FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 7, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
health
Photos courtesy of Alesandra Liriano
LIC resident touts benefi ts of cannabis suppositories
BY TIMOTHY BOLGER
Suff ering from a rare genetic connective
tissue disorder, Alesandra Liriano of Long
Island City was unable to fi nd relief from
her chronic pain until she found a new
vaginal medical cannabis suppository.
Th e 43-year-old licensed massage therapist
and mother of two teenagers, who
was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
(EDS) eight years ago, credits her
relief to Manhattan-based medical cannabis
dispensary Columbia Care. Th e company
is developing a wide range of products
to give patients diff erent forms of
relief options, including this unique pill.
“I tried it and I was shocked and very
surprised at how greatly it helped my
symptoms because I was in severe pain,”
Liriano recalled. “It doesn’t remove my
pain. It makes it manageable, where I can
function and move around a little easier.”
Chronic pain is one of more than a
dozen conditions that qualify patients for
receiving medical marijuana in New York
state, which is one of 33 states nationwide
and the District of Columbia where the
treatment is legal.
Liriano spent years suspected of being a
hypochondriac until a doctor fi nally diagnosed
her with EDS, which aff ects one in
5,000 people, has no cure, and makes her
more prone to serious injuries while performing
simple daily tasks such as bathing
or cooking. It once caused her to suffer
a collapsed lung. Earlier this year, she
suff ered a concussion and dislocated tailbone
in a fall.
She was on 20 diff erent medications
to treat the symptoms until Th e Empire
State legalized medical marijuana three
years ago, giving her what she deemed the
best alternative to date. She’s been using
the suppositories for six months and she
said it signifi cantly improved her quality
of life, as she no longer suff ers from
debilitating stomach pain and is now well
enough to volunteer and take on more
massage clients. Th e suppositories also
spare her the side eff ect of stomach pain
that traditional painkillers can cause.
Columbia Care, which is conducting
genetic testing to learn more about the
way cannabinoids interact with the body,
touts the benefi ts of suppositories that can
be taken vaginally or anally to deliver targeted
abdominal pain relief.
“It’s long been known that suppositories
work,” said Dr. Rosemary Mazanet, the
chief scientifi c offi cer for Columbia Care.
“We’ve taken that simple fact and added
cannabis to the equation.”
Th e dispensary has locations in 10
states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
It’s local dispensaries are in Manhattan,
Riverhead, Rochester, and it most recently
opened a Brooklyn location.
As for Liriano, she just wants others
who are similarly coping with severe pain
and symptoms of rare diseases to know
that alternatives are available beyond
the widely publicized medical marijuana
delivery methods such as vaping, edibles,
or oils.
“It helped me tolerate the intolerable,”
she said.
/WWW.QNS.COM