Presentation delves into use of cannabis as medication
SUMMERLAND — Cannabis can be an effective medication for pain, neurological and mood disorders and other maladies, says registered nurse and cannabis advocate Jennifer Dunne.
Dunne’s presentation, Curious About Cannabis for Your Health? is the latest in the ongoing public information series on medical cannabis sponsored by Kyla’s Quest.
The event will be held this Saturday at the Summerland library, 9533 Main St., beginning at 1 p.m.
Admission is by $5 donation to Kyla’s Quest.
Kyla’s Quest is a non-profit organization with the goal of providing information, support and funds for those who may benefit from medical cannabis. The group was named in honour of Kyla Williams, a five-year-old Summerland girl who has intractable epilepsy and was having hundreds of seizures a day until she was treated with cannabis oil.
“I am a cannabis nurse, the wife of a medical cannabis patient and a medical cannabis patient myself,” Dunne said.
With experience in mental and community health, Dunne is currently team leader at a long-term geriatric facility in Kelowna.
Her interest in medical cannabis was sparked when a man with multiple sclerosis spoke to a pharmacology class she took while studying nursing at the University of Saskatchewan in the late 1990s.
The man told the students not only of the significant relief from symptoms he was experiencing with cannabis, but also of the seemingly endless legal difficulties and social stigma associated with its use.
“My whole world shifted when I heard him speak,” said Dunne, who began researching how cannabis works within the body.
She is also a member of the American Cannabis Nurses Association.
“Cannabis nursing is the incorporation of knowledge of the endocannabinoid system and safe use of herbal cannabis products into standard nursing practice with awareness of associated legal complexities,” Dunne said.
She is also studying the clinical application of cannabis through the Medical Cannabis Institute and participating in a cannabis nurse preceptorship at the Greenleaf Medical Clinic in Langley.
Upon completion of her university nursing degree, a sense of youthful adventure brought her to British Columbia and eventual marriage.
“My husband, who has MS, is benefitting from medical cannabis. I can’t imagine his life — our lives — without it,” she said.
Dunne uses cannabis herself for PTSD resulting from childhood abuse and is participating in a UBC Okanagan study on PTSD and cannabis.
To reserve a seat at the presentation, call 250-488-2001 or email info@kylasquest.com.