TOPLINE:

A physician-led medical cannabis clinic established within a geriatric primary care practice supported diverse older adults with complex medical needs over 30 months. This integration helped assess risks, manage drug interactions, and improve communication with other healthcare providers, enhancing safety. The clinic model showed that combining medical cannabis with primary care for seniors is a viable approach.

METHODOLOGY:

• In a study conducted in Virginia, researchers described the development and setup of a medical cannabis clinic aimed at promoting safe use of medical cannabis by coordinating care between the providers who certify patients and primary care teams.
• The team of professionals at the clinic comprised a geriatrics-trained physician and a certifying provider, who could be a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner and was supported by a pharmacist, an outreach worker, and nursing staff.
• Data were collected from the electronic health records of patients visiting the clinic, and each patient received an individualized evaluation (assessing qualifying conditions, symptom severity, and potential contraindications), safety assessments, and medication reviews.
• Topical or oral products were recommended, with a daily target dose of 5-20 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol and/or cannabidiol, and inhaled products were typically avoided. During subsequent screenings, any adverse events were assessed to help discuss dosing and formulations.
• Researchers analyzed data related to 144 visits to the medical cannabis clinic over 30 months completed by 122 patients (mean age, 65 years; 59.7% women; 49.3% White).

TAKEAWAY:

• The majority of visits (84.7%) were initial visits and 15.3% were renewal visits, with a consistent rise in renewal visits over time. Patients had high clinical complexity with a mean of 20.9 comorbid conditions.
• Overall, 35% of patients were identified as being at risk for social determinants of health, such as food or housing insecurity, and 52.8% reported prior cannabis use.
• Pain was the predominant qualifying condition, affecting 88.9% of patients, followed by anxiety (13.9%) and insomnia (11.8%).
• Patients were on a mean of 14.7 medications, with a mean of 4.6 medications per patient having potential interactions with cannabis; drug utilization was reviewed by a pharmacist in 72.2% of visits. Among those on pain medications, 75.3% used gabapentinoids and 34.1% used opioids, with a median morphine milliequivalent of 40 per day.

IN PRACTICE:

“The CAHM [Center for Advanced Health Management] MC [medical cannabis] Clinic demonstrates a feasible, scalable model for integrating structured MC care into geriatrics in primary care,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Ryan Weaver of the Department of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Science at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy in Richmond, Virginia. It was published online on December 5, 2025, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

LIMITATIONS:

The clinic faced issues such as long wait times and limited availability. The separation between certification and obtaining medical cannabis due to state regulations also posed challenges. Data collection was retrospective and limited to electronic health records, which may have affected the evaluation of patient symptoms and quality of life.

DISCLOSURES:

No relevant conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.