A Nova Scotia woman says Health Canada is restricting her access -- and that of many other Canadians -- to a product she describes as “miraculous.”

She's been using CBD oil, which is made from cannabis and ordering it by mail from an American company, but that supply has been suddenly cut off by the federal government.

Mona Scott gives her spouse Gary Matheson two doses of CBD oil every day for the severe pain caused by degenerative disc disease. Recently, Matheson was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

“His mobility was going down very quickly, and the pain, whereas once his Oxy was working great, (then) it was no longer working,” Scott said.

He was once so unsteady, he couldn't finish a word search puzzle. But he says since taking the oil, that's no problem, and he hasn't had to take his opioid pills for nine weeks.

“It takes away the pain completely, whereas the Oxy you always knew there was pain there but it wasn't as bad,” Matheson said.

Some research suggests CBD -- or cannabidiol -- can treat chronic pain and other conditions. Scott takes the oil to treat her own anxiety and insomnia.

But now there's a problem.

“All items are subject to review for admissibility to Canada,” Scott said while reading a notice from Canada Border Services Agency.

After ordering from a California company for months - Scott's packages stopped showing up.

Canada Border Services has told her the product isn't allowed into the country.

Last week, the U.S. supplier posted this message on Facebook, admitting to its Canadian customers that it was operating in a “grey area” of the law, an area that suddenly became very black and white. Thousands of orders were seized at the border.

A Health Canada spokesperson says under the Cannabis Act, only licenced Canadian retailers can sell cannabis oil - and any other imports under international hemp regulations can't contain CBD.

“Who are they protecting?” Scott said. “The only one that I can see that is going to miss out on this deal here, is big pharma.”

The NSLC does sell cannabis oil in stores and online, but Scott says the product just isn't the same. And if it was, chronic supply shortages would make it just too hard to get.

Scott wants the federal government to reverse its position on the oil. She says there's no choice but to fight, rather than go back to life without it.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Heidi Petracek.