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A Marijuana Startup Is Throwing Pot-Selling Parties For The Elderly

REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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Steve Birr Vice Reporter
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A marijuana startup, inspired by the marketing tactics of cosmetics companies, is throwing pot-selling parties for seniors where elderly patients can test products infused with weed.

Octavia Wellness, a company based in San Francisco, is using a direct-sales strategy to introduce seniors unfamiliar with marijuana to the products now available in the legal market. The growing operation employs roughly 50 wellness consultants, who work on commission throwing events in senior facilities and neighborhoods throughout the state, reports Business Insider.

At these events seniors can try samples of lip balm and topical ointments infused with marijuana oil, based off the model employed by cosmetic companies like Mary Kay. Octavia Wellness is geared towards those interested in non-smokeable products that help ease chronic pain without the high.

Carrie Tice, the co-founder and CEO of Octavia Wellness, helped start the company after helping her mother get a doctor recommendation for marijuana. Tice says the sheer number of different products at dispensaries left them confused.

“We ran into the typical problems,” Tice told Business Insider. “There were too many products to choose from, and it wasn’t clear what she needed. I didn’t know where to turn.”

Now she helps guide baby boomers and seniors through the process of finding the right marijuana product for their needs. The baby boomer generation and seniors are warming up to marijuana at a record rate. A study conducted at NYU found a 71 percent increase in pot use among baby boomers since 2006.

The number of seniors who reported using weed in the past year increased by roughly 250 percent between 2006 and 2013. Seniors report noticing stronger effects from treatment with marijuana, some replacing morphine with pot, and generally experience fewer side effects than from traditional medication.

Medical marijuana is legal in 29 states and Washington, D.C., where it is also legal for recreational use. Despite greater access to pot, seniors can still have a tough time getting their hands on it. A majority of nursing homes will not openly endorse using marijuana, which remains illegal at the federal level, and many doctors fear that there is not enough research to justify its use.

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