Being old is not something that goes well with everyone. It seems daunting to many with greying hair, those unwanted wrinkles, and who can forget the “forgetting” part.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly referred to as CDC, once a person makes it to 65, chances are that they would live another 18-20 years. But, getting older is always challenging. Because of a number of medical conditions which make way into the lives of many.
And this makes it impossible to stay healthy for longer periods of time.
No, we are not saying that you cannot.
Of course, you can.
By abiding with the rules of healthy living.
But, is that possible for everyone facing the old age?
No.
So, what can be done for managing a range of medical conditions faced by seniors?
Well, as you already know, medical marijuana is among the popular choices when it comes to management of chronic conditions. It has been seen that there has been a rapid rise in the demand for medical cannabis among seniors by more than 200%.
And the reasons for such choices are many. First and foremost is pretty simple. Medical marijuana is helpful in making their life easier with its therapeutic efficacy in a range of medical disorders.
We will take the subject in the next part of the article. For starters, we will look at some more explanations regarding the same.
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Cost-effective and Safer Option
Medical marijuana is undoubtedly a safer option compared to a lot of prescription medications such as opioids, antipsychotics. And when it comes to medical bills, medical marijuana seems to be more cost-effective as compared to the traditional medications.
It has been that a senior spends approximately $2500 per year on buying medications. On the contrary, the cost of medical cannabis around the year is around $800.
Isn’t that good?
One can actually get less of side effects with less of the medical expenses.
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Desperation to Managing Medical Conditions
Sometimes, seniors switch to medical cannabis just to relief from the painful complications. Especially, when all the OTCs and prescription drugs are unable to cure the medical conditions.
And medical marijuana is definitely able to cure a number of conditions faced by the seniors without any issue. This is not what we say, this is what studies and researches imply.
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Aids in Providing Quality Sleep
With aging, the thing which gets mostly hampered is the sound sleep. Often seniors complaint of being lazy the following days, when they don’t get enough sleep. Sometimes due to pain or other symptoms. With medical marijuana, one can sleep soundly without much of medical issues to worry about.
Basically, a win-win situation in every situation.
Now, coming back to the primary question, “Is medical marijuana helpful for seniors?”.
Well, the answer is definitely “yes”.
Here’s How Medical Marijuana Is Beneficial for Seniors
When it comes to seniors, Alzheimer’s hold the most common concern with more than 5 million Americans suffering from this type of degenerative brain disorder.
Other than that, mostly seniors are affected by GIT disorders along with chronic pain, inflammation, and other related symptoms.
And guess what, to every symptom or condition faced by the seniors, medical cannabis holds a solution to each of them.
Isn’t that great?
Yes. It is for sure.
But, how come a single plant is the solutions to all your medical worries. I am sure this must be the question going around in your mind.
Well, we have an answer. The scientific and anecdotal studies have confirmed that medical cannabis has the following therapeutic properties which can be helpful in a variety of medical conditions.
- Analgesic
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-emetic
- Anti-seizure
- Immunosuppressant
- Antidepressant
- Anti-anxiety medication
- Sleep Aid
- Appetite stimulant
- Muscle relaxant
- Antioxidant
So, whether you have chronic pain, or you are suffering from a debilitating condition such as IBS, Cancer, Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Arthritis, Respiratory disorders, Glaucoma or Cardiovascular disorders, you will be able to manage it properly with the help of medical marijuana.
Now, the next question arises is how to consume medical cannabis for the purpose of medication.
Cannabis Consumption By Seniors
We already know that the consumption of medical cannabis has been legalized in many states. So, understanding what will be beneficial for your medical condition must be on the top of the list of prerequisites.
While many senior patients might think that smoking is the only way to consume cannabis. But, that’s absolutely not true. Cannabis can be consumed in many ways where you don’t have to think about hurting the lungs.
Here are a few modes of consumption that you can try as per your medical condition and symptoms involved.
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Raw Plant
You can consume cannabis flower using the pre-rolled joint, or a pipe.
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Vaporizing
Although, this might seem to be expensive. But this particular mode of consumption has a fast onset of action. And you don’t have to worry about your lungs as well.
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Cannabis Concentrates
These are very potent in action as a little amount of medication will be able to achieve the desired therapeutic action within no time.
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Edibles
These come in amazing flavors and varieties. Edibles have the advantage of prolonged therapeutic action.
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Sublingual
These are one of the best methods which a senior can use. Just a drop of medication under the tongue and therapeutic action gets activated.
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Topicals/ Transdermal Patches
Another useful consumption methods which can be used by seniors. These include CBD creams, lotions, and patches which can be used anywhere and anytime. Specifically for target location action.
Let’s move forward to the next set of question.
How to Avoid Getting High With Cannabis?
Well, contrary to what everyone believes, not every strain is producing “high” of euphoria effects. If you are concerned about this issue, then using high CBD strains will be helpful as they come with the advantage of non-psychoactive effects.
And all the therapeutic properties that we discussed earlier is commenced by CBD as well. So, using CBD products would be beneficial in the same way.
So, to wrap it up, medical cannabis is beneficial in many ways, especially for seniors. It is a way to live a healthy life without compromising your health in any way.
So, switch to medical cannabis and live a healthy and prosperous life ahead.
Jo Harvelle is a freelance writer and blogger. She is living in Los Angeles, California and has been writing on Medical Marijuana for Health, and Online 420 Evaluations.