Seniors in California are getting a free ride, meal and education about marijuana’s medicinal benefits on Bud and Bloom’s community outreach service which shuttles the seniors to Bud and Bloom’s dispensary.
There are several shuttles available with each averaging about 35 passengers, NPR reports. Some of the riders are regulars but there are a lot of newcomers on the trips too. Everyone is looking for something different, but they all have two things in common: they want relief from ailments and answers to questions about marijuana.
Kandice Hawes of Bud and Bloom said, “Not everybody is coming to be a customer. A lot are just coming to be educated.”
Shirley Avedon is 90-years-old. She’d never used marijuana before but the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome sent her seeking a new solution for the pain. She said, “It’s very painful; sometimes I can’t even open my hand.”
Avedon wanted relief just like she saw cancer patients getting a couple of decades ago. She said, “At that time (marijuana) wasn’t legal, so they used to get it off their children. It was fantastic what it did for them.” Avedon doesn’t want to get high; she just wants to be in less pain. Her first purchase was a CBD topical. On her second trip, she said, “It helped a little. Now I’m going back for the second time hoping they have something better.”
Another senior, Layla Sabet, is age 72. She suffers from back pain that results in sleepless nights. She said, “I’m taking so much medication to sleep and still I can’t sleep. So I’m trying it for the back pain and sleep.”
When the bus lets off its passengers, the riders go into an education area. They’re offered refreshments and are provided with an educational presentation that talks about how marijuana may help them with their medical conditions. At each session, there are vendors available to provide information about their products. Once the presentation is over, the seniors are welcome to purchase products at the dispensary.
Derek Tauchman of Bud and Bloom said, “What they don’t realize is there’s so many different ways to medicate now that you don’t have to actually get high to relieve all your aches and pains.”
Some of the products are expensive, Ms. Avedon said, but “it’s better than having surgery.”
Photo: Herb