As the medical marijuana market continues to grow for people struggling with chronic disease and other conditions, more and more senior citizens are starting to use medical cannabis as an alternative treatment option. In fact, a good portion of the medical marijuana buyers are people over the age of 65.
In our old age, often we run into problems just getting through the day and doing simple tasks in our day to day lives. Part of this can be attributed to diseases, chronic pain, and other health conditions that can impair the movement and function of our bodies. In other cases, our bodies simply don’t work as well as they used to and consequently need a little bit of extra care when it comes to medical treatment. That is why many senior citizens living with various conditions are starting to come around to the idea of medical cannabis.
However, most older people have either never smoked marijuana before or used it very sparingly in their early days. This is because there was much more of a stigma around marijuana decades ago - and not to mention, cannabis was completely illegal for the majority of older people’s lives. Consequently, lots of senior citizens in the United States do not know much about cannabis, medical programs revolving around marijuana, and how to actually consume the plant. So I wanted to come on here and write this article specifically for people over the age of 65.
If that is you, then I suggest that you can keep reading. We are now in a new era of America, one that does not put people behind bars for smoking medical marijuana with a card. Many older citizens are discovering that cannabis can be a really effective treatment option for dealing with inflammation, pain, and other health conditions. So what do you need to know about smoking cannabis?
Well first, you need to talk to your primary care physician or doctor to get started. Cannabis, like any other drug, needs to be carefully supervised and approved by your doctor before you can start using it. Sometimes there are health conditions or medications that can cause complications for people who are also regularly using cannabis. When you make an appointment with your doctor, they will be able to determine if cannabis is a right fit for you and can be used as a treatment option.
Of course, they will go through your past and current medical history and conditions, and make sure that you do not have any cardiovascular or respiratory conditions that may be a concern later down the road. Once your doctor has determined that you are able to apply for a medical marijuana card, they will write you a referral for your medical marijauna card health evaluation. If you have a qualifying condition, it should be no problem being accepted into your state’s cannabis program.
It is important to note, however, that each state has a different list of conditions that “qualify” for the use of medical marijuana. While some states are very liberal in the amount of conditions that they will accept, other states are extremely stringent on what they consider to be a qualifying condition. Texas, for example, only allows patients with life ending health conditions or completely debilitating disease to be accepted into the medical marijuana program.
Medical marijuana is really effective for patients who have been trying other pain medications that are simply not doing the trick. Sometimes other pain medications, like opioids, can have some brutal side effects. Medical cannabis is a great alternative for people who have been maxed out on their dosage of pain medications and cannot safely raise their dose anymore.
