Florida Nursing Home Allows Cannabis Due to Coronavirus

25 Mar Florida Nursing Home Allows Cannabis Due to Coronavirus

Posted at 02:59h in HEMP NEWS by Carlos Hermida 0 Comments

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The elderly, the part of our population that is most vulnerable to the coronavirus, sure do have a lot to be anxious about in this day and age. Especially those who live in a community for the elderly!

You ask five different people to tell you about the coronavirus and you will get five different answers. But one thing is for sure, this disease could be deadly to our elderly population.

The Elderly and The Coronavirus

Think about all those elderly people in their long-term care facilities and nursing homes. If the coronavirus spreads into one of these facilities, these people are just sitting ducks!

COVID-19 swept through the Kirkland, Washington’s Life Care Center, and has already spread to other long-term care facilities in that region. Many long term care facilities have already started to restrict movement of their residents and visitors coming in and out of their facilities.

Now think of all these elderly people, in their long-term care facilities and nursing homes, watching updates of the coronavirus on the news, not being able to leave their centers, and not allowed to have their family visit them. They have to be anxious as all hell!

They probably need some weed! Truth we all do in these stressful times! If Florida’s medical marijuana patients could serve as an example, Florida’s dispensary sales have skyrocketed in the past weeks. People are stocking up!

All long-term care facilities have been weary of allowing medical cannabis to be used on their grounds. These facilities tend to rely on federal funding and allowing a federally illegal substance just isn’t something they are allowed to do.

But…. I mean…. letting these elderly people use cannabis while they are all cooped up is just the compassionate thing to do!

Let Seniors Get Stoned!

One West Palm Beach long term care facility is getting creative and allowing its residents to consume cannabis. According to a recent Forbes article, the senior living facility, MorseLife has requested and received approval from the Florida authorities to conduct a pilot that allows its residents to access and use cannabis. Data from the participants is being collected on the cannabis products they use, outcomes to their health, outcomes to their quality of life, the effectiveness for specific conditions, side effects, and if the use of cannabis reduces the other pharmaceuticals they take. These pharmaceuticals include opiates among other drugs.

Dr. Melanie Bone, who is certified by the State of Florida to recommend cannabis, is overseeing the study. Her role is to pick potential patients to participate in the study and to guide and oversee their cannabis use. So far Dr. Bone has reported that she has been giving CBD to patients with dementia and has noticed a significant decrease I their anxiety and aggressive behavior.

Now, since the COVID-19 outbreak, Dr. Bone has been getting more requests for participants in the study due to severe anxiety. And the good doctor has allowed them to participate.

“People are expressing anxiety related to COVID-19, the lack of visitors and the isolation. And we also see anxiety among our patients who are afraid that they won’t be able to go out and get their cannabis medicine.”, Dr. Bone explains.

Fortunately for Dr. Bone, the State of Florida has lifted its ban on telemedicine for cannabis recommendations so she can monitor the study without having to physically come to the facility.