A Cayman Islands hospital has begun dispensing medical cannabis oils nearly six months after Gov. Helen Kilpatrick signed the medical cannabis bill into law, according to a CNS Business report. Grand Cayman’s CTMH Doctors Hospital & Cayman Pharmacy Group will prescribe and dispense the oils for treatment of serious, chronic, conditions such as epilepsy and cancer, and as a pain reliever for rheumatoid and osteoarthritis symptoms.
Under the law, medical cannabis products are not permitted to be cultivated or produced on the islands, instead opting for an importation scheme. The hospital is being supplied by Canada’s CanniMed Therapeutics Inc., and the products will be imported by Caribbean Medical Distributors Ltd. CMD. Hospital officials indicated that the initial phase will see cannabis oils dispensed to a small number of physician-selected patients as they seek to educate themselves and track patient progress.
“There will be follow-up phone calls from the pharmacists themselves to closely monitor each patient. The pharmacist will also provide feedback for the physicians and together they will work towards an individually tuned treatment plan,” the hospital said in a press release. “Professional Pharmacy will consider prescriptions for cannabis oil from all licensed prescribers. Patients are encouraged to seek medical advice on this therapy directly from their physicians.”
In the release, officials cited case studies that show “life-changing results” with medical cannabis use for patients suffering from “chronic pain, neuropathic pain, and seizures.”
The group’s physicians and pharmacists were trained on procedures for prescribing medical cannabis last month.
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