Parents of Toddler with Severe Epilepsy Seek Legal Review of Cannabis Oil Guidelines

This is absolutely heartbreaking. With conclusive evidence supporting the use of cannabinoid-based medicines in the treatment of rare refractory epilepsy cases, it’s disturbing that these poor parents have to go through this in order to get their son the life-saving medication he needs. 

Maybe you’d expect this kind of resistance in less developed countries, but the fact that this is still happening in the UK today is unacceptable. 

The first rule of medicine is to do no harm: By remaining grossly uninformed of the science behind cannabinoid-based medicines, the UK healthcare system is failing its citizens. This should not be happening in 2020 when the evidence and availability of quality training is at their fingertips. 

Full article available here.

COVIDsomnia: Why the Pandemic Is Messing With People's Sleep

“COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy, public health systems and upended industries from tourism to summer camps. Now, doctors from around the world say they’re seeing an influx in patients with disrupted sleep patterns linked to financial anxiety, fears of the virus or a lack of daily routine.” -- CTV News

While it may come as a surprise to some that despite many of the COVID-related restrictions loosening, many people are still suffering from anxiety and insomnia, I can say first-hand that I continue to see these symptoms amongst my own patients. Financial insecurity related to job-loss or a downturn in self-owned business is particularly prevalent. 

We talked about these issues & provided some practical coping strategies from other experts in webisodes two and three of our Lockdown Learning Series earlier this summer. These are available for free on-demand viewing at www.drblakepearson.org/events.  I invite you to have a watch and please let us know if we can offer any additional support.

Read the full CTV article here.

Living With Dementia During a Pandemic

I had the privilege of joining @angieseth on @ctvtoronto to further the discussion around living with dementia during the pandemic. Navigating this “new normal” has been challenging for all of us; however, for those living with dementia, the impact has been especially life-changing and in many cases has exacerbated symptoms and the need for increased medications.

To watch the full CTV clip, please click the button below:

Antipsychotic medications are commonly used to treat the Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia; however, many families rightfully have concerns about their side-effect profile. For some individuals, cannabinoid-based medicines can offer an effective alternative that is worth discussing with your care team, as we look ahead to several more months of disrupted routines in long term care and out-patient dementia services. Combined with other non-pharmacological therapies, I have seen positive outcomes in many of my patients – including improved responsive behaviours and reduced side-effects.

If this is an issue that is important to you, check out our latest webisode of The Lockdown Learning Series, which can be viewed here: www.drblakepearson.org/events.

Pandemic Impact on Those with Disabilities Focus of Webinar

Thanks Blackburn News Sarnia for once again helping us get the word out about tonight's #LockdownLearning Series webisode about caring for individuals with disabilities during the pandemic and the VERY REAL issue of caregiver burnout.

Registration for the interactive session closes at 4PM EDT but if you miss it, you can catch us LIVE here on Facebook at 7PM.

We've emailed everyone who has registered with their log-in details - the email will be coming from my team and have a "GreenlyMed.com" email address. If you haven't received the link, email us asap at events@greenlymed.com.

Full article available here.