Don't Get High….. Get Well

I just got off the phone with a patient of mine. She is a 65 year old professional therapist who very rarely, if ever had used cannabis in the past. She came in as an obviously legitimate patient with severe degenerative pain.

During our visit, I “warned” her about edibles, because many of us know someone who has taken a little too much of an edible and had a paranoid reaction. Unfortunately, she did not heed my advice and took too much of an edible. As a result of over medicating, the paramedics were called due to her age and she was brought to a local ER. Over a few hours she felt much better and was discharged.

So far, the story is a common one. The very sad end of the story is that on her discharge papers from the ER, she was diagnosed as a drug addict and cannabis abuser!

I would have suggested something along the lines of “drug reaction” instead. I am certain the ER has never seen any other drug reactions…LOL