A rural physician relates

I read the August 2018 issue of Canadian Family Physician^1–3 with particular interest, as I was a rural physician for 27 years—for 9 years in Lafleche, Sask, and then for a further 18 years in Gravelbourg, Sask. The cover photograph reminded me of a hayfield my wife and I own that looks just like it, on which we built a Swiss-style chalet for weekends and retirement. Unfortunately, at age 83, it is no longer possible for us to live there in the winter, so we bought a condo in Regina, Sask, and visit the chalet at weekends.

My wife, our 2 children, and I arrived in Saskatoon, Sask, on Monday, December 19, 1966, and fell in love with rural Saskatchewan the following day as we were driven to Wadena, Sask, to join 2 other British physicians. I have recently written and published 2 books of anecdotes of our experiences there.^4,5 The first, Prairie Doctor, sold out within a month or two. I didn’t actually sell the books; rather, people asked to buy them! Quite a difference. I also had an essay published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 1976, “The joys of rural practice.”⁶

In addition to enjoying the rural medicine content of the August issue, I appreciated Dr Ladouceur’s editorial, “The cannabis paradox,” from the February 2018 issue.⁷ A patient with multiple sclerosis asked me for a prescription for medical marijuana and I thought, “Why not?” I gave her a prescription and at her next visit she brought in a friend who had fibromyalgia. This friend, in turn, sent in a friend who had migraines—the prescriptions mushroomed! These are mostly people in their 40s and 50s who want cannabidiol oil and are non-smokers. What Dr Ladouceur says is certainly true: “Regardless of what the science tells us, people will continue to consume cannabis.”⁷ Familiarizing myself with cannabinoids deepened my engagement with patients with chronic pain.

• Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada