Cannabis Helps Seniors with Health Ailments, Study Finds

A new study points toward cannabis’s potential for helping seniors with common health ailments such as MS, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal cord damage. Symptoms of these ailments can include sleep disruptions, pain and anxiety.

The study will be highlighted at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71^st annual meeting, Science Daily reports, where the researchers will refer to the medicinal use of marijuana as being a safe and effective option for many of their participants.

“Our findings show that medical marijuana is well-tolerated in people age 75 and older and may improve symptoms like chronic pain and anxiety,” said study author Dr. Laszlo Mechtler of Dent Neurologic Institute. “Future research should focus on symptoms like sleepiness and balance problems, as well as efficacy and optimal dosing.”

The study concluded that 69% of the participants had some kind of symptom relief. It’s reported that 49% experienced reduced pain, 18% saw an improvement with sleep, 15% saw neuropathy improvement and 10% saw improved anxiety symptoms. 32% of the participants reduced their use of opioids.

There were varying ratios of both THC and CBD in the tinctures, vaporizers and capsules used by the participants over a 4-month period.