Karen Lustman & Senior-High bringing cannabis education to older adults

Cannabis industry networking company Leafwire has an interesting interview with Karen Lustman, founder and CEO of Senior-High. Karen is an advocate, patient, researcher and speaker focusing on cannabis and its positive affect on active adults and seniors, and she created Senior-High to gather factual information about relief through cannabis. It says (in part):

Leafwire

Obviously with Senior-High, you’ve created a platform to educate people that’s recognized by the senior community.

Karen

My husband and I realized early on that the color of our hair and my wrinkles allowed seniors to feel safe when we shared our understanding of how this plant had helped me manage an “orphan” disease and my husband’s arthritis from playing guitar for years. We were asked to speak to groups of friends and neighbors. We began Senior-High to provide organization and a formal structure for our efforts.

The numbers of seniors using cannabis has continued to grow at a phenomenal pace. And so has the number of seniors being admitted to ERs due to “greening out.” So we teach them about the importance of the ECS, about cannabinoids, onset times, delivery systems, and dosing. Too often our followers have ingested too much THC or have heard horror stories about their friends who have. Usually the culprit is gummies. They look so innocent, like their grandkid’s candy! But they can be chocked full of THC and can take up to two hours to have an effect. So, they take another one since they think the first one didn’t work. Then they’re off to the races!

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Leafwire

What type of events have you held, and what kind of events do you plan to host?

Karen

We’ve held scores of events during the past five years. When COVID reared its ugly head and our community’s meeting rooms were shut down, we held seminars in our living room, keeping the audiences small and practicing social distancing and masking. As word spread, the volume of people wanting to attend grew and we couldn’t fit them in our living room. That’s when we started getting invited to many community centers, HOA clubhouses and senior centers.

One of the most fun events we ever did was to take 30 seniors in limousines to a dispensary lounge so that they could experience the environment and perhaps enjoy products they’d heard about but never tried. We had a blast and spent quite a lot of time educating the gang on pre-rolls, gummies, vape pens, cannabis-infused drinks, and flower. We invited brand reps from a few manufacturers to conduct short presentations about their products. Our group started shopping and my husband said, “Look at them, Karen They’re like kids in a candy store.” And, you know, they were! It was an awakening! When the seniors left in the limousines, they all wanted to know what’s next with Senior-High!

It has just been such a wonderful passion project for me. I feel that I’m giving back to the community. I am helping people of our age really enjoy their senior years and it has just been great.