A new Halifax clinic is helping patients and their doctors navigate the sometimes complicated medical and legal grounds for cannabis-based treatments.

"The thing is most GPs and specialists aren't very comfortable writing prescriptions for cannabis. We will actually take that over," said Dr. Danial Schedcter, medical director of Canabanoid Medical Clinic, which also has a location in Toronto.

"We will walk them through the steps."

There is no fee to see a physician at clinic, although a doctor's referral is required.

The clinic is not a dispensary, Schedcter told CBC's Information Morning.

The only legal way to obtain medical marijuana is by mail through a a licensed producer approved by Health Canada, he said.

The clinic assesses whether a patient can be helped with cannabis-based medications or medical marijuana and helps them navigate the regulatory system, educates them about their prescription and advises on accessing a licensed producer.

"We tend to weed out, no pun intended, [phony patients] mostly by getting referrals from family doctors and specialists. They are in the best position to determine if their patient has a chronic condition," Schedcter said.

"Usually they've tried numerous medications and have failed. Most patients that come to us are quite ill and have a file that is least an inch thick."

About 60 to 70 per cent of patients have some form of chronic pain, usually from a surgery or an accident.

Conditions can include: