The End Of Life

So as we all know, death is a part of life. Its not very enjoyable or glamorous but it is a constant reality. Typically, when people get towards the end of their lives they seek full time care. May it be from visiting nurses around the clock or even a long term stay at a hospice. They want to be as relatively free from pain as possible and comforted. The standard operating procedure for this type of stuff is typically heavy duty narcotics. Some hospices use methods in combination like visits from therapy animals but usually the regime in heavy opioids.

Now I’m not here to debate whether or not that is the right course of action because obviously everyone is different. Some peoples pain may be completely taken care of with heavy opioids or at least to a degree that keeps them happy. Thats fine! If you’re near the end of your life, I believe you should have access to any substance or therapy method that helps keep you comfortable and gives you somewhat of a quality of life.

Obviously we know opioids are extremely effective at reducing pain but they can have some pretty nasty side effects. They can include Nausea, vomiting, constipation, lethargy and depression. After years of debate about how much of a pain killer cannabis actually is, a hospice in Connecticut (exciting for us!) is trying out cannabis oil capsules for patients who are terminally ill. They are doing a study of the pain relieving effects of cannabis and are hoping to get approximately 66 patients. It really seems like a no brainer due to the minuscule amount of side effects.

At The End Of The Day

It all boils down to patients having the right to choose what is best for their needs at such a critical part of their lives. Cannabis has helped me substantially in my pursuit of pain management and I believe it has the potential to help out millions and millions of other patients….but its their choice.