FEATURED
A Q&A with Nerfis Elminowski, DNP about Cannabis for Veterans and Holistic Healthcare Dr. Nerfis Elminowski is a Board-certified Doctor of Nursing Practice and Graduate of Daemen College. She possesses over 25 years of experience including aviation medicine, acute, trauma, urgent, chronic care, geriatrics, and mental health. She has also worked in oncology, chronic pain, substance abuse, and immigrant healthcare. Dr. Elminowski is a highly decorated veteran and served our country as a flight medical provider, coordinating flights for over 1000 patients during high profile, classified missions with a 100% success rate and earning six Hazardous Duty awards in 1 year.
INTRODUCTION
“I have nothing to lose.” I soon decided that I was going
legalized cannabis for adults 21 years of age and older. This
Dr. Nerfis Elminowski was a member of an elite Special
to try to stop taking the pharmaceuticals I was on. My
law establishes a framework that will comprehensively
reluctance toward painkillers stemmed from personal
regulate cannabis in NYS in a manner that will protect
and professional experience. I had lost friends to opioid
public health and safety while promoting social equity and
overdoses and had witnessed firsthand how addiction
economic development. However, as legalization expands,
can destroy individuals and their families. There is a
some entrepreneurs are finding gaps in the law and are
mounting body of research detailing the lack of benefit and
selling unregulated and unlicensed cannabis, even though
potentially severe harm of long-term opioid therapy, and
the Office of Cannabis Management states that it is illegal
veterans are twice as likely to die from accidental opioid
for anyone to sell unregulated cannabis in New York State
From a young age, Dr. Elminowski knew that she wanted
overdose compared to nonveterans.
and that anyone selling unregulated, unlicensed, and
to work in medicine. Her passion for healing evolved
Within 2 months of starting the medical cannabis, I
Operations Aviation Medicine Team and obtained her flight degree from the USAF Academy, eventually earning a promotion to lieutenant commander. Throughout her service career, she earned numerous awards and commendations including the Crisis Response Service award with Bronze Star and Foreign Duty Service Award.
from growing up with a family member who required around-the-clock care. She learned at a young age that helping others requires both preventive care and a holistic approach.
noticed a significant decrease in the frequency, severity, and duration of my migraines. My neuropathy, pain, mood, and sleep also improved. Within 4 months I was able to decrease and eventually stop most of my prescribed
While classically trained in Western medicine, Dr. Elminowski has also developed a deep appreciation for cultural anthropology and the natural sciences and incorporates both into her medical philosophy. She has studied, worked, and traveled abroad extensively. Dr. Elminowski is an authorized medical cannabis provider in NYS. She is a pioneer in integrative and alternative medicine and is a passionate advocate for the legalization of cannabis. She incorporates alternative medicine with a focus on wellness and prevention, rather than simply treating the disease. She believes holistic care is about more than integrating Western and Eastern medicine, but rather a more comprehensive and personalized way of thinking about wellness. It is about caring for the whole person, including their physical, mental, spiritual, and social needs. It’s an understanding that all of these aspects affect an individual’s overall health, and being unwell in one area may have a negative effect on other areas. For example, it works both ways; stress is a psychological response but can also cause physical symptoms such as headaches, weight gain, muscle aches, and difficulty sleeping, and being physically ill can cause you to feel anxious or depressed. Just as your spirituality and relationships can boost your mental and physical health.
medications. My family started to notice an improvement in my mood and motivation. I started to do more around the house. I invested in a swimming pool and started to do low-impact water exercises and eventually I got stronger. My water exercises got more rigorous and soon I was swimming laps and racing my daughter in the pool. I began leaving my home, going on walks, going out to eat, and attending family events. I knew medical cannabis was working. It gave me a second opportunity in life. I thought, that if medical cannabis drastically improved the quality of my life, think of the potential it can have for my fellow veteran comrades. That’s when I knew I had to do something about it, and talking wasn’t enough. I decided to learn as much as I could about cannabis through research and studies that have been conducted all over the world. I then became certified in medical cannabis and started a medical cannabis program with a focus on veterans who suffer from debilitating service-related disabilities such as chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many of my veteran patients continue to do very well, and as a result, have asked me to recommend medical cannabis to their family and friends who suffered from debilitating chronic conditions in hopes that it would help them in similar ways. Eventually, I opened my doors to nonveterans. This was a major turning point in her life,
untaxed marijuana in NYS is breaking the law on both state and federal levels. In doing so this undermines their ability to build a legal, regulated cannabis market that will ensure products are tested and safe for consumers while providing opportunities for those from communities most impacted by the over-criminalization of cannabis prohibition. Some unlicensed entrepreneurs are even going as far as to openly advertise on social media, ads, and billboards throughout the city, thus confusing the residents and patients of medical cannabis. Despite cannabis becoming more acceptable in society, entrepreneurs will continue to face challenges in accessing traditional business services and capital as opposed to non-cannabis businesses. Due to the uncertain legal status and federal prohibition, cannabis companies do not have access to traditional insurances and traditional banking services that other non-cannabis companies have. This makes operating a legal cannabis business a challenge for business owners with the outcome being increased costs. There are supporters of the legalization of marijuana in the Senate who are proposing the Cannabis administration and Opportunity Act, which would allow adults to buy and possess marijuana without facing criminal penalties, eradicate non-violent marijuana crimes, advance medical research, and allow cannabis companies access to basic financial services, including bank accounts and loans.
Q: Who do you think stands to benefit the most from cannabis legalization, (therapeutically speaking and/ or just in general)? A: Patients who use cannabis for therapeutic purposes should benefit the most and not fear legal penalties. I
Geoff Brown: Tell us about how you first got involved with cannabis?
and I have been operating as such ever since. For many patients, it is truly a transformative medical necessity.
believe medical cannabis has paved the way for adult-use
Dr. Elminowski: I’m a disabled veteran. I sustained a
Q: You’re very involved in the medical cannabis space, but what are your thoughts on the recreational side of Cannabis?
interest of medical cannabis patients, legalizing cannabis
brain and spinal injury that changed the trajectory of my life by ending my service career. What was once a productive and exciting life turned into a life of constant pain and isolation. I suffered from migraines, neuropathy, and pain. The quality of my life decreased both physically and mentally, and I began to lose hope for the future. MY days were spent confined to a dark room and I thought she would never be able to leave my home. I was prescribed multiple medications and felt like she had no foreseeable future. One day, a very close friend of mine suggested that I try medical cannabis. Although I was skeptical, I thought,
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SUMMER 2022
A: I am glad cannabis has been decriminalized in NY.
recreational cannabis. Therapeutically speaking, for the on a federal level would be considered a great leap forward. This would open doors to advance medical research and encourage medical insurance companies to cover the cost
Although the industry has seen considerable improve-
of medical cannabis for patients who need it. The current
ments, it continues to face many challenges in areas of
classification of medical cannabis is also a challenge for
legality, regulations and raising capital for those interested
providers. Changing the classification of cannabis may
in expanding into the adult-use recreational industry.
reduce the stigma some healthcare providers have and
I believe these areas will be the key forces driving the
increase the understanding of the therapeutic benefits of
industry as different states within the U.S. approach the
cannabis. It has been my experience that medical cannabis
use and sale of adult-use recreational cannabis differently.
has a reasonable safety profile and that patients often use
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA)
it as a substitute for other, more harmful drugs, such as
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