Is Medical Marijuana Good for Seniors?
Many baby boomers remember when marijuana was considered solely "recreational", used only for youthful experimentation. These days, cannabis is considered an alternative to traditional medicines, and medical marijuana is limited or fully legal in 36 states, including New York. Yet because of the negative stigma previously associated with it, today's seniors may be the most misinformed about the benefits of medical marijuana.
Most seniors take prescription drugs on a daily basis. The “side effects” of marijuana are insignificant in comparison to the side effects of many prescription drugs, and not a single person has ever died from a marijuana overdose. An ongoing 30-year study found that a person weighing 140 pounds would have to consume over 4 pounds of marijuana in one sitting to reach toxic levels, and that still would not be a fatal dosage. The powerful anti-oxidant effects of marijuana can provide relief for many disorders including liver inflammation from Hepatitis C, lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, and many other serious medical conditions that all involve inflammation and oxidative damage.
A major complaint of seniors regarding their daily medications is that the first pill often causes side effects that the second one is supposed to “fix.” "Marijuana's healing properties target various conditions such as inflamed joints, high blood pressure, chronic pain, digestive disorders, constipation, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, cognitive awareness, and more. Marijuana has the potential for accentuating the effect of many commonly prescribed drugs. For example, opiate based painkillers are typically enhanced when marijuana is used concurrently, often resulting in a reduction of pharmaceutical medicines.
Medical marijuana can be especially helpful for cancer patients. Studies have shown that smoking marijuana can reduce nausea and vomiting when undergoing chemotherapy. When dealing with palliative care, especially for patients with cancer, a study points out that most patients (more than 60 percent) experience both of these symptoms rather than one or the other, so medical marijuana can help relieve two symptoms (and potentially many more) at once. While medical marijuana has not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration yet, two THC-infused oral pills have been approved by the FDA for cancer patients with nausea: Marinol and Cesamet.
Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease have sometimes turned to medical marijuana to help with their treatment to assist with symptoms of depression and loss of appetite that may come along with the degenerative brain disease, which affects more than four million Americans’ cognition and memory every year.
Glaucoma is another disease that has been combated effectively by marijuana. As a leading cause of blindness among people over the age of 60, glaucoma causes increasing pressure in the eyes due to excess fluid. Marijuana can help relieve that pressure for hours at a time, providing an alternative to expensive eye drops typically prescribed glaucoma patients.
Almost all seniors have experienced some sort of pain in their later years, and medical marijuana can help with that. What’s interesting is that you often don’t need to ingest the marijuana to reap the medical benefits of the plant. There are rubs, creams, and lotions infused with THC that can seep through your skin and attack a small, singular area of pain.
Medical marijuana, whether it is smoked, consumed or applied topically, can help relieve acute and chronic pain by attacking the already cannabinoid receptors in our body. It helps relieve pain from arthritis, nerve damage and chronic illness, like cancer. It can also help treat anxiety and other mental health issues.
While the cost of using medical marijuana can be significantly lower than prescription medications, individuals should carefully consider whether it is right for them, and discuss it with their doctors. States have varying laws for how much you are allowed to possess on your person at one time, how much you are allowed to personally grow, and what conditions are recognized as being helped by medical marijuana. To find out more information on your state’s laws on medical marijuana, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
