Cannabinoid medicine offers benefits for patients without any chronic pain or illness. All patients have one thing in common: they are aging. Cannabinoid medicine offers the ability to slow the aging process and possibly prevent the degenerative diseases that make our final years lack the quality of our younger years. This chapter outlines the involvement of endocannabinoid deficiency and mechanism of cannabis treatment for the following disorders that occur in the final years of life: Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
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As a neuroscientist, Dr. Michele Ross was frustrated by the lack of education on the endocannabinoid system both doctors and scientists received, despite medical cannabis being used by millions of patients nationwide. In 2013, she founded the "Endocannabinoid Deficiency Foundation," now known as IMPACT Network, with the mission to drive clinical research on cannabis for women’s health.
Dr. Ross is both a cannabinoid medicine researcher and a cannabis patient. After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and chronic pelvic pain, cannabis was the only thing that reduced her symptoms and allowed her to return to work. After hearing thousands of extraordinary patient stories just like hers, Dr. Ross was compelled to ensure cannabis becomes part of the American healthcare system.
Dr. Ross is a proud advocate of botanical and psychedelic medicine, and has formulated and marketed nutraceuticals for companies around the globe. She has also been a leader in digital health and education, crafting continuing medical education for health professionals as well as creating online communities for patients. She is also author of two books, “Train Your Brain to Get Thin” and “Vitamin Weed: A 4-Step Plan to Prevent and Reverse Endocannabinoid Deficiency.” Dr. Ross holds a Doctorate in Neuroscience from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and has researched addiction, mental health, and psychopharmacology for over a decade. Fun fact: she was the first scientist to star on a reality television show, starring on Big Brother 11 on CBS in 2009.
Today, IMPACT Network is the leading medical cannabis research and education organization for women, with global reach to a worldwide medical cannabis community of patients, healthcare professionals, and clinical partners. To learn more about IMPACT Network, visit www.impactcannabis.org.