The General
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Los Angeles - Those who stand to benefit most from medical marijuana have the hardest time getting it. Margo Bauer was desperate. Dealing with chronic nausea and frequent bouts of vomiting both attributed to her multiple sclerosis the retired nurse was constantly exhausted and in pain. That was, until she attended an informational meeting where she was introduced to medical marijuana.
Under California's Medical Marijuana Program, she received a medical marijuana card and now legally grows her own plant at a Southern California assisted living facility where she lives with her husband, who suffers from Alzheimer's. Bauer smokes a rolled joint occasionally, which she says keeps her nausea at bay, and her pain lifted to the point that she joined an all-female synchronized swimming team, the Aquadettes.
Medical Pot Advocate at 75:
Bauer, now 75, has also become an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana use among seniors and was instrumental in starting a collective at her assisted living facility. "I carry a little container with a rolled cigarette," she said, "and if I have nausea I know that it is because I haven't taken enough pot." While California remains at the forefront of the country's tumultuous relationship with the marijuana industry, medical marijuana usage is on the rise among seniors like Bauer. Ailments ranging from chemotherapy side effects, arthritis, glaucoma, chronic pain and even malnutrition are being treated with cannabis, a promising alternative for seniors.
Medical Marijuana Classes:
Although California facilities administrators even those who had allowed residents to use medical marijuana, or who considered it fear federal prosecution and decline to discuss it for publication. But Liz McDuffie, founder of the Medical Cannabis Caregivers Directory in Pasadena, is facilitating an educational endeavor familiarizing facility administrators with the benefits of medical marijuana, all within California law.
McDuffie, a marijuana educator and advocate for decades, received approval from the state in 2011, to teach a class under the department's continuing education program for Adult Residential Facility Administrator Licensing and Re-Certification. The class, titled "California's Medical Marijuana Program As It Relates to Adult Residential Care Facility Access," provides four hours of credit toward the Continuing Education requirement for facility administrators. It covers how regulations governing State Licensed Residential Care Facilities support adult residential facilities (ARF) client participation in the marijuana program.
The class teaches administrators delivery, ingestion and storage options as well as how to recognize legal marijuana collectives and cooperatives within compliance of state and local law. McDuffie said there's something bigger at play than just unwillingness of administrators: Medical marijuana cannot reach seniors living in assisted living facilities until it's fully regulated. "You got to give them something clean and safe," she said. "That's why we put in place agencies to protect the consumer. We don't have anything in our industry to address what we're giving to use as medicine. If no one is interested in how to regulate the product, it's not going in healthcare facilities."
Care Homes Fear Losing Federal Funds:
For the marijuana advocates working to change perceptions of a substance classified as a Schedule 1 Drug, reaching seniors in assisted living facilities has been an ongoing, lengthy struggle. Sue Taylor, the senior outreach coordinator for Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif., the largest marijuana dispensary in the country and subject of several federal lawsuits, had difficulties with assisted living facilities and nursing homes for years. They wouldn't let me in, because they were afraid of losing funding and getting put out of the building for even smoking," she said.
After several failed attempts, she changed her approach and teamed up with local organizations while meeting seniors at health fairs. She now arranges tours of Harborside for seniors and administrators, giving them a firsthand glimpse of the dispensary to answer questions and quell misconceptions. The mother of three and former educator thinks a major part of why her message has been effective has to do with her approach. "I'm harmless. I don't walk around with weed leaves on my shirt and weed earrings," she said. "I want cannabis to take its rightful place as a spiritual component and medicine." Taylor's initial experience with administrators is echoed by other medical marijuana advocates.
According to a Los Angeles-based marijuana advocate, who wished to remain anonymous, every administrator with whom she spoke at several facilities was under the impression that cannabis is illegal. They feared losing their state license, if they allowed it as an alternative symptom relief for clients. Most simply refused to discuss medical cannabis past this initial misconception, she said.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Newamericamedia.org
Author: Liana Aghajanian
Contact: About Us - New America Media
Website: Cannabis for Elders: A Precarious State - New America Media
Under California's Medical Marijuana Program, she received a medical marijuana card and now legally grows her own plant at a Southern California assisted living facility where she lives with her husband, who suffers from Alzheimer's. Bauer smokes a rolled joint occasionally, which she says keeps her nausea at bay, and her pain lifted to the point that she joined an all-female synchronized swimming team, the Aquadettes.
Medical Pot Advocate at 75:
Bauer, now 75, has also become an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana use among seniors and was instrumental in starting a collective at her assisted living facility. "I carry a little container with a rolled cigarette," she said, "and if I have nausea I know that it is because I haven't taken enough pot." While California remains at the forefront of the country's tumultuous relationship with the marijuana industry, medical marijuana usage is on the rise among seniors like Bauer. Ailments ranging from chemotherapy side effects, arthritis, glaucoma, chronic pain and even malnutrition are being treated with cannabis, a promising alternative for seniors.
Medical Marijuana Classes:
Although California facilities administrators even those who had allowed residents to use medical marijuana, or who considered it fear federal prosecution and decline to discuss it for publication. But Liz McDuffie, founder of the Medical Cannabis Caregivers Directory in Pasadena, is facilitating an educational endeavor familiarizing facility administrators with the benefits of medical marijuana, all within California law.
McDuffie, a marijuana educator and advocate for decades, received approval from the state in 2011, to teach a class under the department's continuing education program for Adult Residential Facility Administrator Licensing and Re-Certification. The class, titled "California's Medical Marijuana Program As It Relates to Adult Residential Care Facility Access," provides four hours of credit toward the Continuing Education requirement for facility administrators. It covers how regulations governing State Licensed Residential Care Facilities support adult residential facilities (ARF) client participation in the marijuana program.
The class teaches administrators delivery, ingestion and storage options as well as how to recognize legal marijuana collectives and cooperatives within compliance of state and local law. McDuffie said there's something bigger at play than just unwillingness of administrators: Medical marijuana cannot reach seniors living in assisted living facilities until it's fully regulated. "You got to give them something clean and safe," she said. "That's why we put in place agencies to protect the consumer. We don't have anything in our industry to address what we're giving to use as medicine. If no one is interested in how to regulate the product, it's not going in healthcare facilities."
Care Homes Fear Losing Federal Funds:
For the marijuana advocates working to change perceptions of a substance classified as a Schedule 1 Drug, reaching seniors in assisted living facilities has been an ongoing, lengthy struggle. Sue Taylor, the senior outreach coordinator for Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif., the largest marijuana dispensary in the country and subject of several federal lawsuits, had difficulties with assisted living facilities and nursing homes for years. They wouldn't let me in, because they were afraid of losing funding and getting put out of the building for even smoking," she said.
After several failed attempts, she changed her approach and teamed up with local organizations while meeting seniors at health fairs. She now arranges tours of Harborside for seniors and administrators, giving them a firsthand glimpse of the dispensary to answer questions and quell misconceptions. The mother of three and former educator thinks a major part of why her message has been effective has to do with her approach. "I'm harmless. I don't walk around with weed leaves on my shirt and weed earrings," she said. "I want cannabis to take its rightful place as a spiritual component and medicine." Taylor's initial experience with administrators is echoed by other medical marijuana advocates.
According to a Los Angeles-based marijuana advocate, who wished to remain anonymous, every administrator with whom she spoke at several facilities was under the impression that cannabis is illegal. They feared losing their state license, if they allowed it as an alternative symptom relief for clients. Most simply refused to discuss medical cannabis past this initial misconception, she said.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Newamericamedia.org
Author: Liana Aghajanian
Contact: About Us - New America Media
Website: Cannabis for Elders: A Precarious State - New America Media
