Octogenarian caught up in social media fracas over cannabis oil

AN OCTOGENARIAN found herself caught up in a social media storm around cannabis oil this week.

Activists took the old-age home she lives in to task on Facebook over her being forced to pour a bottle of cannabis oil she had purchased down the sink.

They accused the Essenwood Residential Home of inappropriate treatment of an elderly person in need of affordable medical solutions to their ailments.

However, 83-year-old Ella Luiz is willing to wait until the substance becomes legal.

Rather than join in the cannabis oil activists’ criticism of management at her old-age home she came to its defence. And she is annoyed with the activists.

“This is an upstanding home,” Luiz said.

But what astonishes her is that in spite of keeping the purchase and disposal of the oil in “stone secrecy”, word got out, leading to an attack on the home on its Facebook page by the Bobby Greenhash Foundation.

Essenwood Residential Home defended itself and a dialogue between the two parties cooled down into a mutual understanding.

“The walls here must have ears,” Luiz remarked.

She acquired the oil for R550, the same price as the conventional medicine she took for aches and pains she has had since she was knocked over by a vehicle 18 years ago, leading to her having surgery.

“It was an ignorant act on my part. I didn’t know the law, as such.”

Luiz said she was astonished to receive a 9pm phone call from a stranger who said many people were “up in arms about this type of thing”.

“This is a very well-run home with carers and nursing staff. We can have our own private doctors see us but for those without medical aid there is a doctor who comes in and charges charitable rates. If I cannot sleep at night I can ring a buzzer to call a carer to give me a back massage.”

On Facebook, the Bobby Greenhash Foundation said it was disgusted with the way Luiz had been treated.

“Who gives your establishment the right to dictate what a patient chooses to put in there (sic) bodies? How is it possible that your establishment assumes that the substance she is using was not prescribed by a practitioner, including traditional healers? This is disgusting, the way she has been treated.”

A representative of Essenwood House responded: “I have no doubt that you have the best intentions in fighting for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, which I understand is very effective in managing much of the discomfort experienced by the elderly, but would have preferred that you contacted the management of the home to discuss the matter, rather than posting a negative and untrue comment on our Facebook page.”

She added: “I am most interested in the beneficial effects of cannabis oil and the possible applications for the elderly and hope that, when legalised, it presents an effective treatment for the ladies in our care.”

The dialogue ended with the foundation saying: “Unfortunately, the law has created this problem, and I fully agree that it should be regulated. However, not everybody has time to wait while the lawmakers change the status quo.”

Essenwood Residential Home said it had cared for some of the most vulnerable in our society – elderly women – for more than 80 years.

“We have much sympathy for Mrs Luiz who we assisted in disposing of the oil, in accordance with her wishes, once she discovered that the oil in question had not yet been legalised.

“It is unfortunate, too, that misinformation led to a minor social media fracas when both parties are clearly on the side of helping the elderly.

“We are in favour of any and all legal means with which to alleviate the suffering of older persons. The comfort, health and dignity of our residents is our greatest concern.”