and recreational are handcuffed by regulations and extraordinary taxes.
While a high percentage of VCBC members (93%) have purchased from a legal recreational store, most of those purchases appear to be for pre-rolled joints and dry cannabis. A small number have tried CBD bud (2%) and CBD oils (9%) from the legal recreational market. In comparison, 34% of the VCBC members have purchased CBD buds and 49% have purchased CBD oils from the club.
These numbers provide some important statistics that provide support for the VCBC’s claims that the federal medical cannabis program is inaccessible to many patients. Higher costs, lack of storefront medical access, low dosage THC restrictions and limited CBD product selection are some of the main reasons why patients prefer the VCBC over the legal medical or recreational systems. By collecting and providing this information, the VCBC hopes the public and the courts will further appreciate the critical need our patients have for the products and services the club has provided for decades.
This research only provides a glimpse into the reasons the members of the VCBC continue to purchase from the club despite the legal options. Hopefully in the future more studies will be done on the habits of the patients we serve.
The full results from the survey are available at this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wuDLrVaVdCHkzufXjNGcREhokL9UWor18aGWmf7Rdlk/edit#responses
