Reporter Veronica Volk discussed the paradox of medical cannabis being perhaps more effective than traditional pharmaceuticals at a lower cost, but the lack of insurance coverage making the out-of-pocket expense unaffordable to patients. As his company prepares to begin marketing medical cannabis in New York, Nicholas Vita, the CEO of Columbia Care, shared his perspective:
What we’ve discovered is that about 65-70% of our patients that used to use opiates, no longer use opiates and now use medical marijuana which has a lower side effect profile, you don’t have nearly the same addiction issues, and their outcomes are actually better. So if there was a way that we could statistically prove that we could manufacture a consistent product that could be dosed in a particular way that could improve the outcome and the quality of life of a patient, while at the same time saving money because it’s a naturally grown product, its organic, I think that would be really attractive to an insurance company.
Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care
According to Volk’s report, Columbia Care, which also has operations in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., will be working with medical providers to gather the data so that the statistical argument can be made.
Listen to Veronica Volk’s “The Medical Marijuana Dilemma” or read her story: http://wxxinews.org/post/medical-marijuana-dilemma
