TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) (FSE:4WE) (“WeedMD” or the “Company”), a federally licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis, is pleased to announce it has expanded its North Star Wellness Virtual Patient Care Program and access to its Starseed Medicinal products to Atlantic Canada under the purview of New Brunswick-based physician, Dr. Julie Hildebrand.
Dr. Hildebrand, widely recognized in the region for specializing in cannabis medicine and education, will work with patients and benefits providers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Dr. Hildebrand will connect with patients in one of the country’s fastest-growing medical cannabis markets, leveraging her extensive clinical expertise in chronic pain and diabetes.
“Expanding our coverage area to Atlantic Canada alongside a leading cannabis medicine advocate such as Dr. Hildebrand, will introduce more patients to Starseed’s unique medical platform and portfolio of treatment options,” said Angelo Tsebelis, CEO of WeedMD. “Together with our North Star Wellness Virtual Patient Care Program, we will continue providing consultations to new and existing patients through an advanced, accessible healthcare platform. With medical cannabis therapies and product advancements on the rise, we applaud Dr. Hildebrand as a strong cannabis proponent.”
Echoing the necessity for solutions that improve upon traditional access, Dr. Peter Blecher, Chief Medical Officer of WeedMD and North Star Wellness Clinics added: “The Atlantic region’s healthcare system is overburdened with opioid addiction and the need for alternate therapies. Dr. Hildebrand will provide extended assessments to patients seeking standardized treatment and dosing options, as well as a platform to assist patients if their primary care providers are unavailable.”
Dr. Hildebrand is a physician with more than 30 years of biomedical research and medical experience. She is widely published in over 40 communications, papers and publications on cannabis medicine as a new therapy, effects of opioid addiction, methadone treatment analysis, mental health and addiction. A fluently-bilingual researcher and professor, she is the medical director of the Methadone Maintenance Therapy Program at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Saint John, NB. Dr. Hildebrand holds a B.Sc. in Biology (specialty in Physiology-Toxicology) and an MBA from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and is a PhD candidate in Management and Technology from UQAM, McGill University and Concordia University. She obtained her Doctorate in Medicine from the Université Laval along with a specialty in Family Medicine. She also holds a Medical Licence in Opioid Dependence Treatment Certificate – CAMH – University of Toronto.
“Physicians have a responsibility to carefully assess and educate patients on treatment options that may be most effective to improve their health and quality of life. It’s our duty to become well-informed and counsel patients on all available medicines and treatments that can provide the highest level of care,” said Dr. Hildebrand. “The Starseed platform is designed to enable physicians to provide that high-bar support with cannabis, particularly as an exit treatment for chronic opioid use. I’m proud to collaborate with WeedMD on this important work in my home region in Atlantic Canada.”
Starseed Unique Pharmacy Model and the North Star Wellness Program
Starseed’s medical marketplace is a revolutionary Canadian system built around a virtual pharmacy system that takes online orders and intuitively completes the claims management process seamlessly with insurance carriers. The North Star Wellness platform connects healthcare professionals with patients and provides medical management, education and streamlined access to clinical services. All WeedMD and Starseed medical patients have free access to North Star’s full suite of services. Since its launch in 2017, the platform has continued to expand and now offers its Virtual Patient Care Program as the sector transitions into virtual healthcare. North Star Wellness is a wholly owned affiliate of WeedMD.
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About WeedMD Inc.
WeedMD Inc. is the publicly-traded parent company of WeedMD RX Inc. and Starseed Medicinal Inc., licence holders producing and distributing cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates a 158-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse, outdoor and processing facility located in Strathroy, Ontario as well as a fully-licensed 26,000 sq. ft. Aylmer, Ontario processing facility, specializing in cannabis extraction. With the addition of Starseed, a medical-centric operator based in Bowmanville, Ontario, WeedMD has expanded its multi-channeled distribution strategy. Starseed’s industry-first, exclusive partnership with LiUNA, the largest construction union in Canada, along with other employers and union groups complements WeedMD’s direct sales to medical patients. The Company maintains strategic relationships in the seniors’ market and supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart as well as seven provincial distribution agencies where adult-use brands Color Cannabis and Saturday are sold.
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For further information, please contact:
For Investor Enquiries:
Valter Pinto
Managing Director
KCSA Strategic Communications
1-212-896-1254
weedmd@kcsa.com
For Media Enquiries:
Victoria Dekker
Communications & Corporate Affairs
1-506-962-6565
victoria.dekker@weedmd.com
Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon WeedMD's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.
The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to actual production volumes, expectations for future growing capacity and the completion of any capital project or expansions. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of WeedMD to implement its business strategies; the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; crop failure; and other risks.
Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, WeedMD does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for WeedMD to predict all such factors. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in WeedMD's disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information.
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