Cannabis products are being used by more seniors than ever before to treat chronic pain, improve sleep, and even build stronger bones. The fastest-growing group of medical marijuana users in the US is actually seniors. We recommend that seniors who are considering incorporating marijuana into their daily lives first speak with an online medical doctor. He will assess your health condition or conditions and make recommendations regarding whether or not marijuana is beneficial for you.
Discover the many health advantages of cannabis for seniors and how medical marijuana can help you or the elderly person in your life feel better and lessen the effects of chronic illnesses.
Advantages of Cannabis for Seniors
There are numerous potential advantages to using cannabis as a senior, including reducing arthritic pain, strengthening bones, and reducing the risk of fractures.
Relieves Arthritis Pain Without the Risk of Addiction
Elderly people getting “zombified” from opioids (especially codeine) or hypnotics prescribed to help them cope with the pain of arthritis and other conditions is perhaps one of the saddest things to witness. Furthermore, some of these prescription drugs have the potential to worsen arthritic pain over time.
After being prescribed opioids to treat chronic pain, many patients abuse them, and some develop an addiction. With the possible exception of the most dire situations, cannabis can assist seniors in avoiding or stopping such prescription medications.
Cannabis can be used to treat pain for two good reasons. One is that phytocannabinoids have a much lower potential for addiction because they work through the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to alleviate pain rather than directly through the body’s opioid receptors.
The second reason is that psychological stress is one of the main causes of pain. One of the reasons doctors frequently prescribe antidepressants to treat pain is that if you reduce stress, you can also reduce pain. Additionally, it is commonly known that cannabis can help people deal with stress and anxiety.
Enhances Sleep Quality
According to certain research, cannabis may improve sleep quality. CBD may help some people feel more at ease, which is one of the possible sleep benefits of cannabis. However, not everyone who uses CBD will feel calm; in fact, some people may feel more energized when using small amounts of CBD with little to no THC. However, some users claim that THC and the myrcene terpene have a sedative effect.
Melatonin, the hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle, may be particularly helpful in CBD products. CBD-containing sleep aids are available over the counter without a prescription, but you can access a wide variety of cannabis that may help with insomnia if you have a medical marijuana card.
May Help Strengthen Bones
Two degenerative bone diseases that primarily affect women in their later years are osteoporosis and osteopenia. Cannabis use has been connected to the reversal of bone loss, according to research. Cannabis may strengthen bones while lowering the chance of fractures, but this does not imply that it is a treatment for osteoporosis or osteopenia.
According to other studies, daily, heavy cannabis use may be detrimental to bone density. Researchers have not yet found a connection between occasional or moderate cannabis use and bone loss. Before using medical marijuana to treat osteoporosis or any other condition, speak with your doctor.
Boosts Appetite
Experiencing a decrease in appetite is a difficult part of growing older and more vulnerable to disease. Reduced appetite can result in depression, immune system problems, weight loss, and a general lack of energy.
This issue is exacerbated when taking multiple prescription medications, each of which has its own adverse effects, some of which may make the previously mentioned problems worse. Cannabis has the ability to increase appetite and help avoid these problems.
If a senior has been diagnosed with cancer and is receiving chemotherapy, they may also benefit from taking dronabinol. In order to combat the nausea and appetite loss that frequently accompany chemotherapy and other cancer treatments like radiation, doctors may prescribe this synthetic THC-based medication.
Compared to THC in medical cannabis, which contains numerous other cannabinoids and terpenes that may help lessen the negative effects of THC via the entourage effect, some patients claim that the effects of dronabinol are too strong.
Decreases Reliance on Multiple Medications
Was it ever necessary for you to take multiple pills in the morning, again at noon, and again at night? For both the pill taker and their caregivers, remembering what needs to be taken, when each pill needs to be taken, and having to change meal times to accommodate medications can be a major hassle.
In order to combat the side effects of the other medications, which may not even be effectively treating the original condition, you find yourself taking more pills before you realize it. Because of this, many elderly people who begin using cannabis discover that they can cut back on the amount of medication they require on a daily basis.
Few people are aware that older patients who take pills continuously may experience serious psychological effects. The body can suffer greatly from taking multiple medications, particularly when attempting to manage symptoms, control side effects, and ensure proper dosages. Cannabis can ease pain, muscle aches, and anxiety, or at the very least, lessen the effects of a high dosage of pills.
Many older people are becoming more receptive to the idea of medical cannabis as more science and research back up its efficacy. You can apply for a medical marijuana card in Bergen, New Jersey directly through MD Ganja and begin legally purchasing medical cannabis in your state if you or a loved one is an elderly person.
