Meet Sharon. She’s been struggling with IBS, insomnia and chronic pain for far too long. Medical Cannabis has been a game-changer for her quality of life, but like so many seniors on a fixed income, the cost is a strain. Please share & tag your local MP/MPPs if you support more coverage for medical cannabis. We can’t get this done without you!
The #CoverCannabis Project: Meet Sharon
Meet Sharon. She’s been struggling with IBS, insomnia and chronic pain for far too long. Medical Cannabis has been a game-changer for her quality of life, but like so many seniors on a fixed income, the cost is a strain. Please share & tag your local MP/MPPs if you support more coverage for medical cannabis. We can’t get this done without you!
The #CoverCannabis Project: Janet's Story
Need another reason why medicinal cannabis should be covered? Take a look at this amazing story. After just a couple of weeks on cannabinoid therapy, my patient has her severe fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis pain under control and has been able to sleep through the night for the first time in NINE years! You’ve heard me say it a million times, but a good night’s sleep goes a long way in reducing pain. Oh and we’ve been able to wean her opioid pain medication too.
Grateful to all my patients who have shared their story to further this important cause: #CoverCannabis
Introducing Doc Talk: A New Micro Series
It has become my life’s mission to help evolve the field of medicine and empower practitioners to integrate cannabinoid-based medicines into daily practice.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with over 1000 doctors, all around the world, providing peer-to-peer training and mentorship in this area of practice. This is a huge passion for me and something I love to do.
In #DocTalk, I’m excited to share a candid glimpse into our sessions and provide easy access for any healthcare practitioners looking to to increase their understanding. In doing so, I hope many more patients will benefit.
I hope you find it helpful and as always, please share with colleagues and reach out if you have any questions or would like to connect for a deeper conversation.
Continuing the Conversation: Medical Cannabis in Long-Term Care
I wanted to continue the conversation about cannabinoid therapy in long term care this week by sharing some insights from my colleague Kim Van Dam, Administrator at Steeves & Rozema’s Trillium Villa.
Here she talks about the outcomes we’ve seen in successfully reducing narcotic and antipsychotic use amongst residents living with chronic pain and dementia.
Trillium Villa is one of Ontario’s first LTC residences to introduce cannabinoid therapy and the first home that I worked in several years ago. I continue to work with Kim and the forward-thinking & dedicated S&R team to this day and have been excited by the number of like-minded long term care organizations and in-house physicians who have reached out to learn more about whether it could benefit their residents/patients.
Medical Cannabis and Long-Term Care
When assessing under what circumstances the Government and private insurers should #CoverCannabis, residents living in long term care facilities would be a great place to start. These people have been through so much over the last year--particularly those living with dementia, as the prolonged isolation and disruption to their routines can lead to increased behavioural and psychological symptoms.
Medical cannabis offers a safe & effective multimodal medication that can improve quality of life amongst LTC residents in a range of medical scenarios, including dementia, chronic pain, insomnia and mental health--but the cost is precluding too many seniors from accessing this treatment. We must do better for our most vulnerable citizens.
Special thanks to my colleague Kelly Batson, Manager, Resident Care, Education and Operations at Steeves & Rozema’s Trillium Villa for her vision, leadership and sharing her experience.
The #CoverCannabis Project: Another Day, Another Patient Unable To Afford Medical Cannabis
Another day, another e-mail from a patient who can no longer afford to continue on a medical treatment that is safer and more effective than anything else they’ve been on because they can’t afford it. This should make everyone who believes in universal healthcare furious.
The #CoverCannabis Project: Business of Cannabis Interview
I’m so grateful for the outpouring of support The #CoverCannabis Project has been receiving from all of you! It’s going to take a lot of noise and debate on this topic to make change happen - but I know we’re up for the challenge!
If you haven’t heard about The #CoverCannabis Project yet - or want more info - check out this quick conversation I shared with Jay from Business of Cannabis earlier this week. I really appreciate all the media who have been helping us to spread the word about this movement to a larger audience - thank you! Now everyone, please share, share, share! Let’s keep the momentum going.
Have an awesome day!
The #CoverCannabis Project: A Look Into Long-Term Care
According to a recent report from the Ontario Long Term Care Association, approximately 64% of residents living in long term care have been diagnosed with dementia and 90% have some form of cognitive impairment.
This is one of the first areas that the Government should consider covering.
Not only have we seen that cannabinoid medicines have a strong treatment success rate, they have a safer side-effect profile compared to other traditionally used medications and are multi-modal, meaning we can often treat more than one symptom at a time and reduce other meds. This is super important amongst the elderly, as polypharmacy (taking multiple medications) is the number one cause of hospitalizations due to adverse drug reactions amongst seniors.
So, not only can we improve quality of life and decrease side-effects through cannabinoid therapy, we can often reduce other medications, which has an inherent cost savings. Who else sees this as a win-win?
The #CoverCannabis Project: Ron's Story
I’d like to introduce you to my patient, Ron who was kind enough to share his experience with cannabinoid medicine as part of our #CoverCannabis Project.
Prior to initiating cannabinoid therapy, Ron suffered from extreme chronic pain, resulting from football injuries and a serious car accident. He was prescribed physiotherapy and a number of pain medications but saw no improvement. His pain was so severe that he was unable to walk even short distances. He was also chronically drowsy-- a side-effect of his painkillers and the underlying sleep disorder that developed as a result of his chronic pain.
Here is just a short snapshot of my conversation with Ron, which includes an important message for both patients and practitioners alike: It can take some time to see the benefits of cannabinoid therapy, as dosing and titration is highly individualized.
Just like you shouldn’t stop taking an antibiotic before the full course is complete, patients should follow their practitioner’s dosing instructions carefully and not get discouraged if they’re not seeing immediate results. Oftentimes it can take 4-6 weeks to reach your personal therapeutic dose -- but if you give up on therapy within a week or two, you’ll never know how your life could have changed.