Page 10 - Cannabis News Florida October 2019

Back Cover Story: MorseLife Receives
The U.S. House Passes Bill
Approval to Offer CBD
Giving Marijuana Businesses
Therapies for Elder Care
Access to Banking

Continued from Back Page
reduce outbursts in memory care in The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on September 25,
patients with Alzheimer’s,” he says. 2019, that grants legal marijuana businesses access to banking, a
“Along the full continuum of care, measure that would clear up a longstanding problem for the
MorseLife is uniquely qualified to intro- cannabis industry.
duce these new therapies for alleviating The bill, called the SAFE Banking Act, passed 321-103 on the
pain and other debilitating conditions in strength of near-unanimous support from Democrats and nearly half
a safe and controlled environment,” he of Republicans. Its prospects in the Senate are uncertain, but sup-
adds. “It is essential to evaluate their porters said the amount of Republican support in the House was a
applications, recognizing that our find- good sign.
ings may lead to evidence-based treat- "This is a sign the time has come for comprehensive cannabis
ments for the future.” reform," said Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the National Cannabis
Prior to joining the program, older Industry Association. "The fact that we got almost half the
adults will be evaluated as to their ability Republicans is a huge sign we're moving in the right direction
to benefit from cannabinoid-based thera- toward sensible policies."
pies to reduce the reliance on pharma- Including Florida, thirty-three states have legalized cannabis for
ceuticals and opioids. the pilot program, Myers adds. medical or recreational use. But the federal prohibition on the drug
Individuals in any of the MorseLife "Following this phase, the physician has made it difficult for businesses in the multibillion-dollar indus-
care settings, including assisted living, and patient will decide what type of CBD try to get bank accounts, loans and other financial services.
short term rehabilitation, long term care, product will be appropriate for the
memory care and hospice, may partici- patient’s illness and then we will begin to
pate in the program, however no federal study the effects,” he says. “Another
funds may be used to pay for the challenge that patients will have to over-
resources associated with medical mari- come is deciding to take CBD versus a
juana treatment. medication that has had a known impact
Local physician Melanie K. Bone, on the symptoms of their diagnosis.”
M.D., who specializes in CBD treatment The study has the potential to revolu-
and has been authorized by the state of tionize treatment protocols for multiple
Florida to order medical marijuana, will illnesses affecting senior citizens by
lead the program. Dr. Bone is currently using cannabinoids to reduce the side-
educating the residents, family members effects, addiction rate, and cost of stan-
and employees on the benefits of CBD dard medical protocols using opioids.
treatment. “At the conclusion of this study, we
Myers says that one of the challenges hope to see patients with improved out-
residents who plan to take cannabis face comes, better quality of life, and less
is the stigma of using medical marijuana. drug interactions,” says Myers. “I hope it
“Seniors tend to look down on the use will ultimately become part of the pre-
of cannabis,” he says. “It has a taboo to ferred treatment over a reliance of opi-
it.” oids.”
That’s one of the reasons why they
have incorporated an education phase of For more information, visit morselife.org.

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com October 2019 39