Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a new cannabis nursing specialty, challenges faced by medical cannabis consumers, the relationship between cannabis use and kidney health and more. Enjoy.
The Shape of Things to Come
In yet another example of the “normalization of cannabis,” a professional organization that is said to represent over five million registered nurses in the United States has announced its formal recognition of cannabis nursing as a nursing specialty.
That’s the word from TG Branfalt, reporting for Ganjapreneur. According to Branfalt, the president of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, said in a statement that the recognition “highlights the essential role and special contribution of cannabis nurses to the health care system and promotes enhanced integration of cannabis therapies for health care consumers across diverse health care settings.”
According to Branfalt, in its announcement the ANA stated that it, “supports the urgency of clinical research to inform patients and providers on the efficacy of marijuana and related cannabinoids.”
According to its website, the ANA “exists to advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice.” It also describes itself as “the sole reviewing body of specialty nursing scope of practice and standards of practice.”
Ben Adlin, who covered the story for Marijuana Moment, reports the ANA also acknowledged the work of a separate organization, the American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA), which advocates for research, education and policy reform around medical cannabis. In a statement, the ANA credited that group for “pioneering the cannabis nursing field” and “contributing to the broader landscape of nursing practice and patient care.”
Rachel Parmelee, the president of ACNA, said the group was, “deeply gratified by the groundbreaking establishment of cannabis nursing as an ANA-recognized nursing specialty.”
Said Parmalee in a statement, “Nurses are the largest group of health professionals, providing an opportunity to change the health care paradigm and include diverse wellness modalities beyond traditional Western medicine. Cannabis nursing requires specialized knowledge and competencies to navigate care and address the stigma associated with medical cannabis use to support a healthy society. We seek to create lasting, transformative change that enriches both specialized and general nursing practices, ultimately serving the well-being of patients nationwide.”
We think this decision by the ANA is significant news, particularly when it comes to integrating medical cannabis into various treatment plans. If you aren’t aware of the leadership role played by nurses when it comes to the “hands on” delivery of quality medical care, you must have slept through the pandemic.
To learn more, we suggest reading TG Branfalt’s insightful reporting in the September 29, 2023 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/american-nurses-association-formally-recognizes-cannabis-nursing-specialty/?
We also urge you to read Ben Adlin’s excellent reporting in the September 29, 2023 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
To learn more about the ANA, click on the link below.
To learn more about the ACNA, click on the link that follows.
Spotlight on Medical Cannabis
Despite the growing acceptance of cannabis as a potentially valuable medical tool, mature consumers and others who use cannabis to address specific ailments still face a variety of challenges.
So says Dr. Amanda Reiman (Ph.D., MSW), Chief Knowledge Officer, New Frontier Data. In a new article Dr. Reiman describes three specific challenges faced by consumers who are using cannabis solely as medicine. She notes that these challenges were discussed at the most recent Cannabis Science Conference. The conference provided researchers and patient advocates an opportunity to review the latest in medical cannabis research.
Product Choice
The first challenge is what she describes as a “lack of variety in product choice encountered by consumers when they visit a dispensary.” Reiman notes that medical patients are more likely than recreational consumers to use lower potency products, to seek products with a complex cannabinoid profile and to choose products such as tinctures and topicals. She contends these can be hard to find in what she describes as “a sea of 30 percent THC prerolls and high-potency concentrates.”
Lack of Professional Support
Despite recent inroads, the next challenge, according to Reiman, is the lack of medical professionals willing to discuss and recommend cannabis. She makes the point that medical professionals who are willing to consider cannabis as a medical treatment and those with enough knowledge to properly consult with a patient and recommend various treatment paths are still rare.
She also adds that doctors who are willing to consider cannabis-based or assisted treatment are usually not primary care physicians or mental health professionals and often “exist outside of the patient’s treatment ecosystem.”
This, she contends, can lead to fragmented care and the patient having to avoid talking about their medical cannabis use with their health professional.
Cost
The third challenge identified by Reiman are the barriers presented by the cost of cannabis-based medicines. A key issue here, she believes, is the lack of insurance reimbursement for medical cannabis products.
Said Reiman, “The difference between paying $15 a month for opiates or Benzo’s, and $100 a month for medical cannabis is most felt by those who are economically vulnerable. As a result, they end up being pushed towards medications with a higher risk of dependence and overdose.”
A New Resource
When it comes to addressing these challenges, Reiman points to a new database created by New Frontier Data in partnership with CMED Data, which now has information on over 150K patients and growing. The data collected covers demographics, medical history, current cannabis use patterns, and standardized assessments of pain, anxiety, insomnia, physical functioning, nausea, and PTSD.
She believes the database presents an opportunity for researchers to learn more about medical cannabis patients and how their health changes after becoming patients. That, she contends, may lead to a greater acceptance of cannabis as medicine, policies that support it as a front-line therapy, and a retail market that reflects the needs of this growing group of consumers.
To learn more, we urge you to read the thoughtful article by Dr. Amanda Reiman (Ph.D., MSW) that appears in the October 3, 2023 issue of Cannabis Insights, a publication of New Frontier Data. As always, Dr. Reiman’s work and the work of all of the professionals at New Frontier Data is first rate.
newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/unique-challenges-for-the-medical-side-of-cannabis/?
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“If you’re new to cannabis, I always say start smaller than you think. You can always have more.”— Patrick Conlin, General Manager at Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective.
Mr. Conlin’s comment is taken from an article by Ariel Pacheco about the Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective, the first New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) approved Cannabis Growers Showcase to hit Manhattan. Mr. Pacheco’s article appeared in the online publication w42st.com.
The goal of the program is to link consumers and growers in a “farmers market” type of atmosphere that meets the needs of consumers while supporting farmers. In this case, the farmers market, which is located at 356 W40th Street, between 8/9th Avenues, presents nine local New York State farmers alongside three processors. The farms showcasing and selling produce at Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective are Ravens View Genetics, Animal House, MB Farm Cannabis, Revert Cannabis, Flower House, Slack Hollow Organics, Claudine Farms, and Ithaca Organics Cannabis.
Pacheco notes in his article that the shop sells raw products as well as a wide variety of packaged goods, including vapes, edibles, pre-rolls, gummies and infused beverages. There are also bud tenders on hand to break down all the products and describe the farms.
Conlin told Pacheco that the Collective—which is organized by Greenleaf Cannabis in collaboration with Legacy Dispensers and The Dope Connection—is part of the fight against unauthorized cannabis shops, which have popped up all over Manhattan.
Said Conlin, “On this block alone, there are about six unlicensed stores, and they are not subject to any of the restrictions that we are forced to follow. I want everyone to understand that it’s really unsafe. They are people exploiting New Yorkers and extracting wealth from New Yorkers and compromising their health, because the worst products from other states are coming into New York. It’s stuff that either failed testing or was so poorly grown that no one bought it and it sat around for years. If you’re proud to be a New Yorker, I would not be proud of shopping at one of those.”
Commenting on the Collective, Conlin said, “It’s farm to table. It’s what I’m all about. We put New York wines on the menu 15 years ago and people laughed at us. Now New York’s nationally renowned for having specific wine regions and they’re becoming a player in the wine industry. I think that cannabis has every chance [to do the same] — the potential is there. It’s just about how the market develops and how the advocacy (sic) plays out with it.”
To learn more about the first cannabis farmers market in New York City, we urge you to read the article by Ariel Pacheco that appeared in the September 30, 2023 issue of W42ST.com. Special thanks to the one and only Blurtsy Touriotte for sending the story our way.
w42st.com/post/legal-weed-hells-kitchen-cannabis/?
Cannabis and Your Health
There is a new research finding that suggests cannabis use may have a beneficial effect on kidney health. Researchers affiliated with the Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China believe they have uncovered what they describe as an “inverse association” between regular cannabis use and the formation of kidney stones in males.
The research team used data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted in the U.S. from 2009 to 2018. Self reported kidney stone and marijuana use data were collected from questionnaires.
Based on that data,the researchers contend that their findings revealed that using marijuana one to six times a week was inversely related to the risk of kidney stones in males.
The researchers speculated that one reason for this “inverse relationship” may be that the diuretic effects of cannabinoids may shorten the time for crystals to remain in the kidney, thereby decreasing the risk of kidney stone formation. Furthermore, given that cannabidiol, a main component of cannabis, has been found to exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, they also speculated that the CBD in cannabis may help to reduce the inflammation and oxidative stress linked to kidney stone formation.
The research team acknowledged that further studies are required to explore the relationship between the dose of marijuana that was regularly consumed and the presence of kidney stones.
The results of the study appeared in the September 7, 2023 issue of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.
To read an abstract and a detailed description of the study, simply click on the link below.
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2023.1214647/full
Consumer Corner
Alaska appears to be making it easier for retailers to go the extra mile in order to attract customers. We’re talking about making it legal for dispensaries to give out free samples.
According to James Brooks, writing for the Alaska Beacon, Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom has signed new regulations that allow the state’s legal marijuana businesses to advertise more widely and to distribute free samples of marijuana at retail stores.
This means marijuana ads will be legal aboard buses, on bus stop shelters and on college campuses.
Joan Wilson, director of the Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, told Brooks that the upcoming changes to the way cannabis businesses can advertise and market products came out of a task force that has been working on updated regulations.
She noted that the state’s original advertising rules were crafted to follow standards in place within the Municipality of Anchorage. However, she made the point that most communities have more relaxed rules — or none at all — and licensees simply asked themselves why they should be following Anchorage standards when they don’t live in the city.
In his article, Brooks points out that the changed rules simply require marijuana retailers to follow local signage restrictions and the state’s ban on billboards. While that could result in more advertising signs springing up around marijuana businesses, Wilson noted it will be the responsibility of local governments to regulate them, if they see fit.
According to Brooks, the new regulations are consistent with a broad wave of regulatory changes that have come about since recreational cannabis was first legalized in 2014. Over time, these changes have included changes in tax policy, relaxed standards on edibles, drive-up windows, and now, free samples of cannabis.
Yes, you read that correctly. Brooks reports that the promotional rules put in place when marijuana was legalized that forbade stores from giving away samples or coupons have also been repealed.
Said Wilson, “I’m not expecting bags of marijuana to go out the door.” She said that she and members of the marijuana industry envision retailers giving away small samples.
Actually, this practice will be consistent with a change that’s coming to alcohol businesses as well. Brooks reports that beginning January 1, 2024, liquor stores will be able to apply for a license endorsement that allows them to offer free samples of hard alcohol.
We can see the state’s new promotional campaign now: “Alaska—cannabis for nothing and the booze is free.”
To learn more, we suggest reading James Brooks’s detailed reporting in the September 25, 2023 issue of the Alaska Beacon.com.
alaskabeacon.com/briefs/alaska-relaxes-rules-for-marijuana-ads-allows-free-samples/
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
