Firm High on Pain Drug (Lisa Wright)

   They've heard all the jokes, and then some.

    No, Cheech and Chong aren't on the payroll. Neither is the Weed Man. They don't have free samples, or the munchies. And their office Christmas party wasn't any wilder than yours was.

   But as a small pharmaceutical firm working on a medicinal product derived from the same plant that's, um, high on the radar for recreational purposes, some ribbing is to be expected.

   Luckily they take it all in stride at Toronto-based Cannasat Therapeutics Inc., one of a handful of companies in the world that is researching and developing medicines derived from cannabis plants (yes, that would be marijuana).

   Their aim is something a lot more serious: to help people suffering with chronic and neuropathic pain, depression, anxiety and movement disorders using all the known benefits of cannabis – including being a pain reliever, a relaxant, an anti-nauseant and an appetite stimulant – minus the social stigma of smoking pot. 

Read More: The Toronto Star