Ethics approval and consent to participate
All methods in this study were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations as outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. Ethics approval was obtained for the study from the University of Alberta Health Research Ethics board (PRO 00083651) and Veritas Research Ethics Board in Ontario (16111-13:21:103-01-2017). Patients and the public were not involved in the design, conduct and reporting of this research project as it was not applicable to this project.
Consent for publication
This study made use of de-identified data from the Ontario administrative data, which is managed by ICES with support from its funders and partners: Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), the Ontario SPOR Support Unit, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Government of Ontario. The opinions, results and conclusions reported are those of the authors. No endorsement by ICES or any of its funders or partners is intended or should be inferred. Parts of this material are based on data and information compiled and provided by Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI). However, the analyses, conclusions, opinions and statements expressed herein are only those of the authors.
Availability of data and materials
The dissemination of data results to study participants and or patient organizations in this research project is not possible/applicable as the data are de-identified. Being administrative health data, the data cannot be shared publicly. However, requests for the data can be sent to ICES. No special access privileges were granted to the authors.
Competing interests
JRBD was a former member on the board of directors of Aurora Cannabis Inc., which is a for-profit, company licensed for the cultivation and sale of medical cannabis. In the past, JGH has worked as a paid advisor and speaker for Canadian Cannabis Clinics, but currently has no ties with the CCCs. JRBD has a financial interest in Aurora Cannabis Inc. DTE and JRBD hold a Mitacs Grant with Aurora as a partner. Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that works with universities, private companies, and both federal and provincial governments, to build partnerships and administer research funding that supports industrial and social innovation in Canada. DTE and AZ do not have any past or present financial interest in the companies involved. CL, JM and EH have no conflicts of interest to declare. Moreover, the above mentioned entities, research funders and companies listed were not involved in any aspect of the design or write-up of the study and all analysis was performed independent from the funders and companies.
Competing interests
JRBD is a former member on the board of directors of Aurora Cannabis Inc., which is a for-profit, company licensed for the cultivation and sale of medical cannabis. In the past, JGH has worked as a paid advisor and speaker for Canadian Cannabis Clinics, but currently has no ties with the CCCs. JRBD has a financial interest in Aurora Cannabis Inc. DTE and JRBD hold a Mitacs Grant with Aurora as a partner. Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that works with universities, private companies, and both federal and provincial governments, to build partnerships and administer research funding that supports industrial and social innovation in Canada. DTE and AZ do not have any past or present financial interest in the companies involved. CL, JM and EH have no conflicts of interest to declare. Moreover, the above mentioned entities, research funders and companies listed were not involved in any aspect of the design or write-up of the study and all analysis was performed independent from the funders and companies.
Funding
This study was funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health research Project grant (CIHR PS 159668) to DTE, JGH, EH, and JRBD. The funder has no role in the design of the study, analysis and interpretation of the data, and the decision to publish.
Authors’ contributions
DTE, AZ, JRBD, JGH, EH designed the study and DTE and JRBD acquired the data. AZ analyzed the data. AZ, CL and JM drafted the manuscript. All other authors revised it critically for important intellectual content and approved the final version to be published. All authors are accountable for the work and integrity of the work. The corresponding author and guarantor accept full responsibility of the work and/or conduct of the study, had access to the data and controlled the decision to publish. AZ attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.
AZ affirms that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and if relevant) have been explained.