Medical Cannabis in the Skilled Nursing Facility: A Novel Approach to Improving Symptom Management and Quality of Life

Throughout the millennia, the cannabis plant has been utilized as a recognized therapy for pain relief and symptom management. Following the Prohibition-era stigmatization and criminalization of all forms of cannabis of the early 20th century, there has been a recent nationwide and worldwide resurgence in interest and use of the cannabinoid compounds extracted from the cannabis plant, that is, medical cannabis. Although at the Federal level, cannabis remains a Schedule I substance, 31 states have already decriminalized possession and use of medical cannabis for specific diagnoses. It is noteworthy that many of these indicated diagnoses are prevalent in the skilled nursing facility (SNF). This creates regulatory concerns as SNFs and other healthcare facilities must maintain compliance with Federal laws, while balancing the individual resident's rights to utilize medical cannabis where indicated. The authors developed an innovative program that affords their residents the ability to participate in a state-approved medical cannabis program while remaining compliant with Federal law. As medical cannabis use becomes more widespread and accepted, clinicians providing medical care in healthcare facilities will encounter residents who may benefit from and request this alternative therapy. Studies examining older adults that are utilizing medical cannabis legally have demonstrated significant decreases in prescription medication use, most notably a reduction in opioid analgesic usage. As such, medical cannabis should be viewed as an additional option in the clinician's toolbox of therapeutic interventions for symptom relief. (C) 2018 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.