Longtime St. Louis nurse says Good Karma is about ‘healthier alternatives’

Dr. Patricia Coughlin, sole owner of Good Karma Dispensary, has applied for a dispensary facility license in Brentwood, Missouri. Like the other 2,300 applications, she awaits licensing results from the state. Coughlin is one of over 1,000 applicants applying to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Missouri.

The 83-year-old has lived in St. Louis her entire life. She was a registered nurse for 44 years and a social worker for 39 years. She has her doctorate in social work. Dr. Coughlin is a captain in the United States Army Nurse Corps; a former professor at Washington University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Maryville University; and even formerly hosted a local radio show.

“I believe that my unique background, combined with my extensive knowledge in the area of medical marijuana will be to serve my dispensary clients well,” Dr. Coughlin told Greenway Magazine. “As a senior, I intend to focus quite a bit on the more mature population that does not feel comfortable with many of the stereotypical associations of marijuana. I believe it is important to promote the message that medical marijuana is an acceptable alternative to traditional pharmacology, and I hope my messages will help to ‘de-stigmatize’ medical marijuana.”

She said her reason for applying for a facility license comes down to her first-hand accounts of the needs of the aging community and a need for alternative treatment options.

“My main reason for applying for a dispensary license is that I see first hand every day the significant need in the aging community for a healthier alternative to dangerous prescription medications to treat: sleep problems and insomnia, loss of appetite, chronic pain from age-related conditions, depression, and the agitation and other symptoms related to Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Coughlin said. “The aging population, in my opinion, is the most needlessly over-medicated and is in dire need of alternatives.”

A way she plans for her dispensary to serve aging patients better is by offering a “VIP Service” where her or another nurse will meet in-home with families and patients to discuss treatment.

“I will work in conjunction with the patient’s physician and healthcare team to determine the best course of medical marijuana treatment,” Dr. Coughlin said. “I will follow up weekly with family members to assess progress, changes, and any concerns as well as to personally deliver the product to the family/patient and assist with teaching and training on side effects, symptoms, etc.”

Dr. Coughlin’s dispensary also plans to make specific offerings for fellow veterans, including discounts and outreach. She will be providing lectures and visiting support groups touting the benefits of medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions unique to veterans.

   

Her outreach will further extend into the healthcare industry, where she plans to capitalize on her almost 50 years of nursing experience. She will also be providing workshops and seminars for counselors, social workers, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists to increase regional education for medical marijuana treatment for mental illness.

Her experience and multi-faceted outreach strategy is one that Dr. Coughlin hopes will make her application stand out.

Outside of her care experience, Dr. Coughlin founded the Magdala Foundation, the first halfway house for female offenders in the United States, for which former St. Louis Mayor A.J. Cervantes awarded her the key to the City.

Additionally, she co-founded The PMS Center, one of the first facilities of its kind in the country to treat women suffering from PMS and other hormone-related conditions. She emerged early on as an expert in PMS and bio-identical hormones, appearing on several national television shows. She volunteers as a counselor at Birthright Crisis Pregnancy Counseling and she is on the Board of Missouri Right to Life.

Her dispensary proposal, of which she is the sole owner and funder, has been welcomed by the City of Brentwood and local residents.

Dr. Coughlin is an active longtime member of the St. Louis Arch Diocese and a longtime serial entrepreneur. She is the mother of five professional adults and grandmother to 15, all living in the St. Louis area.