Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a proposal to have public health insurance cover medical cannabis costs, the health-related reasons consumers give for using cannabis, the trend of adding cannabis to cosmetics and wellness products and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Health Insurance
In what advocates hope is a preview of things to come, the New York Senate has approved a bill that would require public health insurance programs to cover medical marijuana expenses and clarify that private insurers are allowed to do the same.
So says Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment. Jaeger reports that the legislation would amend state public health and social services statutes to address one of the most significant barriers to patient access to medical cannabis: the out-of-pocket cost of the medicine.
According to Jaeger it would achieve that by defining medical marijuana as a “prescription drug,” “covered drug” or “health care service” under the relevant codes so that public health insurance providers, including Medicaid and workers compensation, would be mandated to provide coverage. For private, commercial insurers, however, cannabis coverage would be optional.
What’s referred to as a “justification memo” attached to the bill notes, “For thousands of patients, medical marijuana is a safer and more effective medication than other drugs, especially opioids. While it can be prohibitively expensive for many patients, especially in the absence of insurance coverage, it may often be less expensive than what their insurance coverage pays for other medications.”
Jaeger makes the point that if the bill is enacted, public health insurance programs that would be affected by the proposed policy change include Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC), Essential Plan programs and workers compensation.
The justification memo acknowledges that given the current status of cannabis at the federal level, these programs would probably not receive federal matching funds. However, as the legislators and staff who drafted the memo point out, “New York’s Medicaid and Child Health Plus programs have always covered people and services for which we do not receive federal match.”
Now for the bad news. Given that the normal legislative session is coming to an end, it’s likely the bill will have to be reintroduced unless it’s brought up in a special session. Similar legislation was filed in the Assembly in 2018, but did not advance out of committee.
To learn more on the issue, including proposals in other states to expand insurance coverage to address medical cannabis, we urge you to read Kyle Jaeger’s masterful reporting in the June 2, 2022 issue of Marijuana Moment.
Stats of the Week
The magic numbers this week are 91 percent and 62 percent. According to a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., a company described as a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis, 91 percent of adults surveyed aged 21 and older who have ever consumed cannabis revealed they have done so for health and wellness purposes. In addition, 62 percent of Americans surveyed said they would prefer to use cannabis over pharmaceuticals when treating a medical issue.
According to the online survey, which solicited responses from nearly 2,000 U.S. adults ages 21 and older, the top health and wellness-related reasons Americans gave for consuming cannabis were to relax (52 percent), to help with sleep (49 percent), to reduce stress (44 percent) and to reduce anxiety (41 percent).
According to PR Newswire, the survey also found that 88 percent of those who have consumed cannabis as an alternative and/or in addition to pharmaceutical treatments feel that doing so has improved their overall well-being and 86 percent of those who have used cannabis for health or wellness said they would recommend cannabis to a friend or family member for medical reasons.
To learn more, we suggest you read the June 8, 2022 issue of Cision, a publication of PR Newswire.
Those who want to read the detailed results of the survey itself can click on the link that follows.
Cannabis Corner
From beverages to pet treats and everything in between, manufacturers are finding ways to include both THC and CBD in a wide variety of products, including cosmetics.
That’s the word from Jessica Reilly, in an article for The Cannigma. She makes the point that while studies on the benefits of using cannabis-infused makeup are slim, the benefits of topical application of THC, CBD and other cannabinoids is a growing field of research.
Said Reilly, “Some products are made with THC or CBD, and most contain hemp seed oil. All three ingredients have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, which may slow the spread of microorganisms and bacteria building up in your eyeshadow palette or lipstick. The presence of these organisms can cause irritation, even before the product expires. But keeping bacteria out of your makeup isn’t the only benefit of infused products.”
Reilly added that cannabinoids also are well known to have anti-inflammatory effects, which can be helpful for a range of skin conditions.
According to Reilly, in addition to THC and CBD, less commonly-discussed cannabinoids such CBG are now being added to beauty and skincare products. She notes that manufacturers are also starting to include cannabinoid acids such as CBDA and THCA, the natural precursors to the better-known cannabinoids CBD and THC, in skin care products.
Only time will tell if adding cannabinoids to cosmetics is primarily a marketing ploy or if such products can actually be of benefit to consumers. Ms. Reilly acknowledges that while promoting the presence of cannabinoids in cosmetics may, at this point, be more hype than science, for those looking for what she describes as “wholesome ingredients that are gentle on their skin,” she concludes that hemp-oil infusions may be worth a try.
Ms. Reilly’s article also includes her review of several products that promote the fact that they are made from cannabis-based formulas.
To learn more, we urge you to read Jessica Reilly’s article in the May 29, 2022 issue of The Cannigma.com.
cannigma.com/picks/best-cannabis-infused-makeup/?
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“By some accounts, the global cannabis market is projected to grow from $28.3 billion in 2021 to a truly startling $197.74 billion by 2028.
As the U.S. and other countries legalize more fully, there will continue to be a rapid influx of new customers to retail stores and dispensaries.
As any budtender could probably tell you, a majority of consumers know next to nothing about cannabis when they show up at a store for the first time.
There are a select few traditional market participants who make the switch, and even they are often undereducated on topics beyond flower. It is still surprising to most people that you can even put cannabis in a beverage, and it is difficult and confusing to try to explain to them how marijuana-infused drinks differ from the pot brownie they tried in their youth.
Thus, I postulate that the education level of new consumers when entering the market, on a scale of 0 to 10, is zero. Which isn’t great when I would say the average consumer education level today is maybe a 2.”—Adam Terry.
Mr. Terry is the CEO and co-founder of Cantrip, a cannabis beverage company based in Framingham, Massachusetts. His comments are taken from an op-ed he penned for MJBizDaily.
In his editorial Mr. Terry made the case for both consumer education and increased training and education for budtenders.
Said Mr. Terry, “Budtenders can be a powerful source for both sales and accurate information if brands and dispensaries provide them with accurate information and make it easy to engage with. And if we’re being honest, we’ve done a terrible job as an industry of arming budtenders with the information they need – I’m almost never given accurate information by budtenders at stores I visit.”
He also made the point that medical cannabis patients and new consumers in particular are in need of quality information and for many, budtenders and other dispensary workers are often their primary point of contact with the industry and source of information on products and their effects.
To learn more, we urge you to read Adam Terry’s excellent editorial in the June 6, 2022 issue of MJBizDaily.com.
mjbizdaily.com/how-cannabis-store-owners-can-improve-woefully-inadequate-consumer-education/?
Policy Matters
A travel writer, television host and chair of the cannabis advocacy group NORML—Rick Steves—is backing his opinion on legalization with some cold, hard cash.
Barfield noted that Steves, perhaps best known to many as the host of Rick Steves’ Europe, a travel series on public television, announced in a fundraising email that he will match donations to support legalization efforts up to $100,000 and will devote eight days of campaigning to the legalization cause this election season.
Said Steves in his email, “I’ve spent the last five election seasons campaigning around the country for legalization ballot initiatives[ …] So far, we’ve won in nearly every state we’ve contested. The majority of the American public is with us. We just need to smartly make our point to win at the ballot box. And that takes hard work and money.”
Barfield also reported that Steves, in true public television fashion, will give away a copy of his book “On the Hippy Trail,” to those who donate over $100 to the fundraising effort. The book documents his travels from Istanbul to Kathmandu in 1978 and includes an account of his first time consuming cannabis in Afghanistan.
To learn more, we suggest you read Lukas Barfield’s reporting in the June 3, 2022 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/rick-steves-dedicates-100k-to-midterm-cannabis-legalization-efforts/?
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-529-8753.
