Spliff Twister
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A well-known herb was touted as a way to ease the painful muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis at a conference on the neurological disease Saturday.
Toke, anyone?
MS is one of the medical conditions for which Ottawa allows people to smoke marijuana.
Winnipeg naturopathic doctor Sean Ceaser listed it as a complementary therapy, along with diet restrictions and exercise, at the Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual daylong conference for doctors and patients. About 250 people came to the Winnipeg Convention Centre to hear speakers from the U.S. and Canada discuss the latest findings.
Some 3,000 Manitobans are believed to suffer from the progressive condition of the central nervous system that has no known cause or cure.
Doctors have long known the disease is linked to the immune system and to environmental triggers. Allergic reactions to wheat and diary products or a vitamin D deficiency from lack of sunlight are thought to trigger the disease. MS destroys the lining of nerve cells, robbing people of the ability to control their movements.
Marijuana, the illegal street drug that can get you arrested and jailed, remains a medicine people with MS hate to admit they use.
Cannabis -- the formal name for marijuana -- along with various other medicinal herbs and nutritional supplements like vitamins K, D, B-12 and omega-three fish oils, are attracting patients nevertheless, Ceaser said.
The Charleswood health practitioner cited THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, as a nerve-affecting element that soothes spasms, eases pain and promotes sleep. Doctors can help patients get federal approval to use it.
Conference spokeswoman Gwenda Nemerofsky confirmed there are people
in Manitoba who have applied to Health Canada for legal permits to use marijuana as medicine.
"But most will not come forward," she said.
Some take it by prescription in forms like nasal spray. Others roll it up in cigarette papers and smoke it. Some even grow it.
The conference focused on the social and emotional devastation that can accompany a diagnosis of MS and ways, including pot, that patients can cope better. Among the other findings Saturday was research that indicates MS strikes the same proportion of people in the rest of Canada as in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Prairie provinces were previously believed to be hot spots for the condition.
Winnipegger Erica Maxwell, 27, was diagnosed with MS six years ago, shortly after she gave birth.
She said she was eager to learn about natural therapies she can use to augment conventional treatment.
The condition has slowed Maxwell down. She has to nap every day and go to bed early. Her husband and their son, 6, pick up the slack at home, from laundry to housecleaning. Stress makes symptoms worse.
Dr. Michael Schapiro, an expert in MS from the Minneapolis Clinic for Neurology, said his mother had the disease, so he understands how hard it is for patients and their families to live with it.
But the American doctor is not keen on marijuana as a solution, especially if it's smoked.
Studies show smoking pot can block symptoms like muscle tremors, the doctor said. And prolonged toking can kill off brain cells in the same way alcohol abuse does. It can also cause respiratory diseases, like tobacco-smoking does.
"It's not just a casual thing," Schapiro said.
Newshawk: Spliff Twister - 420 Magazine
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Pubdate: Sun, 29 Oct 2006
Author: Alexandra Paul
Copyright: 2006 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: letters@freepress.mb.ca
Website: The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition
Toke, anyone?
MS is one of the medical conditions for which Ottawa allows people to smoke marijuana.
Winnipeg naturopathic doctor Sean Ceaser listed it as a complementary therapy, along with diet restrictions and exercise, at the Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual daylong conference for doctors and patients. About 250 people came to the Winnipeg Convention Centre to hear speakers from the U.S. and Canada discuss the latest findings.
Some 3,000 Manitobans are believed to suffer from the progressive condition of the central nervous system that has no known cause or cure.
Doctors have long known the disease is linked to the immune system and to environmental triggers. Allergic reactions to wheat and diary products or a vitamin D deficiency from lack of sunlight are thought to trigger the disease. MS destroys the lining of nerve cells, robbing people of the ability to control their movements.
Marijuana, the illegal street drug that can get you arrested and jailed, remains a medicine people with MS hate to admit they use.
Cannabis -- the formal name for marijuana -- along with various other medicinal herbs and nutritional supplements like vitamins K, D, B-12 and omega-three fish oils, are attracting patients nevertheless, Ceaser said.
The Charleswood health practitioner cited THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, as a nerve-affecting element that soothes spasms, eases pain and promotes sleep. Doctors can help patients get federal approval to use it.
Conference spokeswoman Gwenda Nemerofsky confirmed there are people
in Manitoba who have applied to Health Canada for legal permits to use marijuana as medicine.
"But most will not come forward," she said.
Some take it by prescription in forms like nasal spray. Others roll it up in cigarette papers and smoke it. Some even grow it.
The conference focused on the social and emotional devastation that can accompany a diagnosis of MS and ways, including pot, that patients can cope better. Among the other findings Saturday was research that indicates MS strikes the same proportion of people in the rest of Canada as in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Prairie provinces were previously believed to be hot spots for the condition.
Winnipegger Erica Maxwell, 27, was diagnosed with MS six years ago, shortly after she gave birth.
She said she was eager to learn about natural therapies she can use to augment conventional treatment.
The condition has slowed Maxwell down. She has to nap every day and go to bed early. Her husband and their son, 6, pick up the slack at home, from laundry to housecleaning. Stress makes symptoms worse.
Dr. Michael Schapiro, an expert in MS from the Minneapolis Clinic for Neurology, said his mother had the disease, so he understands how hard it is for patients and their families to live with it.
But the American doctor is not keen on marijuana as a solution, especially if it's smoked.
Studies show smoking pot can block symptoms like muscle tremors, the doctor said. And prolonged toking can kill off brain cells in the same way alcohol abuse does. It can also cause respiratory diseases, like tobacco-smoking does.
"It's not just a casual thing," Schapiro said.
Newshawk: Spliff Twister - 420 Magazine
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Pubdate: Sun, 29 Oct 2006
Author: Alexandra Paul
Copyright: 2006 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: letters@freepress.mb.ca
Website: The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition
