Many people in the US use medical marijuana to ease the symptoms of a physical or psychological condition. MMJ is widely used to treat psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia, as well as physical conditions such as chronic pain, glaucoma, and muscle spasms. Laws that legalize the use of medical cannabis are rolling out across the nation, state by state, at a rapid rate. Now, over half of the states in America allow some type of medical cannabis usage.
The rise of medical marijuana has coincided happily with the rise of telemedicine. In fact, you could say that telemedicine and medical marijuana are a match made in heaven. Here are six ways telemedicine can improve MMJ patients’ lives.
Telemedicine is a Godsend For MMJ Patients With Mobility Issues
Many medical marijuana users have mobility issues. Lots of people use MMJ to alleviate the discomfort associated with conditions that hamper mobility such as arthritis, chronic pain, muscle spasms, broken limbs, and being an amputee. For these people, getting to their local doctor’s office or MMJ dispensary can be a difficult ordeal packed with challenges, obstacles, and hassles. Telemedicine massively improves the lives of these MMJ patients by giving them the option to consult with their doctor, and even to order their MMJ, online or over the phone from their home.
Telemedicine Makes Life Much Easier For MMJ Patients Who Live in Remote Locations
Many legal MMJ states, such as California, Alaska, and Nevada, are large and have lots of wilderness. In states like these, a lot of medical cannabis patients live in very remote areas, far from their nearest doctor’s office or MMJ dispensary. Telemedicine makes life much easier for these people. They can consult with their physician online from their home instead of traveling for many hours to meet face-to-face. They can also contact their dispensary online to ask questions, check menus and merchandise, and even make orders.
Telemedicine De-Clutters MMJ Dispensaries
People can now contact their local medical marijuana dispensary using their smartphone or mobile device. This form of telemedicine means that patients do not need to take a trip to their local MMJ dispensary to pick up their prescription or get some advice. MMJ dispensaries are always keen to educate their patients about the newest developments in the MMJ world, and this can now be done using telemedicine. As well as receiving information via telemedicine, many dispensaries will take orders online and even make deliveries. This results in a much quicker and more streamlined service for MMJ patients, as well as dispensaries that are less hectic and cluttered.
Telemedicine Gives MMJ Patients Far More Choice
Telemedicine allows MMJ patients to consult with specialist doctors and dispensaries in any part of their state. Many localities, even in MMJ-friendly states such as California, Colorado, and Florida, have only a small selection of doctors and dispensaries. In smaller, more rural locales, the choice of what doctor a person can visit is very limited. Also, some locations do not yet have a local dispensary, or if they do, it often does not have the wide selection of MMJ treats that other dispensaries in larger towns and cities have. Telemedicine gives people a far wider choice of what doctor they consult with and which dispensary they can purchase their MMJ products from.
Telemedicine is a Giant Time Saver
Traveling to the doctor’s office, waiting in line, and then having a consultation in person can be a very time-consuming undertaking. Telemedicine really improves the lives of MMJ patients who have tight schedules and need to save as much time as possible. Instead of the multi-hour commitment of visiting a doctor in person, an MMJ patient can use telemedicine and have a consultation in a matter of minutes. Patients can also save time by consulting with their local dispensary using telemedicine.
Telemedicine Makes Waiting in a Doctor’s Waiting Room Unnecessary
Many MMJ users have medical conditions that are not contagious in any way. But when they visit a doctor’s office, they are subjected to airborne viruses and germs that can actually make them sicker than they were before they came. People with psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, or insomnia are often otherwise physically healthy. And people with pain conditions and chronic issues such as backache, glaucoma, muscle spasms, and arthritis are often healthy apart from their chronic condition. The last thing these people need is to pick up a cold or flu every time they need to consult with their doctor or pick up a repeat prescription. Telemedicine allows MMJ patients to consult with their doctor without having to queue up in a stuffy, virus-infested waiting room. This certainly makes the lives of MMJ patients much better.