Older UK Patients Respond Favorably To Medical Cannabis Products
It is no secret that as humans age they experience health conditions at an increasing rate. As the saying goes, Father Time is undefeated. However, there are therapeutic strategies that older individuals can incorporate to help alleviate some ailments that occur as we age.
Medical cannabis therapies are an option for aging patients, with medical cannabis products increasing in popularity among senior citizens across the globe, including in the United Kingdom.
A team of researchers in the United Kindom recently conducted a study involving older patients and medical cannabis. Many of the study’s participants reported improvements after medical cannabis use. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:
London, United Kingdom: Older patients report experiencing better health and well-being following their use of medical cannabis preparations, according to data published in the journal Drugs & Aging.
British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) consisting of either flower or oil extracts in a cohort of patients ages 65 and older. (British specialists are permitted to prescribe cannabis products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Study participants primarily suffered from chronic pain. Patients consumed cannabis products for three months.
Consistent with the findings of other observational studies, older patients reported “significant improvements” following cannabis use, including “substantial reductions” in pain severity.
The study’s authors concluded: “There were consistent improvements across measures of general health and well-being after three months of treatment. … These findings accord with a growing body of observational and real-world evidence from jurisdictions that have legalized medicinal cannabis that cannabis is effective for improving sleep, mood and quality of health across multiple primary conditions.”
Israeli data published in 2022 similarly reported quality-of-life improvements in medical cannabis patients. Among patients with post-traumatic stress, 91 percent reported that cannabis treatment was a success, as did 84 percent of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and 78 percent of patients with chronic pain.
According to statistics published in The Journals of Gerontology, more than one-third of those age 65 or older take five or more pharmaceuticals daily.
Full text of the study, “Prescribed medical cannabis use among older individuals: Patient characteristics and improvements in well-being: Findings from T21,” appears in Drugs & Aging. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Cannabis Use by Older Populations.’
