Should nursing home residents have Marijuana?

Yes I would, as medical marijuana helps with many diseases, including appetite, cancer, glacoma among many other diseases

i suspect a lot of nursing home residents are of the age group that use pot recreationally. i sure know some aged pot heads.

If they want it, yes indeed. And I know quite a few myself, Cap... lol

Yes,yes yes anything that makes life more tolerable. I have purchased alcohol for an alcoholic in a hospital so she could avoid the DTs

It's legal in my state, so have at it.. If it makes a patient comfortable I have no problem with it..

What ever improves the quality of life, with whatever the good Lord gave us works for me. Can you just see the bong being passed in the day room?

What to prescribe is best left to the medical professionals. I understand that the elderly often react differently to drugs than when they were younger. Caregivers always should be alert for side effects which may indicate the meds are doing more harm than good -- in this case possibly listlessness and paranoia.

NEVER

Absolutely.

YES and so should we free with 24hr delivery service!! Having a bad day would smoke anything right now!

Yes, I support medical marijuana and yes, I would support my elderly loved one in partaking of THC to curb his nausea or other ailments. IF it were legal in my state, which it is not. But I would not obtain it in herb form, roll a joint, and let my loved one puff away but ONLY because I'd be afraid of getting caught and getting into trouble.

But yes, I totally support it and think it's ridiculous that it's not legal.

Something interesting I thought about as I posted my above comment: I mentioned being afraid of getting caught. But if it were my CHILD and my CHILD had cancer or some other disease that has symptoms pot would alleviate I would get it in any way I could and damn the consequences. Hmmm....I'm going to have to think about that one now. Not willing to get into trouble for my elderly parent but willing to get into trouble for my child.

Hmmmm......

Eyerishlass, I'm with you on that one. I think many moms would feel the same. It is hard to see your parent struggle or be in discomfort, but as they say "growing old is not for sissies." It's expected that as we get old, aches and pains and diagnoses will befall us. But, no mom can standby with her child in pain and not do EVERYTHING possible to alleviate it. Legal or illegal - no brainer. What I've pondered is if I'd do something immoral to save my child. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be above it.

I had a friend who used marijuana during her last months, to make her cancerous condition more bearable. I can't fault her or anyone else who uses marijuana to ease such suffering.

YES YES YES

In pill form ....ok. Concerned with smoking.
Smoking pot is as dangerous as cigarettes from the burn, fire danger perspective.
I would not want to work in an enclosed environment where people are smoking cigs or joints.

As l write this, there are already 16 "answers" to this "question"

Analysis:

11 are in favor of using medical marijuana
1 says "NEVER" (and HE is a suffering 71 year old, how sad!)
2 address the morality of obtaining it even though it is illegal
1 is concerned about the fire hazard of smoking
and 1 addresses the nature of prescribing marijuana

YIKES ... the question as asked by "ps" and the title placed on this question by the moderator are completely different and I'm afraid this has led to a lot of confusion. The title asks about nursing home residents having marijuana, whereas "ps" is asking about the prescribing of "dronabinol", which is the generic name for Marinol, a synthetic cannabinoid.

So that this post is not too long, please see two additional posts in this thread which I am going to make, one discussing Marinol and the second discussing marijuana vs Marinol. My hope is to bring some clarity to this.

Only Gigi seems to have picked up that "ps" was asking about the prescribing of "dronaninol", the generic name for MARINOL, a synthetic cannabinoid of THC, the base substance that science believes is the "active ingredient" in marijuana.

As is often the case in medicine, when an original herb is fractionated, the so-called active ingredient isolated, synthesized then duplicated, the new and miraculous "drug" often has more side effects then nature's original. Hmmm...

Due to restrictions for posting links to any "dot com's", I won't give you the link directly but will tell you that you can google "marinol" followed by the dreaded "dot com" (any Internet users will be able to easily do this), you will find information about Marinol, its uses and contraindications.

While taking Marinol, these include NOT smoking marijuana (haha) - and I would add not EATING it either), not drinking alcohol, not taking tranquilizers or sedatives, telling the doctor in advance if you have heart problems or a seizure history etc, being aware it can cause confusion and dizziness as well as knowing that the effects can be amplified in the elderly.

Just so you know...

My next post will be information about comparing Marinol with marijuana...

Marijuana smoking has led to pulmonary cavities among medical marijuana users in California and the UK. The pill form is prescribed in 2.5 / 5/ 10 mg capsules. You can't split them because the contents are oil. Turns out my daughter, who has brain cancer, got holes in her lungs, from either fungus in the pot, or very dirty bong water. She now has a scrip for 10mg marinol twice a day, but the RX is very expensive at $900 a refill. It does improve her mood and appetite. She needs a third craniotomy but surgery is on hold because of her lung condition plus low blood cell counts aka pancytopenia. I fear we are on a short road, is marinol an end stage palliative care thing?

ps - this is so heartwrenching about your daughter and painful that she, you and your family are having to deal with it. I don't know if you're on the "short road" as you put it but it definitely sounds like the slippery slope.

50 years ago, my Physiological Psych professor said that smoking is NEVER good, no matter what you smoke (HE was a smoker and said that smokers smoke because they're neurotic and that the Surgeon General's "new" warning on cigarette packages would just serve to make smokers smoke more, haha).

the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws - norml.org - and other medical marijuana groups, as well as many patients who have needed long term use of marijuana, seem to be in favor of "cannabis vaporization". I haven't as yet completed my research however I did you a medical video where they explained this did not I mean the use of a bong, rather collection of the marijuana smoke in a bag and then inhaling it, rather than directly smoking it, from out of the bag. This may have satisfied my professor in that his physiological explanation for the damage to the lungs caused by smoking was directly related to the superheated hot air being drawn in.

Now I am on a path of further research to discover whether molds and fungi are present in the captured smoke and could also contribute to pulmonary cavities. When these cavities have been medically excised and sent to the pathology lab, my understanding is that they have generally found microscopic particles Organic marijuana fiber. I have never read that they have sound free mold or fungi cells, although they may be too small to find. lf anyone has more about this, please jump in.

ps - is your daughters Marinol covered by her insurance or Medicaid, whichever she is on? That $900 is surely more expensive than marijuana, which is of course why the drug companies get involved in manufacturing a product in the first place.

As 200 Marinol is end stage palliative, is your daughter on hospice? lf she could have the craniotomy that is currently on hold, is that expected to either cure her or give her a much longer life, or is it just to stave off the inevitable?

As we all know and have heard before: none of us are getting out of this alive. So it seems to me that your daughters comfort should be everyone's prime consideration. As most of our current health POA's state today, we want pain control even if it hastens our death.

some corrections to that post in answer to "ps"

I did VIEW a medical video

they have generally sound microscopic particles OF organic marijuana fibers

as TO WHETHER your daughters Marinol is and stage palliative

For those of you who are interested in a comparison between Marinol and marijuana, please Google "norml marinol vs natural plant" for a thorough discussion on NORML.ORG

They don't seem to have a problem with Marinol that explain quite clearly why Marinol doesn't work for every patient and why medical marijuana should still be available above and beyond the Marinol, especially for those in whom Marinol is not effective.

Since we have heard from ps about the cost of Marinol, I would add that not legalizing medical marijuana is a form of discrimination for low income and disadvantage persons who would never be able to afford Marinol.

Absolutely. Medicinal marijuana is very helpful. However, if it is smoked it should not be around patients who have respiratory issues OR around other patients who don't require it.. otherwise.. stock up on Doritos !! :-)

Know a guy from childhood who has MS he smokes doobies for his pain his carer swears by it should be made legal for MS sufferers.

Queen Victoria was supposed to have taken this for period pain!

YES!!!!
Maybe the real questions are more:
=What form is allowed?
=What variety of plant[s] are allowed?
=How is it going to be aligned with other meds patients must take?

Working with cancer patients, when early pharmaceutical version of THC came out, [back in about 1986 or so?] It failed to control pain much at all. Everyone complained who got it.
OTH, when patients w/cancer & a few other conditions were allowed to smoke actual marijuana, in their room with window open and door sealed closed,
... all those got actual pain relief; nausea from chemo relief; seizure & muscle spasm relief; were able to eat when otherwise couldn't, and so much more good it has done, and can do.

It's mainly the CBD factors in that herb, that do the good things it does.
The THC's in the herb mostly tranquilize [sometimes that's a good thing!].

Downsides:
--Smoking works fastest, lasts shortest, but smoke is a problem for breathing issues.
--Vaporizing still has aromas in the air that others breath unwittingly.
--Even though State Legal in some, it's still Federally illegal, which could cause some issues if Feds got snarky about it.
--Many Docs are clueless how to integrate it into what else they prescribe, & are still stuck in historic disinformation campaign started almost 100 years ago.
Whoever is on call, says what goes for prescriptions; in many cases there might be some Docs who go for it, and others covering same facilities that don't.

Grey Areas:
--Some varieties of plants cause unwanted side effects, like increased anxiety or depression, while others actually help resolve these conditions.

Good sides:
--Tinctures act fairly fast, last far longer, and there's no smoke or vapors.
--Cremes act slower to control pain in painful body parts, but again, no smoke.
--Medibles are both yummy -and- deliver dose of needed relief, and perhaps calories for patients needing calories.
--The stuff really, really works, used properly: It works far better and far fewer adverse effects, than what's been being promoted by mainstream medicine [prescription pharmaceutical pain meds] .
If it's got high CBD's, patients keep their levels of consciousness; if it's got more THC's, they will be calmed, tranquil, sleep usually better than sleeping pills can offer them. Some varieties even help unblock constipation...a significant problem in nursing homes and other elder care facilities.

I cannot think of a single -real- problem with allowing it, other than the feds have yet to legalize it at the Fed level, and Big Pharma stands to lose profits as more people use Marijuana to resolve medical issues, instead of so many drugs with adverse effects.
States that have legalized it, reversed Constitutional procedures doing it before Feds did it. It's just a matter of time before something will dramatically change.

Thank you carolynn, yes the dronabinol is a tier 2 drug, so her copay is $10 but the insurance donut hole kicks in quickly when the Rx is $900 a month. Once she hits $2500 for the year, the next $4500 is out-of-pocket.
My daughter is not on Hospice and the craniotomy simply buys more time. We want this time to be relaxed and happy, with good appetite.

I did find a link on thealzheimerspouse where caregivers report rapid improvement with only 2.5mg a day. I'm not saying it will work for every patient, but when my time comes, put some in my tea, please.

Yes. I agree with kassaa.

Certainly, it is a life saver.

my mother sparked one up at the age of 75. in hindsight i believe she was already ill with dementia. we were working out by her house and was stopping in about every morning. every morning she was sitting at the table crying her eyes out. the joint did calm her down . i think she was playing us a bit. she had recently ran my sister and family off and she was all alone. i ended up moving in with her shortly therafter. it was still pretty funny to see a 75 year old sunday school teacher spark one up.

years ago which now makes me a bit sad thinking about it my ex-hubby and I got my mum high on a cake she wet herself laughing she said it was the best sleep shed had in years! Good times!