Don’t the elderly deserve relief too?
Joy Seligman spent her career as a registered nurse, committed to helping patients feel as comfortable as possible.
“I have always been interested in people being taken care of,” she says, sitting in a recliner in her room in the assisted living section of Aviva, a Campus for Senior Life, where she moved from independent living three years ago. “If they are in pain, I want them to get help.”
Now, at 94 and suffering from chronic pain from arthritis and the debilitating tremors of Parkinsons, Seligman is the one looking for compassionate care. But after a long wait for Florida’s legalization of medical marijuana — which has documented success as a palliative for both of her conditions — she is still without hope of relief.
This month, just days after Seligman’s 63-year-old son, Len, met with Aviva staff to provide documentation of his mother’s acceptance into the state registry, the facility issued a new policy stating it “does not support a client or resident’s right to use medical marijuana,” citing federal statutes that still consider marijuana illegal, as well their own “drug-free workplace policy.”
credit:heraldtribune.com