Corunna native Dr. Blake Pearson talked about the many benefits of medical pot during a presentation at the annual Central Forum speaker series at Central United Church on Feb. 5.

Pearson was one of six speakers who addressed the forum during a period of six weeks in both January and February.

The St. Christopher’s Catholic Secondary School grad said while medical cannabinoids are not the answer to all people’s prayers, when used effectively in consultation with a qualified medical practitioner, they have been proven to be highly effective when dealing with certain ailments and conditions, particularly chronic pain.

“Around 85 per cent of my patients deal with chronic pain,” he said. “It’s the number one diagnosis but I also deal with conditions like osteoarthritis, sleep disorders and chemo-induced nausea.”

The stigma surrounding medical marijuana is slowly fading away, Pearson told the Central Forum audience, as more doctors and pharmaceutical companies are recognizing the benefits of cannabinoid medicine.

“At the end of the day cannabinoid medicine is wonderful because of its multimodal effect,” he said. “It can reduce the number of medicines that people are on and that’s a good thing.”

Lambton County didn’t win the top honour at Thursday’s Intelligent Community Forum awards in New York City, but Warden Bill Weber says officials are happy to be in the Top7.

The county, which includes the City of Sarnia, has been involved in the international program for several years, earning a place in its Smart 21 list since 2016 before moving recently into the Top7.

Weber joined a delegation from the Intelligent Sarnia-Lambton group this week at the forum’s Global Summit where Taoyuan, Taiwan, was named its 2019 Intelligent Community of the Year.

“Neither Snow nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom of Night ……stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

As I get ready to leave for my Top7 Site Visits I remember back to February 11 when the seven were chosen.

Pierre-Luc Lachance, a City Councilor for the Saint-Roch and Saint-Sauveur district of Quebec City was there and on my panel. He is the Deputy Mayor for Entrepreneurship in that fine Canadian city. Quebec played host to this year’s 2019 Top7 Announcement. Mr. Lachance was elected in 2017 after a rigorous campaign. Evidently most EVERY campaign in Quebec City, where the politics can be as hard as the ice on the St. Lawrence River in Winter, is rigorous. Pierre-Luc won his campaign by going “retail.” He went to the heart of his community and did something that seems low-tech but has resonance in local elections. He won the hearts and minds of his fellow citizens by physically knocking on 7,500 doors in the neighborhoods of his district! That alone should have guaranteed him the post.