Lakewood Medical Clinic: Is Medical Marijuana Right For You?

As of 2018, thirty-one states have legalized medical marijuana, and Ohio is one of them. Ohio’s medical marijuana control program is designed to help patients who suffer from 21 severe and chronic medical conditions. Because many of the qualifying conditions are symptomatic of aging, the fastest growing demographic relying on medical marijuana nationwide is patients aged 54 and older.  If you have any of the conditions listed in the sidebar, call Lakewood Medical Clinic to start integrating medical marijuana to improve your quality of life. 

Legal medical marijuana is very different from the marijuana that is purchased on the streets. Medical grade marijuana is inspected, certified, and lab tested for contaminants including mold, chemicals, and toxic pesticides ensuring that you receive the safest and purest plant products. An ideal medical marijuana regimen limits psychoactive effects or the feeling of being “high.”  Lakewood Medical Clinic professionals teach you how to properly dose and safely adjust your medication so you can function throughout your day with relief.

A clinical evaluation is necessary to see if you are a candidate for medical cannabis. Erin Lesueur, the Executive Director for Lakewood Medical Clinic, outlines that, “The patient’s symptoms guide which medical marijuana regimen our physicians recommend.” Each plant has different clinical effects that cause distinct reactions in your body.  Some plant strains are used to supplement chemotherapy to help energize patients with fatigue associated with their cancer treatments. Other plant strains calm the mind and relax the body to help patients suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) sleep better without night terrors. “Our certified medical marijuana professionals help patients identify the type and mode of cannabis administration that is best to manage your disease,” Erin says.

Research has demonstrated that medical marijuana can strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, and slow the growth and spread of cancer cells. These multiple modes of action work on our “endocannabinoid system," which is a network of molecules and receptors in the human body that regulates everything. Our bodies recognize the marijuana plant molecules called phytocannabinoids, and these phytocannabinoids work directly on our endocannabinoid system to activate advantageous functions in our bodies.

In the state of Ohio, marijuana is a medicine, and this medicine has to be recommended to you by a physician. You take your recommendation to an Ohio licensed dispensary to purchase medical marijuana products just like you currently take your prescriptions to the pharmacy. “At Lakewood Medical Clinic we offer genetic testing to patients so they can identify the plant strains that are genetically suited for them,” Erin states. Patients can take their test results to a licensed dispensary and utilize it as a guide to select medical marijuana products that will be effective for them. “When you know what plant strains will work best for you, you save costs and start feeling better sooner,” Erin says. 

Medical marijuana oils, tinctures, plant material, edibles, patches, and vaporization are legal in Ohio with a valid medical recommendation.  At Lakewood Medical Clinic, the physicians evaluate and educate each patient in order to present treatment regimens that give the best results. Although medical cannabis is not currently covered by insurance, it is an affordable alternative for many patients. 

Call Lakewood Medical Clinic today to learn how medical marijuana may help you. Lakewood Medical Clinic is located at 11906 Madison Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio 44107.  Our phone number is (440) 809-8450.

Interested in learning more?  Come to our Open House on January 25, 2019 from 3 – 8pm.  Tour the clinic and meet the doctors.

Ohio’s qualifying conditions for medical marijuana are:

AIDS/HIV, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and ulcerative colitis.