5 Comments
User's avatar
Marie Moneysmith's avatar

Thanks for this, Dr. Kaplan! I'm 77 and have been using various forms of cannabis for at least the past 15 years. I don't have any chronic health conditions (yay!), but use cannabis for sleep -- it's the best! -- and it's also great for anxiety, depression, appetite, random aches and pains. Most medicines, even OTC pain meds, make me deathly ill. Honestly, Medicare should put cannabis in its formulary. So many people would feel better if they knew that it's not about "getting high."

Expand full comment
Ben Caplan, MD's avatar

Yes! Thank you so much for sharing this. Your experience is exactly what I hear time and again—and it speaks volumes. It’s remarkable how many people find real, reliable relief with cannabis when nothing else seems to work.

As I’ll share more in Part 2 of this series, I’m currently leading a project aimed at making that vision a reality: getting Medicare to recognize and cover cannabis-based therapies. If you’re curious, feel free to take a look here: https://commonwealthproject.org/about/

It’s voices like yours that help push this conversation forward. Truly grateful you took the time to share.

Expand full comment
Peter greer's avatar

its all broken . The market with the lowest penetration but the highest potential to ease suffering is Cannabis.

Expand full comment
Ben Caplan, MD's avatar

Absolutely agree. Cannabis sits at the strange intersection of stigma, science, and massive unmet need. It’s one of the most underused tools in all of medicine—especially given how much suffering it can ease when used thoughtfully. The market may be broken, but the potential is still extraordinary.

I'm never giving up. I'm going to keep pushing to fix what’s broken and unlock what’s possible.

But... I'll also need all the help I can get!

Expand full comment