A decision by the Sun Life insurance company to treat medical marijuana users the same as non-smokers when applying for life insurance is a sign the industry is listening to patients, a marijuana advocate advocate says.

Jonathan Zaid is a University of Waterloo student who uses medical marijuana for persistent headaches, which he started getting when he was 14.

He has been pushing for insurance companies to recognize using cannabis for medical reasons is not the same as smoking cigarettes, and medical marijuana users should not be penalized for being smokers.

"It also speaks to the way that the industry is moving forward and recognizing cannabis use is medicinal and looking at the research and acting accordingly," Zaid, who is also the founder of Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana, told The Morning Edition host Craig Norris.

"It's a good sign that patients are being listened to."

Changes will help patients

Many insurance companies lump those who smoke pot in with those who smoke tobacco cigarettes – it does not matter if the marijuana is for medicinal purposes or for recreational use.

Last Friday, Sun Life announced a change to that policy.

"In our industry, we keep up to date with medical studies and companies update their underwriting guidelines accordingly. As a result, people who use marijuana are now assessed when they apply for insurance at Sun Life at non-smoker rates, unless they also use tobacco," Sun Life said in a statement.

BMO Insurance has also said it will change its policy to allow people to smoke up to two joints per week.

The BMO plan is not as flexible, Zaid said, and it's unclear what happens to the many medical marijuana users who use vaporizers or ingest their cannabis.

Zaid has fought for his own medical marijuana costs to be covered. It took eight months of back-and-forth with the student union, which administers the student health plan, to pay for his marijuana like it would any other medication.

He said while he thinks Sun Life and BMO may have some kind of "business motives" behind the changes to their policies, "I hope it's for the patients and to help them."