In what’s being hailed as a world first, two groups, including the McGill University Health Centre, have launched a registry of medical cannabis users.

The new research database is aimed at collecting information on how cannabis is used and monitoring patient safety.

“Hopefully the database itself will provide enough meat for other researchers in Quebec and elsewhere to be able to ask questions of their own about effects on certain symptoms and side effect profiles,” said principal researcher Dr. Mark Ware, director of clinical research at the MUHC and associate professor at McGill University.

The idea is for researchers to be able to paint a better picture of who is using cannabis, why, and how much they are using, Ware said.

If over time we start to notice trends in the type of cannabis they use or the level of THC (the main active ingredient) that they prefer ... we may start to see patterns emerging when the dataset gets large enough," he said.

That could help doctors learn, for instance, that a specific variety of dried pot taken at a certain dosage has a beneficial effect on a particular symptom -- perhaps pain or muscle spasticity.

Health Canada estimates that over 40,000 Canadians legally consume medical cannabis, and about 3,000 of those users live in Quebec.

The drug is used to relieve symptoms from such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, HIV, cancer or epilepsy. Health Canada does not endorse the use of medical marijuana, citing what it calls inadequate data about the drug’s benefits, which is why it is only available to those taking part in research projects here in Quebec.

Doctors taking part in the program are being called physician-collaborators. The title means added responsibility, as doctors will have to be trained on how to enter data properly.

“I expect there will be resistance, because that training does require taking the effort. … We’re looking at ways to make that easier and as palatable as possible for busy physicians,” Ware said.

At 24 years old, Tristan Williams has a hip prosthesis and uses a cane to help him walk. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 12 years old, with multiple sclerosis at 19 and had a second battle with cancer at of 21, when the thyroid cancer metastasized into his hip.

He recalls trying all kinds of medications to relieve his pain but nothing was working, until three years ago, when he got a prescription for medical marijuana after consulting with his doctor.

“So my legs are on fire, my arms are twitching, but it kind of just smoothed out everything so you're able to find balance again,” he said.

He says there's no doubt medical marijuana helped him and he believes it will continue to help others.

"This is going to shine a light, where some of these doctors might actually say, 'OK there's something going on here, there's research now that can actually be measured and evidence, and a program that can actually they can give patients to get involved,'" he said.

The data for the registry is not supposed to have any identifiable patient information, in order to protect their privacy. Participation in the project is not automatic, and interested patients would take part for four years.

Bedrocan Canada Inc., Mettrum Health Corp. and Tweed Marijuana Inc. , all companies authorized to sell or provide dried marijuana to eligible people in Canada, have announced that they, along with the College des medecins du Quebec, are contributing startup funding for the registry.

It was the College that asked for clearer guidelines on the use of medical marijuana after the enactment of the “Marijuana for Medical Purposes” legislation in April 2014, which made doctors the sole gatekeepers of the drug.

-- with files from The Canadian Press