Medical Marijuana

[donner]

and they don't have legal drugs that will do the same thing? I find it amazing how everybody knows the same old lady that enjoys getting high.

i've mentioned this here before, but i'll repeat it in case it helps answer the question.

my wife woke up one day many years ago with a headache. just a headache. But, she had it all day, and then all day every day, for five years. We saw specialists in MS, in TN and eventually the Mayo Clinic. No one seemed to know why she had this headache, which was bearable at times and debilitating at times.

Each doctor had different theories and had her cycling onto and off of a lot of different drugs. The only types of drugs we didn't try were anti psychotics.

One of the first ones she tried is a common anti depressant given to headache suffers. Not only did it make her stoned while she was taking it, it also made all food repulsive. She probably lost 30 pounds, which she didn't really have to lose. Oh, and it didn't help the headaches much.

One of the others made her so emotionally unbalanced that i found her laying on the floor one night crying uncontrollably because she packed two left running shoes instead of a right and a left... And it didn't help the headache.

Of all the drugs she tried, lyrica helped the most but listen to their commercial and you'll hear "we don't know how lyrica works". Comforting.

She eventually saw a pain specialist in memphis who prescribed the synthetic weed pill (yes, a real doctor with hospital privileges and all). (which, as an aside, is actually based on weed research here at Ole Miss, which has the only (?) federally funded research operation. Really, we have a field of pot near the edge of campus).

The weed pills helped some, but the problem was dosage. You can't subdivide the pill, so you either took one and got the full amount of it, or you didn't and suffered. With real weed, you can take just a little and have a little relief.

So, all that to say, there are 'real drugs' but that doesn't mean they are better. Often they have side effects that can be worse than the original problem. In all truth, alcohol probably helped the most.

Oh, and just look at the epidemic opioid pain pills is causing.

 

[nofearfactor]

I have a mj red card but its only good for when Im living in CA, obviously. I got mine for my RA- a condition that eventually required me to retire from my main occupation. It also helps my insomnia. And yes, it, marijuana, does help my RA. Could I take regular pain meds, yes, sure, no problem, but why when I dont have to because I would rather not want to have to deal with that nightmare. When I am in OK living I go without or I get by with occasional OTC meds, I just dont want to go down the path of surviving on pain meds. To each their own as they say...

 

[donner]

My mom never experienced a high, but she was taking a lot. It helps immensely.

that is the thing. it's not always about the high, but just knocking the edge off the pain

 

[soonersfan]

One of my nephews, who passed last year, had a car accident when he was 19. Had he not been high and drinking, he would not have had the accident that left him a quadrapalegic and left him in constant pain. However, when he started vaping mj they were able to eliminate the 6 pain meds he was on and he experienced far less pain. For some reason if he smoked it, he would get a phantom pain in his lower back.

The resistance to legalize medical mj kind of baffles me. Will people abuse it? Hell yes, just like they abuse legal prescription drugs. However, it is natural and could be produced for a lot less than some of the other drugs that do the same things.

I don't think people should smoke mj recreationally. I've seen it rob too many kids of any ambition in life. I've never smoked a joint or taken an illegal drug but I think there is a place for mj as an alternative medicine. It's only a matter of time.

 

[RickN]

Most of the "studies" proving MJ is effective are not the full study but a small part while the full study usually says something different. I know a lot of people in the medical field including a sister that just battled breast cancer. None of them say MJ will cure anything. It will help with a few symptoms but in many cases only for a short while.

We do need to study it more and I think that is one reason the feds are not cracking down on CO and other states. Let them be the test subjects and if it proves to be a disaster in the long term the federal government is not at fault and does not have to help pay for the problem. After all it is illegal under federal law.

 

[lasher]

and they don't have legal drugs that will do the same thing? I find it amazing how everybody knows the same old lady that enjoys getting high.

that's not even close to a funny statement. i went to high school with this woman. it helps her and that's all that counts. many natural flora are remedies that will work for many illnesses. do you take aspirin,,,bark of a tree? and cannabis was declared not legal in the 30's (as memory serves) along with booze, religious self righteous zealots were the cause. if it helps any person who is in the process of checking out,,,i'm all for it. make it legal and tax it for revenue

disclaimer; i don't smoke dope, i do smoke cigars.

 

[Rooster1971]

Most of the "studies" proving MJ is effective are not the full study but a small part while the full study usually says something different. I know a lot of people in the medical field including a sister that just battled breast cancer. None of them say MJ will cure anything. It will help with a few symptoms but in many cases only for a short while.

We do need to study it more and I think that is one reason the feds are not cracking down on CO and other states. Let them be the test subjects and if it proves to be a disaster in the long term the federal government is not at fault and does not have to help pay for the problem. After all it is illegal under federal law.

I agree it needs to be studied.
It might not cure anything, but if it helps with symptoms it should be an option to try. Pharmaceuticals don't work for everyone the same.

It's understandable your connects in the medical field don't want a part of it. There is perks I'm sure of the drug reps pushing their dope.

I put good old fashion booze as more dangerous than this plant.

 

[RickN]

I agree it needs to be studied.
It might not cure anything, but if it helps with symptoms it should be an option to try. Pharmaceuticals don't work for everyone the same.

It's understandable your connects in the medical field don't want a part of it. There is perks I'm sure of the drug reps pushing their dope.

I put good old fashion booze as more dangerous than this plant.

There are no perks for the doctors and nurses in major hospitals, that is BS pushed by the stoner lobby. Some smaller doctors, yes because that is where they build a business. My sister is an RN in Chicago and just battled breast cancer. She agrees that MJ can help a few symptoms of chemo but in many cases it is temporary before the effects come back. Sometimes stronger because the MJ was just masking the symptoms. Studies have also shown that many of the kids having seizures, and that MJ helps, had parents that used pot during pregnancy. Not all but many. And in many cases MJ stops working even on them. I say let CO and the other states be the long term guinea pigs. That way if it fails we are not stuck with the bill. Remember that MJ was used as medicine for thousands of years and did not cure anything. They used it right along side leeches, bleeding and waving burning sticks to drive out the evil spirits.

 

[EhlerDave]

Well if it such a good pain killer and can replace many other meds, to me that calls into question the use of MJ for recreation.

 

[deerwhacker444]

Studies have also shown that many of the kids having seizures, and that MJ helps, had parents that used pot during pregnancy.

Please post a link to these studies, I'm curious.

Remember that MJ was used as medicine for thousands of years and did not cure anything. They used it right along side leeches, bleeding and waving burning sticks to drive out the evil spirits.

They still use leeches today..