Cannabis topicals are having a moment. From
\nA-list celebrities using Lord Jones balms to soothe aching feet at the Golden
\nGlobes to professional athletes debuting their own line of muscle rub,
\ntransdermal products infused with cannabinoids seem to be everywhere. <\/p>\n
But it isn\u2019t just millennials and the Hollywood elite jumping on the bandwagon. An increasing number of senior citizens are also turning to topicals, often desperate to alleviate a painful and often debilitating condition that affects nearly 54 million American adults: arthritis<\/a>.<\/p>\n The disease, which causes aches, swelling and stiffness in the joints and muscles, is typically treated with a combination of medications including steroids and opiates, which may have dramatic side effects. However, cannabis is becoming a popular and viable alternative. Infused creams and lotions work when the products\u2019 cannabinoids<\/a> bind to the network of cannabinoid receptors<\/a> called CB2 receptors on the skin, without needing to enter the bloodstream. This means people using topicals infused with psychoactive cannabinoids such as THC will not feel a cerebral effect \u2014 only localized relief. Transdermal patches, however, do allow the cannabinoids to enter the bloodstream and travel to receptors in the brain, but because the release is so slow, it\u2019s also unlikely to impart a high feeling.<\/p>\n While research on the efficacy of topicals is limited, there have been some promising results. A 2015 study<\/a> published in the European Journal of Pain found that, when applied transdermally to rats with arthritic joints, the cannabinoid CBD<\/a> (cannabidiol) offered relief. Another study<\/a> conducted in 2017 on rats with osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis, wherein bone cartilage breaks down over time) concluded CBD prevents pain and nerve damage. In fact, scientists are also exploring evidence that concludes CB2 receptors themselves may be responsible for regulating inflammation \u2014 one of the main issues arthritis causes.<\/p>\n The science is still early, but according to Radicle Health<\/a> founder and nurse Eloise Theisen, CBD topicals appear to help with inflammation and itchiness, but people should try a THC topical \u2014 or a combination of THC and CBD \u2014 if they\u2019re not finding relief from a CBD-only product.<\/p>\n Since the average senior citizen in the United And since those who might be averse to getting high from smoking or eating cannabis are often not intimidated by using a non-psychoactive cannabis balm, topicals offer a way to discover the healing properties of cannabis while eliminating the fear of Grandma and Grandpa getting too buzzed.<\/p>\n Karen Rumics Averill is a 63-year-old business \u201cHe was initially put on Enbrel, which is an She believes the drugs her husband had been \u201cOnce he went off of [pharmaceuticals], he became Averill began experimenting, utilizing byproducts \u201cActually, my 94-year-old aunt is now using it For many within the cannabis industry, one of the biggest challenges is getting accurate information to the general public \u2014 without being overwhelming or unconvincing. After getting phone call after phone call from seniors asking about their transdermal product, the team at NanoSphere Health Sciences<\/a> decided they needed to focus not on getting their products to seniors, but on bringing the seniors to them.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, the way that a senior gets our So the company decided to partner with several dispensaries in their home state of Colorado, offering residents of nearby assisted living facilities and 55-plus communities round-trip bus rides to their locations in order to educate them on the many useful applications of cannabis. They also work with the non-profit group Realm of Caring<\/a> in order to further their outreach towards the senior citizen demographic. Colwell says the feedback has been remarkable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had one woman who had such severe arthritis Colwell adds that while it will take time to \u201cA lot of misconceptions that senior citizens TELL US<\/strong>, have you used cannabis topicals?<\/p>\n Originally published in Issue 37 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The post Topicals: The Real Gateway Drug for Senior Citizens<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Cannabis topicals are having a moment. From A-list celebrities using Lord Jones balms to soothe aching feet at the Golden Globes to professional athletes debuting their own line of muscle rub, transdermal products infused with cannabinoids seem to be everywhere. But it isn\u2019t just millennials and the Hollywood elite jumpingContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1993,605,50,136,263,85,10190,53,11829,11830,6881,3492,420,5078],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37830"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37831,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37830\/revisions\/37831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nStates takes around five prescription medications daily, concerns about
\ninteractions between drugs, side effects and potentials for abuse have many
\nseeking another way. <\/p>\n\u2018Once He Went Off the Pharmaceuticals\u2026.\u2019<\/h4>\n
\nowner from Oregon who began making her own cannabis-infused topicals a few
\nyears ago to help her husband. He was suffering from a severe type of arthritis
\ncalled ankylosing spondylitis, also known as \u201ccurved back syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ninjection, and he was actually receiving twice the dose that is normally
\nrequired,\u201d Averill said. \u201cThen, [the doctors] put him on Oxycontin and Vicodin
\nand then all of a sudden one day, at two in the morning, we\u2019re rushing him to
\nthe emergency room for a bleeding ulcer and they had to remove him from all of
\nthose drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nprescribed were actually making his condition worse.<\/p>\n
\nmore mobile, more active. He wasn\u2019t comatose on the couch because he was
\nover-medicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nfrom top-shelf indica strains to infuse in coconut oil, creating a THC-infused topical.\n<\/p>\n
\nfor her<\/em> arthritis. She called me
\nyesterday and said it works great!\u201d Averill said.<\/p>\nBringing Seniors to Cannabis<\/h4>\n
\nproduct is because a niece or nephew, granddaughter, son or daughter has gone
\nin, bought them the product and then told them that they need to use it, versus
\nthem actually going into the dispensary and purchasing the product themselves,\u201d
\nsaid Crystal Colwell, marketing director for NanoSphere.<\/p>\n
\nin her hands that she was unable to open her hands all the way,\u201d Colwell said.
\n\u201cOne of her most favorite things to do is to write letters and handwritten
\nnotes. She started using NanoSerum on her hands and she was using it once a day
\nfor a month and after the first month she was able to open her hand and hold a
\npen or a pencil in her hand again. Within a two-month time span, she was
\nactually able to write handwritten notes again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ndismantle all the misinformation about marijuana and the ways it can be
\nconsumed, topicals offer a non-threatening introduction to a medicine that
\ncould make all the difference. <\/p>\n
\nhave is that the only time you can get relief from cannabis is if you smoke it
\nor you ingest as an edible,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce they learn that there are
\nalternative applications, that\u2019s when they become intrigued and it gets their
\nmind going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
\nRead More: Topicals: The Real Gateway Drug for Senior Citizens<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"