Why Medical Marijuana Makes Sense For Chronic Pain, A Doctor's View

[Smokeater]

The only way to get someone that big out from a lower floor is to lay them on a tarp and placing the whole tarp in the floor of the ambulance with a bunch of people helping, But from upstairs (like the one I got hurt on) to do it right you need four people and a stretcher and just literally push them thru any narrow halls, In my case we were short handed that day and it was only 2 of us to get her out. My partner at the time (not the strongest person I've seen) took the top of the stretcher and I had the bottom with most of the weight. It happened while walking backwards down the stairs holding the stretcher when my back "popped" (The patient and my partner even heard it) and when they say it hurt so bad I saw stars, they mean it because I saw stars and couldn't move without terrible pain. I'm proud to say I didn't drop the patient though even though I finished carrying her down the stairs.

 

[Going Down]

JohnSmith8th, You're not bringing anything positive to this group. We are all bothers and sisters of each other. We all believe in the same thing. It sounds like you are for MJ but your willing to slam anyone that tells a story about our fight against the system.

 

[Going Down]

JohnSmith8th, your tone has changed. Looks like you smoked up. Just do us all a favor and smoke before you reply to anybody else's comments!

 

[mlang52]

Radogast,

If they don't do it, so many feel it has not been done! Why do you think every darned hospital you go to has to repeat the CT scans and MRIs?! It is a a stupid practice that ignores the fact that we are not the only country in the word with a developed medical system! Part of it has to do with malpractice, though! Ignorance about the real number of recreational users puts blinders on this doctor. I have used it since having broken my back, I developed a cauda equina syndrome with neuropathy. I am a retired general surgeon/pain doctor. It helps. But, living where it is not legal makes me a criminal. The guy in the report knows very little about cannabis. People need to know the facts about it and not be like most doctors, depending on old wive's tales to educate themselves! Recreational use is a heck of a lot better than most of the physicians' preferred toxin, alcohol! Where does this doc get his logic?

 

[mlang52]

been on the class 2 narcotics so long and they are going to end up killing me due to what they are doing to my Kidneys and Liver..

The fact is opiates alone, will have minimal effect on the kidneys and liver. The Tylenol kills the liver. Opiates alone will not. Nor will they affect the kidneys. NSAIDS do that! I am a retired general surgeon/pain doctor with a graduate school education to boot. Too much ignorance about these drugs. There is even more ignorance about cannabis. (As this doctor proves!) I moved from Illinois. But Ar-kansas is even worse! Good luck with your quest! I would never had let them take my fingerprints over the cannabis system, anyway! That is overly intrusive!

 

[Heather De Ath]

One huge problem I see is separating recreational use and medical use. The language used for recreational seems to have carried over to medical. These are not the same. A whole new language needs to be developed for medical usage. I don't want to tell people that I get "high" because of the negative connotations... the negative, and criminal language. I have some relatives who are doctors. I will pose a couple medical marijuana questions the next time I see them. One is a neurosurgeon and the rest are Urologists. Please, no urology jokes .

 

[Radogast]

One huge problem I see is separating recreational use and medical use. The language used for recreational seems to have carried over to medical. These are not the same. A whole new language needs to be developed for medical usage. I don't want to tell people that I get "high" because of the negative connotations... the negative, and criminal language. I have some relatives who are doctors. I will pose a couple medical marijuana questions the next time I see them. One is a neurosurgeon and the rest are Urologists. Please, no urology jokes .

The whole thing about getting 'high' pisses me off. Medically, a major part of getting high is the euphoria.
All these articles gush about CBDs being medically effective 'without getting high.' But seriously folks, what is so wrong with euphoria?

Personally, I think it is the USA and the legacy of those founding Puritans. Puritans had a persistent belief that anyone finding pleasure in anything was sinful. To a certain extent, Protestant religions are very suspicious of pleasure, but Puritans hated euphoria !

 

[cleanslate]

The whole thing about getting 'high' pisses me off. Medically, a major part of getting high is the euphoria.
All these articles gush about CBDs being medically effective 'without getting high.' But seriously folks, what is so wrong with euphoria?

Personally, I think it is the USA and the legacy of those founding Puritans. Puritans had a persistent belief that anyone finding pleasure in anything was sinful. To a certain extent, Protestant religions are very suspicious of pleasure, but Puritans hated euphoria !

There is nothing wrong with euphoria, the world could do with a lot more of it. The "high" of euphoria is far more preferable to the low of depression, anger and despair. I only began to partake of the gifts of cannabis late in life, I wish it had been in my life much, much earlier. It wasn't, because of prohibition, lies and fear. Countless millions have suffered and lived diminished lives because that.

Cannabis is more than the mere chemistry of THC and the other cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. Its internal synergy, and its synergy with the endocannabinoid system, goes deeper than the chemistry. It stems from a deeper level of the physical universe into the quantum realm which touches the infinite reservoir of all creative potential -- the source and well spring of reality.

Euphoria frees us from self-preoccupation/concern and allows that well-spring of creation to flow into and through us. It helps us become more authentically human (empathetic, connected and self-less). This is something that drugs, which are simple, synthetic chemical compounds, cannot do. They are only chemistry and lack synergy and cannot access the deeper levels of realty that can liberate and heal the whole person.

Cannabis liberates and opens the mind, drugs dull and close the mind. Cannabis helps the whole person to heal, both body and mind; drugs simply target pathogens and symptoms and their negative side effects undermine the general health of the whole person.

The prohibition of, and persecution of, the cannabis plant and its partakers is a sin against nature and a crime against humanity.

 

[420 Warrior]

The thing is that when your on opiates, you are essentially doing hero*n and hero*n is certainly one of the hardest drugs known to man to kick, so just because they take the active ingredient of hero*n and condense it down to pill form doesn't make it any less addictive and hard to ween off of, so anything that you can do to help your symptoms without taking opiates is a good thing. I never understood why so many doctors just hand out opiates like candy knowing full well just how addictive they are, especially when their are other options in the form of a far more less addictive natural plant with virtually no addictive side effects? Maybe they just want people addicted to pill form hero*n so they can keep lining their pockets with big pharma money, IDK?

Rudy, I feel your pain about having IBS brother, I was about 12 years old when they told me I had IBS so I had it most of my life. In about 2003 my symptoms got so bad that I felt like someone was stabbing me in the gut with a red hot knife on a daily basis, to the point where I was leaving work everyday because I couldn't even stay on my feet. So I kept on going to the doctor about it, and going back and going back and kept being told it was IBS. So I finally decided to go to a gastroenterology specialist to have testing done and after a CT scan they found out that it wasn't IBS after all, I had diverticulitis which is a tear in the colon membrane that forms a bubble in your colon and that food particles collect in which gets infected and if left untreated can actually burst inside of you and kill you, in fact they said you have a 80% chance of dying if it happens while your in the hospital, much less if your at home and they can't rush you straight to surgery. Point being, you may want to get them to look and make sure that's not what you have brother, just to make sure. I wound up going under the knife and having about a foot of my colon cut out of me. My colon specialist told me to start taking 2 TBSP of Benefiber every single day which keeps everything moving through your digestive track smoothly like it's supposed to while at the same time reducing your cholesterol. So I did that and and I haven't looked back, my stomach pains are virtually gone now. I highly recommend it brother. In fact I recommend it to everyone because it actually keeps your colon healthy naturally and working smoothly which in turn keeps your whole body healthy because a healthy colon is essential to your overall health. FYI, Walmart sells a generic version of Benefiber for half the price and it works just as good, everyone should look into this...Good stuff, it's flavorless and I drink it in my coffee every single day.

 

[420 Warrior]

There is no answer found for the question that why medical marijuana makes sense for chronic pain. The article talked about the trial and legislation.
Once the medical marijuana is made legal in all states, there may be more chemistry way invented for the production, like synthesis, with which the production of it can be controlled to prevent over use, then the possible chaos can be curved.

You can't "Over Use" Cannabis my friend, there is no known amount that can hurt you, history has proven that not one person has ever OD'd from Cannabis use...not one! Cannabis simply makes you feel better, period. It takes the edge off every day life as well as pain and reduces the stress from both essentially letting our brains know that everything is going to be alright. Not to say that you will never have stress in your life ever if you use Cannabis but it certainly helps you deal with stress better than you will without it for sure. Simple, less stress=over all health.

Those people that don't like the way Cannabis makes them feel, that's perfectly fine, we're good with your decision not to use it, but don't turn around persecute the rest of us that do love the way it makes us feel, that decision should be left to each individual to decide for themselves as it should always be left up to individual choice to decide what we like and don't like, no matter what it is. Hell, I love doughnuts, but some people don't, but I've never had the cops arresting me because I choose to eat doughnuts even though they're fattening and high in cholesterol, they leave me alone and let me make that decision for myself, so why should Cannabis be treated any different? Cannabis is even less harmful than those doughnuts that I love, so WTF?

 

[mlang52]

Puritans had a persistent belief that anyone finding pleasure in anything was sinful. !

Actually, it was a 14th century pope that determined cannabis a sin. Many Christians are learning the truth about it. I find it better than alcohol. As an MD, I can see the safety of using cannabis, as opposed to alcohol! As a Christian, I know the first prohibition made (by God in the Garden) never worked! Additionally, alcohol is not prohibited in the Bible. Why would people think they could do better than God?!

 

[mlang52]

Please, no urology jokes .

Back in '79 my medical school was a new one. We had almost half of our class as women. The oldest woman was a looker. She became a urologist! No joke!

 

[mlang52]

It sounds like you are for MJ but your willing to slam anyone that tells a story about our fight against the system.

I noticed you are from Niceville! My grandmother was in Destin, where I got to visit in 1952. I fell in love! It is where I want to retire! All I have to do is convince my wife, with hyperhydrosis, that I can keep her comfortable.

 

[420 Warrior]

Actually, it was a 14th century pope that determined cannabis a sin. Many Christians are learning the truth about it. I find it better than alcohol. As an MD, I can see the safety of using cannabis, as opposed to alcohol! As a Christian, I know the first prohibition made (by God in the Garden) never worked! Additionally, alcohol is not prohibited in the Bible. Why would people think they could do better than God?!

Thank you for this my friend, we don't get too many doctors here and your incite is certainly welcome, I think you can be of great help to the members as their are allot of patients here looking for answers, it'll be great to have you around Doc.


I was married to a Christian and though I'm not particularly religious myself, I do consider myself someone that believes each person is entitled to follow their own heart and believe what they feel in their heart is right for them. It's about individual choice, not what someone else thinks you should believe, we have to live our own lives and not force our will on others to believe what we say is the only way. Some things should be left up to us to determine for our selves and I believe that's what God intended all along, that's why he gave us "Free Will". Cannabis should also be looked at in the same light, people should have never been forced not to use it as they see fit, people should always have a right to determine for themselves whether to use it or not, it's a personal choice issue here, it's a civil rights issue, otherwise it's a forced idealism and a will of others choosing for us what's best for us and that's what we stand against here and why we are so up in arms fighting tooth and nail for what's right. Cannabis should be legalized on that premise alone, so that WE can determine if we want it, not THEM choosing for us.

 

[420 Warrior]

I noticed you are from Niceville! My grandmother was in Destin, where I got to visit in 1952. I fell in love! It is where I want to retire! All I have to do is convince my wife, with hyperhydrosis, that I can keep her comfortable.

Cool, my mom has a beach house in Destin, it's an awesome fun and laid back little town with great sea food, you should certainly retire there for sure, very relaxing and good for the soul.

 

[Heather De Ath]

There is no answer found for the question that why medical marijuana makes sense for chronic pain. The article talked about the trial and legislation.
Once the medical marijuana is made legal in all states, there may be more chemistry way invented for the production, like synthesis, with which the production of it can be controlled to prevent over use, then the possible chaos can be curved.

That's the problem. We don't want synthesized marijuana... for the same reason we do not want GMOs; they are unnatural. All we want to do is 1) grow our own medicine [in peace]--without being treated as a recreational user [who is in good health and does not need medicine]

 

[Radogast]

That's the problem. We don't want synthesized marijuana... for the same reason we do not want GMOs; they are unnatural. All we want to do is 1) grow our own medicine [in peace]--without being treated as a recreational user [who is in good health and does not need medicine]

Is there such a thing as a purely recreationl user?

If one person eats a banana because they want the flavor, and a second person eats the banana because it is doctor prescribed, both people get the potassium and minerals and both people get the bowel regulatory effects and nourishment.

Is one person purely recreational if all people get medical benefits according to the dosage and their bodies health needs ?

- - -
It is the sad MMJ patient who never enjoys the recreational effects of their medicine.
- - -

If there were a limited supply of marijuana, I would recommend those with medical needs partake first. Outside that exception, I don't see why patients with a medical certification should enjoy cannabis while people without the note from a doctor are denied access. In my opinion, that is unjustifiable elitism.

 

[mlang52]

Some things should be left up to us to determine for our selves and I believe that's what God intended all along, that's why he gave us "Free Will"

I agree, totally. Mine was not an attempt to proselytize.

I only responded as to what I understand, being, now, a person who no longer identifies with neither Catholics, nor Puritans. So many "Christians" don't know what the Bible actually says, and love to shove their personal ideas down people's throats, following "rules" that are not even in the Book! They, obviously do not understand free will or "love your neighbor as yourself", which I identify as the, New Testament's, Golden Rule.

 

[Heather De Ath]

Back in '79 my medical school was a new one. We had almost half of our class as women. The oldest woman was a looker. She became a urologist! No joke!

I know what you mean about really good looking women in the medical field. I once had an ultra-sound done on my "ehhhem" testicles when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me. She was a hotty and I was super-embarrassed that she had to touch me there.

My uncle went to John Hopkins University School of Medicine. One of his sons went to Rush Medical College. And his daughter, my cousin, married a guy who went to Rush Medical College. All are urologists.

My grandmother's brother's son specializes in clinical neurophysiology. So he is the one I should really talk to about Medical Marijuana. Although I rarely see him because he lives on the West coast.

As for the title in this thread. Why does medical marijuana make sense....? Because it works. But I can't use it right now because guns are in this house. So I am stuck suffering until I can get my own place. But how can I do that? I have no money, no back account, I'm too sick to work a steady job and not get fired. I'm in a tough spot and taking my medicine would REALLY help me right now. I pray a lot but it can be difficult when you do not see results as quickly as you need them.

 

[Heather De Ath]

Is there such a thing as a purely recreationl user?

If one person eats a banana because they want the flavor, and a second person eats the banana because it is doctor prescribed, both people get the potassium and minerals and both people get the bowel regulatory effects and nourishment.

Is one person purely recreational if all people get medical benefits according to the dosage and their bodies health needs ?

- - -
It is the sad MMJ patient who never enjoys the recreational effects of their medicine.
- - -

If there were a limited supply of marijuana, I would recommend those with medical needs partake first. Outside that exception, I don't see why patients with a medical certification should enjoy cannabis while people without the note from a doctor are denied access. In my opinion, that is unjustifiable elitism.

I do not want to get off track of the OP.