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  It was a big week in the medical cannabis community. Governor JB Pritzker signed changes to the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program on August 12, 2019, making the once medical pilot program now permanent in Illinois. He also approved several new debilitating medical conditions, making cannabis an option for thousands of residents who did not previously qualify for their medical cannabis card. Following is a summary of the recent improvements and changes.   12 New Conditions   Twelve […]

    Anyone familiar with cannabis has likely encountered, or used, one of many slang terms to refer to the plant. Weed, pot, reefer, trees, bud, flower, Mary Jane, the devil’s lettuce—governments have even compiled extensive lists to keep up with the colloquialisms. Hemp, however, is something different, not to be thrown into the above brief list, instead denoting a strict, legal definition, as recently iterated by the Hemp Farming Act of 2018:   “(1) HEMP.—The term ‘hemp’ means the […]

As the field of medicine continues to evolve in the modern era, increased emphasis is being placed on the use of mindfulness practice to help treat illness and disease. Simple yet incredibly powerful, mindfulness meditation encourages an individual to fully experience and attend to the present moment.1 Steeped in centuries of Buddhist tradition, mindfulness meditation found its way into the clinical literature of the 20th century, where its effects in the treatment of chronic pain and psychiatric illness were studied […]

With CBD rapidly gaining popularity and new, hemp-based CBD products exploding across retail shelves, learning how to choose the best CBD oil is more important than ever. The industry’s lack of federal oversight and regulation has fostered a “Wild West” sort of market for CBD, which leaves the consumer with no legal quality guarantees. A recent warning letter by the FDA, issued in April of 2019, warned consumers again of CBD products, stating, “many were found to not contain the […]

Recently Innovative Wellness & Dr. Rahul Khare were featured in a news story from WGN. Dr. Rahul Khare, a former Northwestern Memorial Hospital emergency room physician, who recently opened Innovative Wellness, cautions users. “There are some horror stories where some CBD has THC in it. People get tested, and they fail their drug test, so you have to be very careful about where you purchase your CBD,” Khare said. Khare provides lab reports and so does McFeely for her products, […]

by Dr. Rahul Khare, Founder of Innovative Care & Board Certified Emergency Room Physician Cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD, is a new and relatively understudied medical treatment for pain, including back pain. CBD seems to reduce back pain for some people and does not come with the high or psychogenic effects of marijuana.   How Does CBD Treat Back Pain? Research indicates that CBD may reduce back pain by: Reducing inflammation[1] Combating anxiety, often associated with long-lasting or chronic […]

A long awaited day for Illinoisan’s everywhere finally arrived last week as the House and Senate passed a bill legalizing adult use recreational cannabis in the state. While 29 states have cannabis laws in place, Illinois was the first to pass a bill legalizing marijuana through their legislature. Billionaire businessman and IL Governor, J.B. Pritzker, has said he plans to sign the bill. Progress is On the Horizon in IL Indeed, there is much to be excited about as this […]

  A new way of treating patients with chronic pain, the Opiate Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP) will give the people of Illinois more options with medical marijuana. Here are some details of this groundbreaking new project: Do You Qualify? To qualify, you must: Be 21 years of age or over. Must have been prescribed an opiate within the last year (Norco, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Suboxone, Tramadol, and many others) or have a condition that warrants an opiate, based on generally accepted standards of […]

Chronic Conditions Managed with Medical Cannabis Pain relief is the most cited reason for using medical cannabis. Most states that have legalized medical cannabis have a list of specific conditions that are eligible for a physician recommendation. These conditions are called qualifying conditions. Generally, qualifying conditions are determined by state appointed medical boards that are then signed into law. Qualifying conditions are typically characterized by chronic pain with one or more of these symptoms: Severe nausea Severe or persistent muscle spasms […]