Medical Cannabis Option for Elderly People

Medical Cannabis is a Viable Option for Treating Health Issues in Elderly People, Study Claims

17:32 25 March 2019

A new study conducted by researchers at the Dent Neurologic Institute claims that medical marijuana helps elderly people ease their aches and pains, get relief from anxiety and sleep disorders, and manage their neurological conditions well.

During the four month long study, participants took different quantities of THC and CBD-- either in an electronic vaporizer or in liquid form-- and received regular checkups. For those who don’t know, THC and CBD are key ingredients of medical cannabis; the former is a psychoactive compound that interacts with the central nervous system making one feel ‘high’ whereas the latter is supposed to provide relief from anxiety and inflammation and ease pain related symptoms.

So, what does the study claim?

Around 70% of the people who took part in the study said that they could see some reduction in pain levels and improvement in quality of life after a four month course of medical cannabis. Almost half of the participants reported pain relief as the biggest benefit whereas one fifth of the group confirmed that their sleep issues were reduced. Another positive thing to come out of the study is that one third of the group ended up consuming less opioids than usual, steering clear of the harm caused by substance abuse.

Having said that, participants did complain of some side effects. One in three persons had reported some side effects including sleepiness, gastrointestinal problems and balance before the researchers made an appropriate adjustment in dosage to take care of that; as a result, the percentage of people that complained of having adverse effects came down from 34% to 21%. Following that, the team of researchers studied the rest of the people with no side effects and concluded that an equal quantity of THC and CBD might have contributed to the lack of side effects. It has to be noted that, unlike THC, CBD is not a psychoactive compound, and is believed to counteract the effects of its counterpart.

The results of this study are quite similar to those of another cannabis study conducted in the US last year with 2700 elderly people participating. It claimed that taking medical cannabis for a course of six months brought down the average scores from eight to four (on a pain scale of 10), highlighting that marijuana eased pain symptoms in more than 90% of the participants. The findings of both the studies are encouraging enough for researchers to conduct further research into using medical cannabis as an option for treating elderly people, with special focus on issues like balance and sleepiness.

No surprises why medical marijuana is gaining popularity as a possible option for treating aches and pains, particularly among elderly people suffering from stress disorders and chronic illnesses. More and more doctors are now looking at ways to safely incorporate cannabis into their medical practice so they can help elderly patients deal with their symptoms better. And, more medical dispensaries operating with a valid license are continuing to add useful cannabis products into their catalogue.

If you are in Canada, and are looking to buy some good quality cannabis online, don’t look beyond this website. Just Cannabis has a variety of cannabis products that run the gamut from topicals and cartridges to pre-rolls and CBD oils. Head on over to Just Cannabis now and browse through their growing collection of fresh and new cannabis products.