CANNAHEALTH Cannabis 101: Patient & Caregiver | Page 36

Integrated Hemp Solutions

s a board-certified anesthesiologist and a proceduralist, I am constantly evaluating new ways to treat chronic pain while minimizing the use of narcotics. The opioid crisis is very real, with the potential to waste millions of lives. Some holistic approaches to pain management like yoga and tai chi are great for mindfulness and movement, but aren’t making a big enough impact to get people with chronic pain completely off narcotics.

When I formed Integrated Pain Solutions in 2012 to treat patients with chronic pain conditions in a specialized clinics, I was encouraged by what was transpiring in the hemp market on the west coast. Industrial hemp was readily available and cannabis was already helping a lot of people with pain and other health issues. It wasn’t until 2017 that growing hemp became legal in North Carolina where I live and practice. The North Carolina Hemp Coalition was encouraging farmers to grow it, and wanted manufacturers and producers to establish the infrastructure needed to develop it into a consumable product.

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