Staff at Toronto's famous CN Tower are in hot water after turning away a medical marijuana patient from the highest building in Canada because they discovered he was carrying his medicine with him on the trip.

Mike Knox of Brantford, Ontario, arrived at the iconic landmark with his girlfriend on the weekend of Feb. 27. When security found his container of prescribed marijuana containing a few joints, they told him he wasn't welcome there.

"I basically said, 'I just want to confirm what you're telling me is that I'm not allowed to be here with my medication that was prescribed by my doctor for my chronic pain.' And he said, 'No, you have to leave the premises with your medication.' "

Knox says he's also heard of patients being turned away from the nearby Rogers Centre - home of the Toronto Blue Jays - for similar reasons, even though the venue's operators told City News that patients are supposed to be allowed to enter the premises with their medication.

CN Tower officials have apologized and clarified that patients should not be turned away because of their medicine. But the incident has caused lingering effects for Knox, who says what happened made him feel "embarrassed and ashamed" for being a medical marijuana patient.

Hopefully as Canada moves toward legalizing marijuana, stigmas around cannabis use will become a thing of the past, along with prohibition.

h/t City News, CHCH