Shares of marijuana company Canopy Growth were up over 6% on Wednesday after the company said its Spectrum Cannabis unit is teaming up with the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) for a pilot that will assess the use of medical marijuana in treating pain and cognitive function in seniors.
OLTCA and Canopy will recruit a group of long-term care homes to perform the study while evaluating quality of life outcomes, caregiver stress and the economic benefits of cannabis adoption. The six-month study will be conducted at some of Ontario’s 630 long-term care homes.
“There is clearly an interest in the long-term care space to explore medical cannabis as an alternative to traditional medications for pain and degenerative cognitive function,” said Canopy co-Chief Executive Mark Zekulin.
“The pilot study we’ve announced today is the first step in developing an evidence-based, best practice approach to medical cannabis that will result in consistent care for thousands of seniors and ultimately improve quality of life and outcomes in long-term care homes.”
Medical cannabis is currently prescribed for residents as appropriate, but it’s still an emerging area,” says Candace Chartier , CEO, Ontario Long Term Care Association.
“Through this partnership and pilot study, we hope to provide more clarity to long-term care clinicians and frontline staff about the use of medical cannabis for residents.”
