Could Cannabis Be A Treatment For Dementia?

[JudyM]

4. Thanks for posting this, Yui. I am the cannabis caregiver for my dad, who has dementia

and I’ve been reading up on this for about a year. It seems to have helped him - definitely with pain and mood, and likely with improvement in cognition (e.g., recognizing me, having occasional deeper-thinking conversations).

I’m having a hard time finding info on how much we can increase his dosage, currently giving him about 20mg THC and 30mg CBD via oil (sublingual and vape pen), and the only side effect is sleepiness. One study I read suggested a 1:1 ratio is good for dementia, but how many mg overall? We are stepping it up slowly... he doesn’t want to feel stoned.

If anyone reading this has any info/sources on this I’d be grateful for a hand. I wrote to a California doctor who’s a specialist and she wanted $500 to review his record and consult, and United Patients Group wants $250 for a 1-hour consultation. I’m not looking for anything specific to him, though, just generally trying to find out the standard of practice for dosing for dementia, to the extent it exists, or at least some standard.

I’m also trying to find a reasonably good dry herb vape that’s simple/low maintenance to use, preferably not much more than $50, preferably convection, and no plastic offgassing... I keep looking for sales The vape pen he’s using from the dispensary is on-demand but it’s mostly CBD oil and I really want to up the Sativa ratio so he’ll have more energy and generally so we’ll be able to better tailor the strain.

Here’s some useful research, for anyone else who’s trying to learn more:

Very small prospective study, but strong positive results: Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis Oil for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26757043

Fascinating mouse study: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/marijuana-may-boost-rather-than-dull-the-elderly-brain/

This study is about Alzheimer’s, but also fascinating: http://www.salk.edu/news-release/cannabinoids-remove-plaque-forming-alzheimers-proteins-from-brain-cells/

Check out the list of references at the end of this writeup... I’m currently working my way through them: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-017-0766-6

More info and references here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012820/full

And, for those of us looking to prevent its onset, just wow: “long-term, low-dose daily exposure, during mid-life, to the complex blend of compounds found in the marijuana plant can effectively slow the brain processes underlying Alzheimer’s disease.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-food/201604/using-marijuana-prevent-alzheimer-s-disease

Namaste.