Assessing Health-Related Outcomes of Medical Cannabis Use among Older Persons: Findings from Colorado and Illinois
ABSTRACT
Objectives
To assess health-related outcomes associated with medical cannabis use among older patients in Colorado and Illinois enrolled in their home state’s medical cannabis program.
Methods
Cross-sectional data from anonymous surveys were collected from 139 persons over the age of 60 using medical cannabis in the past year. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to confirm the hypothesized four-factor structure that includes health-related quality of life (HRQL), health-care utilization (HCU), symptom effects, and adverse events. We then examined associations between cannabis use and self-reported outcome changes using linear regression.
Stories you may be interested in
Substance in cannabis ‘could boost pancreatic cancer treatments’
A substance found in cannabis plants might boost treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer, research in mice has suggested. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is not psychoactive, meaning it does not produce feelings of being high in those who take it. It is extracted from hemp plants and is legal in the UK, although a CBD product…
Read More 
Cannabis improves symptoms of Crohn’s disease despite having no effect on gut inflammation
In the first study of its kind, cannabis oil has been shown to significantly improve the symptoms of Crohn’s disease and the quality of life of sufferers but, contrary to previous medical thinking, has no effect on gut inflammation. In a randomised, placebo-controlled study, researchers from Israel have shown that cannabis can produce clinical remission…
Read More 
After 50 Years, U.S. Opens The Door To More Cannabis Crops For Scientists
After more than 50 years, the federal government is lifting a roadblock to cannabis research that scientists and advocates say has hindered rigorous studies of the plant and possible drug development. Since 1968, U.S. researchers have been allowed to use cannabis from only one domestic source: a facility based at the University of Mississippi, through a…
Read More 
Survey of oncologists finds knowledge gap on medical marijuana
As more states legalize medical marijuana, two key groups — researchers whose job is it to understand its benefits and drawbacks, and physicians charged with advising potential users — are struggling to catch up with policymakers. Ilana Braun, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of adult psychosocial…
Read More 
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Arfinn Med Medical Cannabis Efficacy Portal for Licensed Medical Professionals
Arfinn Med, the first clinician-based medical professional and patient efficacy portal for medical cannabis treatments, is now open for registrations from licensed medical professionals. The free collaborative portal allows medical professionals to register, share, research and communicate HIPAA-compliant benchmark data for medical cannabis treatments. As a free tool for physicians, Arfinn Med offers a new…
Read More 
After marijuana edibles helped dying Holocaust survivor battle Alzheimer’s, his family’s foundation pushes for more research
A Massachusetts family’s experience giving marijuana edibles to their dying patriarch is set to kick off a desperately needed investigation into how cannabis might treat some of the more troubling symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that affects 5.7 million Americans. Read the full story here.
Read More