A Sarnia-Lambton doctor who has been researching cannabis as a treatment for dementia says he wants to see cannabinoid therapy for people with the disease covered by public health insurance.
‘That’s an injustice to me, the fact that they have to pay out of pocket for their medication,” said Blake Pearson.
The founder of Greenly Health Medical Consulting has been prescribing cannabis for dementia patients in long-term care homes in Sarnia-Lambton and elsewhere in the province for years.
The drug doesn’t help stall the progression of the degenerative, memory-robbing disease, he said, but it does help manage symptoms such as agitation that are often controlled instead with anti-psychotics. Pearson said those medications can come with harsh side effects.
The cost for cannabis medicine ranges from $80 to $180 per patient per month, he said, while potentially more harmful medicines are covered.
“So it takes a real motivated family to allow their loved one to use cannabinoids, or…
