Can CBD Help A Loved One With Dementia?

An estimated 50 million people around the world have been diagnosed with some form of dementia, and every year, there are approximately 10 million new cases. There is no cure, current treatment options are limited and it’s been described as a global health crisis requiring urgent action. Despite this, like so many issues affecting our seniors, it doesn’t get a lot of airtime.

Kudos to Amy Marturana Winderl and Health Central for this extremely informative article about how advances in research are showing cannabinoid medicine to be a safe and effective treatment option in the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms associated with dementia. I was really pleased to be a part of this story.

Every 65 seconds someone in the USA is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease - and after age 65, 1 in 5 women have a chance of developing the disease. This is a topic we should all care about.

Read the full article here.

The #CoverCannabis Project: The Sarnia Journal

“The unjust part of it is that we have guidelines to switch people off opiates, and patients want to do this. But when they have to choose between groceries or medication that is covered – but possibly more harmful – they usually go for the medication that’s covered.”

Huge thanks to the Sarnia Journal for helping to raise awareness of the #CoverCannabis movement. We’re really starting to gain some momentum and are grateful to everyone who is helping us spread the word and sharing their own stories. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your experience on social, e-mail me at info@pearsonhealth.com and we can help you share it anonymously. These are the stories that will make change happen.

Full article available here.

The #CoverCannabis Project: Global News Interview with Patient Kelly

I challenge anyone to listen to my patient Kelly’s story and explain why her medical cannabis should not be covered. Full interview here: https://bit.ly/3ao2lPw

Kelly went from taking 17 drugs, including heavy narcotics like fentanyl, percocet, and oxycontin, sleeping pills like zopiclone, and biologic medications that suppress the immune system, to just her thyroid medication and her medical cannabis.

Not only is it much safer to be on fewer medications - there’s a huge cost benefit to insurers.

Cannabinoid therapy is saving Kelly’s private insurance provider thousands of dollars a year, now that she’s on SIXTEEN fewer covered meds. Not to mention the direct cost savings to #OHIP through reduced doctor visits and avoiding the hospital due to potential drug interactions. But despite all this, she has to pay out-of-pocket for the only therapy that has ever worked.

Someone please explain this to me. Or better yet, public and private policymakers, please contact me to shed some light on this for you. Truly - I’d be happy to collaborate with you.

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.

Opioid Prescribing in Canada Following the Legalization of Cannabis

For anyone out there who still needs to be convinced that cannabis can reduce opioid prescribing AND reduce public and private healthcare costs, here’s a brand new Canadian study (linked here) that I was fortunate to be a part of.

Our findings support the hypothesis that easier access to cannabis for pain may reduce opioid use for both public and private drug plans.

Overall the findings are very encouraging, although I do worry that patients are increasingly turning to the non-medical cannabis system for access. While cannabis has a superior safety profile compared to most other medications, there are contraindications & drug interactions that patients need to be aware of. Working with a licensed healthcare professional is crucial to ensuring patient safety--particularly when you’re talking about weaning things like opioids, benzodiazepines, etc.

This is yet another reason why we need to #CoverCannabis in Canada for patients who could benefit. Please help us continue to spread the word by sharing your own #CoverCannabis stories on social or sharing this post. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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: Global News Interview with Mike Stubbs

I was thrilled to be invited onto London Live with Mike Stubbs to chat about our #CoverCannabis Project.

Listen to the full interview here.

When you’re in the midst of a pandemic, other important issues don’t get a lot of attention. The problem is, they’re still there and in this case, the pandemic has exacerbated the problem by increasing many of the symptoms for which people need cannabinoid medicines AND making it harder to attain due to the financial stress the pandemic has imposed on so many Canadians.

Mike and I chat about this and more on his show. Click on the link below to hear our full conversation.

Thank you all for your continued support for this movement! Keep sharing your stories using hashtag #CoverCannabis and sharing our posts. If we make enough noise, we will make change.

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.

The #CoverCannabis Project

Today, I’m excited to announce the launch of The #CoverCannabis Project.

Through this series of conversations with real patients and their families, my goal is to shine a light on the REAL PEOPLE who are benefitting from cannabinoid therapy and raise awareness of the public health and economic benefit of providing coverage amongst Government, private insurance companies, employers, unions and other stakeholders.

Every day, I see the life-changing effects that cannabinoid-based medicine can have on improving people’s quality of life. Sadly, every day, I also have patients who are forced to stop a treatment that is working due to the cost barrier. In many cases, this means a return to the opioid therapy, antidepressants, benzodiazepines and antipsychotics that medical cannabis replaced.

Quite simply, no one should have to choose between paying for groceries and paying for their medicine.

It shows a pervasive lack of understanding and bias amongst policymakers--and is frankly discriminatory--that people living with cancer, dementia, refractory epilepsy, or some other serious condition, have to pay out-of-pocket for their PRESCRIBED cannabinoid-based medicines. Not only that, but unlike any other prescription medication, they are taxed in the same way as someone picking up a high THC joint for weekend recreational use. This is not right, and no one should be okay with this.

I’m so grateful to the many patients, families and care providers who have generously agreed to share their stories so that we can raise awareness of this important cause. This will be one of my top priorities for 2021. If you’d like to show your support, I invite you to share your own story on social media using the hashtag #CoverCannabis or write to your local MP and MPP to show this is an issue that’s important to you. We’d also appreciate it if you could re-share our #CoverCannabis posts on social to help spread the word. Together, we can do hard things.

Wishing you good health,

Blake Pearson, M.D.