Given Choice, Patients Will Choose Cannabis Over Prescribed Opioids
news.ok.ubc.ca
news.ok.ubc.ca
Last time it happened to me, I went home at around 6pm after going into the hospital that morning. At 3am, the pain was again intolerable. I had already taken the maximum dosage of the opioids. I knew taking more was dangerous, and was keenly afraid of getting addicted. But the pain was too much, so I went to get the bottle of pills.
As I stood up to go get the pills, it occurred to me that people say weed is good for pain and that I should try it before taking more opioids. I had weed (in cali, have a "medical" card) so I took some out and smoked.
I cannot describe to you how much more effective it was than the opioids. The pain wasn't gone, but it was just an interesting sensation now. Genuinely didn't bother me. I did yoga. I read. I enjoyed the night. And I was flabbergasted that no one I touched in the medical establishment had ever recommended it.
It feels like a genuinely corrupt world where something so clearly damaging to people and society is recommended before something relatively harmless and widely available.
I am still in awe of how effectively it handled my pain.
Standard opioids didn't touch. Should have tried MJ instead.
an acute attack can be stopped with prednisone (a steroid) and toridol (a super strong nsaid) these injections are like $20 each without insurance. and long-term care with allopurinol or alternative is extremely cheap, like $10 a month without insurance. under a doctor's care the prednisone and toridol are very safe. these are extremely common, cheap, widely available drugs. when i say 'stopped', i mean it's fucking GONE within a day, and then you can be given long-term care. gout has a huge genetic component and can flare up while you're living the healthiest of healthy lifestyles.
if you have it bad, it will get worse and worse and more and more frequent, until you get to absurd, comical levels of pain in both sides of your body, to the point of complete functional shutdown of your life, you are NOT going to fix this yourself, or with anything over the counter like naproxen sodium (aleve) or smoking some weed.
my doctor said gout is the worst pain and debilitation you can experience short of physical trauma. the only thing that compares is the worst types of migraines. i let it get to the point where i ruined a 2-week vacation before i snapped out of it and went to see a doctor.
It took me two years to realize what is the source of gout. D/RNA molecules. They are 50% purines which humans dont metabolize, just excrete (other animals can metab them). None of the "what to eat with gout guides" stated this clearly, which stymies me. Anyhow, now i know to avoid eating DNA rich stuff - go milk!
Heh.
I don't know if they'll strike again but when they did last I lived a month on percocets, a day on morphine, and had to have a stint installed and removed to stay functional in high school while also undergoing ultrasonic stone blasting.(this was when I had my parent's coverage).
Not looking forward to it again.
It may be helpful to commit the mind prior to the session and create a distraction- and thinking- free environment.
Apparently some people did a study and found that it can be effective at passing kidney stones. Was in news last year https://www.ems1.com/medical-clinical/articles/129734048-Stu...
They also said it's good as preventative measure (dislodging before they get too big).
I would bet rollercoasters could be as or more effective as tylenol for milder pain too, at least while you're distracted and pumped full of endorphins.
A very American problem. Speaking with some of my Canadian colleagues, recommendations for cannabis usage in managing pain and other conditions is much more frequent.
I had that experience too when I dropped something heavy on my toe, which sounds a lot funnier than it felt when the pressure under my toe went up (which I should have relieved by puncturing the nail, which I was not capable of doing to myself at that point)! But weed didn't make the pain go away, it just made it tolerable somehow. And I managed to puncture the nail after all. I also saw someone with chronic pain get prescribed oxycontin, which isn't only very addictive, it also didn't work for her the way weed did. And with the latter being not-so-addictive, it would only make sense to me to use it more often for pain relief. It can be such a relief for so many people.
My wife had an acute, severe medical issue that resulted in a hospital admission.
I don't know if cannabis would have been appropriate, but the heavy opiod doses given to her weren't exactly amazing at managing her pain, but their side effects were almost worse than the pain and likely extended her stay.
Do note: eating massive amounts of spinach is unlikely to cause a goiter or kidney stones if you are not already susceptible to them.
Not really surprising at all.
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/opioid-lobbying-ph...
The limiting factor - you cannot just write a prescription to the local CVS, so if patients want it, I can only recommend that they and their family seek out a reputable dispensary...the limiting factor, I would say, would be getting the medicine in a form with the tolerances and safety of a typical FDA approved med.
Here's my anecdotal story: I personally have constant extreme pain (the joys of Ehlers-Danlos) and when I tried cannabis for my pain it not only was entirely ineffective, it greatly amplified my pain. So not only was I stoned, I was also in way more pain than usual. So I had a pretty bad time.
I think issue was that a lot of my pain comes from muscle overuse because when my muscles relax too much my joints stretch or pinch the nerves passing through them (which is super painful). So cannabis most likely made me too relaxed to not hurt myself constantly.
The reason no one in the medicine has even mentioned cannabis to you is because it is a schedule 1 drug. The DEA does not allow doctors to prescribe or administer schedule 1 drugs for any reason. You can read more about their guidelines here https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/manuals/pract/pract_...
She has been in hell for 30 years. They wanted to remove her small intestine ~20 years ago and she didn't want to make that sacrifice and lived with the pain.
Nothing honestly helped long term till I convinced her to try cannabis 3 years ago that so far has been more effective.
She is now on low daily dose with no flare-ups in atleast a year.
From personal experience as a 15 year recreational user and 10 years actual therapy/medicinal use:For chronic pain and intestinal issues it works wonders, but it's not any immediate relief with severe pain.
That may change with higher concentrations and improvements in delivery methods.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/02/what-do-we-know-abou...
I tried to treat a toothache and another time arm injury by vaping CBD oil at 25mg/ml. 5 ml later(tank capacity), it didn't do too much relief.
I think if I had strong enough (500mg-1000mg CBD) I think it could potentially provide larger relief.
I think my tolerance has been raised due to years of recreational use vs therapeutic/real medicine use
Smoking doesn't relieve pain for me, helps provide some relief via relaxation or just super high.(kush or straight indica).
Edibles I have to eat alot and time to kick in long, not too big fan of edibles.
indica, hybrid and sativa shatter/bidder)oil, live resin etc I never felt much pain relief (more to the head). A gram in a couple of hours I still didn't feel significant immediate pain relief
Vaporizers (got a volcano for 15 years), provides a nice body relief and head high depending on strains. More for relaxation.
CBD/mix as a Eliquids/juice in a ecig- I don't think I have had strong enough to fully comment.
Pills- I need to have atleast 400mg before I feel anything.
Also, 25 mg/ml is waaaaay to low, especially when vaping. My THC vape is 800 mg/ml, and it works very well.
They are living it, most people who live it also research it.
Got this issue with my doctors. They just don't care about me. They want to do as little work as possible. They refuse to read the papers I give them. They refuse to use effective medicines according to the research. They refuse to listen to me period. They're lazy sadistic assholes.
Finding a doctor that actually cares, works and fight to heal you is very difficult. As rare as unicorns.
It's bewildering to me that I'm expected to put more effort and research into building some stupid web app than they do for being responsible for a human life, for a fraction of the money.
People who've not been through the system have NO idea just how dysfunctional it is. It's sickening and criminal, at every corner -- and NOTHING is being done.
People are ignorant and frankly downright... disgusting/pathetic/opinionated (I can't find the words to describe how far beyond unacceptable some people's positions are)... with their attempts to regulate others, when it comes to issues that do not affect them personally. If you don't have a clue, shut your mouth and let those who have to deal with the situation dictate for themselves how they will manage or cope.
Psychology, with differing opinions and such you react the same way as if it were a physical attack. The brain simply can't tell the difference. Hence people do this. People can't just agree to disagree and move on. People will pick at the differing opinions like a chicken. Doesn't matter how many people they hurt as long as they get what they want. Whine, nag, violence, etc. Suddenly I started thinking of feminism.
Human is a disgusting egoistical selfish animal. Expecting any kind of standard is naive and foolish.
Related but off topic: The legal-system is filled with laws that reflect certain peoples opinion.
The government act as if they own our bodies yet we don't see a penny for the rental and when we try and say "no" they use brute force to enforce its will. Quite barbaric. If you don't have brute force backing you up than you aren't recognized as a country for example. I can say I own the moon but if I don't have brute force backing me up then I'm just a joke. Hence as a person you have no say what so ever, you're irrelevant. So why do we have a comment section? Just to distract us from actually doing something productive and affect the world? Conspiracy?
Sorry my mind wanders. Never could get the leash to work.
Those are some very strong claims. You can be sympathetic without being hyperbolic, or assuming that the reason that other don't share your views is that they're bad people who don't share your perfect reasoning.
Certain groups & governments ignore science for their own agenda. Or they just don't like the sound of it. I mean, when that's the case, fuck them! Really. They're disgusting.
In fact, for the most part they are worse - most murderers do not cause further harm after a single death (it is exceedingly rare for people to commit more than one murder); most politicians who oppose drug law reforms continue to cause harm.
Sometimes we reach inflection points where certain views become so outdated by the availability of evidence that they become repugnant. Consider slavery (yes, I am making that comparison).
Our eras drug laws will come to be remembered as the same kind of barbaric oppression of - and violence against - weaker members of society.
The efficacy and safety of a treatment are not something we want left to personal anecdote.
I agree that people should not use it as treatment without seeking help, but there are far more dangerous substances you can buy over the counter.
E.g. acetaminophen/paracetamol causes a range of deaths via liver failure every year, yet not only do we allow it to be sold, in many countries it is now allowed to be sold mixed with codeine - a highly addictive opoid, creating an incentive for addicts to push the limits of their intake of highly toxic compound.
And yet people worry about cannabis - a substance where the LD50 is so high we don't know what it is, or if there is one (short of choking on it...)
Attack quackery, sure. But if you are to go after quackery, then go after current drug laws too, because they are not based on a concern over science, efficacy or safety.
I call shenanigans on society.
1. Can't put a patent on it and can literally grow it in your backyard - pharmaceutical industry is going to lose a large chunk of cash inflow from anti-nausea and opioids. Not to mention the fact a large portion of opioid/herion addicts started out on prescription medicine, which leads into my other points.
2. The entire law enforcement procedures will have to rethink the status quo. Smelling cannabis was a great way to have "reasonable suspicion" for violating privacy, and going after cannabis dealers were incredibly easy targets to bust. Don't forget RICO that gives LE a nice cash bonus from drug dealer assets.
3. Prison industry will have a hard time filling in the since a large majority of the prisoners are nonviolent drug offenders. Perhaps with less opioid addicts that sought cannabis instead would cause some extra vacancy as well.
4. The Cartel and several other underground organizations that I have a hard time believing would not have ties to politicians and decision makers on the subject.
>People, often children with no real informed consent, die every year because they forsake science-based medicine for quackery.
People, often children, die every year due to "science-based medicine" as well. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, and so have sales of these prescription drugs[2].
Tobacco is already losing customers, and this is partly b/c of the fact that second hand smoke has been attacked so directly. It's not just YOU that's smoking, it's everyone around you (marijuana, depending on it's consumption method will suffer a similar stigma).
Alcohol companies on the other hand are just being paranoid. I suspect that alcohol consumption will maintain it's current usage, or potentially even go up. In fact, if marijuana was fully legalized, it's oil being very similar to hops (and in the same family, Cannabaceae), could be used in some beverages. The beer industry could in fact have an entirely "new" product line.
There are several marijuana drinks that get you high being sold/marketed at dispensaries
https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/15/fish-now-by-prescripti...
That's lobbying. In todays world, lobbying is a dispicable act, at least if you are into science or if you like stuff that has been proven by scientific measures. In today's world, lobbying VETOes science.
Spreading knowledge isn't blocking science if done with scientists and people with conflicts if interests (unlike grabbing public projects or impeding legal change in your favor).
He learned that cannabis comes under two general categories; one mostly hits "the head", e.g. Makes you really high and behave silly. Another hits the body.
If I remember correctly, the former didn't really help with pain or comfort much; the latter is less popular with recreational users for obvious reasons. At any rate, there's a huge catalog of varieties out there; I would suggest going to forums frequented by other Chrons sufferers or cancer patients and get some specific recommendations.
I hope you are aware of this treatment http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/14/47422194...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stephen-harper-pot-marijuana...
From the comments "hey Steve...smoke a blunt or two and mellow out." is the kind of sentiment that I heard a lot of in Toronto.
People are also very attracted to brands and swayed by marketing.
I don't doubt for an instant that the marijuana industry is going to be gigantic if it ever becomes fully legal in the US.
A single tobacco plant won't yield much more than 2 ounces and that would last a pack-a-day smoker less than a week, saving them about $40 (not including labor of actually making the class A cigarettes). 2 ounces for a single cannabis plant is a relatively poor yield but would still last an 8th-a-day smoker 2 weeks and save them at least $400 and there is up to a 10x difference between a poor yield and an excellent yield. The reward/effort ratio for these two plants is worlds apart so I don't think the comparison to tobacco is particularly helpful.
I also enjoy trying a wide variety strains, which wouldn't work out so well if I was cultivating only a few plants.
It seems like basically an industry on the defensive that see it as safer to just hole up and try to maintain status quo as much as possible.
Blockbuster had a phenomenal business model, and effective leadership, that lasted 25 years and went through several re-conceptualizations. What happened to it wasn't a human failing.
The market simply got disrupted by Netflix. Businesses aren't people, they can't just turn the ship around at a moment's notice. What would you have had them do? Not have ever been in the video rental business in the first place and leave all that money on the table? Have the foresight to see Netflix coming?
I can understand why non-techies would use Blockbuster as a symbol for all things tech-disruption-related, but we can do a little better than that I hope.
Growing your own MJ and have it taste like it does when you by from a pro, is a feat though. When you curate cannabis the right way, the flavors of cheese, berry, fruit, pine or other, comes through.
I think botanists or people who can read and have a habit of, you know, Google up on stuff, will do pretty good at growing their own stuff.
Why Big Cig is dodging this must purely be because of potential bad-will. I bet they feel like I do whenever I raise my voice on a cannabis-related topic at work: will this give me cred or back-lash like a MF?
Given the appointments DT has made so far, I wouldn't consider this as far fetched.
And now you understand the importance of the War on Drugs for billionaires in our society.
It seems people are slowly beginning to understand to what degree our society and its systems are corrupted by "economic forces" and not built with the interest of the citizens' wellbeing at heart.
I think drug companies are precisely the sort of place to produce medical-grade LSD (and other therapudic "recreational" drugs) that has predictable dosages. Same goes for cannabinoids in pill form - especially the sorts meant for folks that would rather skip the high. Someone will need to supply mental health & addiction centers with this. And I think the sale of which will be basically on-par with at least generic anti-depressants. It won't replace anti-depressants or anti-anxiety meds, however. While some folks find improvements in such treatments, it can also make the symptoms worse. It isn't a cure-all, but rather an important alternative and/or addition to current drug treatments. Of course, this is all assuming folks have a clinical setting and that "big pharma" enters this section of the market.
This isn't saying that the war on drugs isn't something about money, but I highly doubt it is big pharma. In fact, considering some of the horror stories about medical treatment in prisons, it might actually be a positive for them even if they don't enter the market as those folks would theoretically get "normal" medical treatment. In contrast, private and public prisons have a huge network of suppliers. Companies and the government hire inmates to do work at very low labor costs. These folks have much more to lose from the end of the drug war.
This doesn't entirely track. Certainly brand-name pharma that do drug research might not be interested, but generic pharma that simply copy drugs from the brands and sell them at steep discounts certainly would.
They might find different sorts of chemical structures that are theraputically superior than LSD itself as well, but this stuff wont' happen without minimally having LSD medically legal.
They can still sell the patented "alternatives" : LSD isn't a cure-all and isn't necessarily ideal for everyone. Besides, these patents will eventually run out, so they'll have to think up new ideas nevertheless.
Maybe designated psychedelic theme parks where it's legal and quality controlled with no access to motor vehicles? (with music too?)
Yet alcohol is totally legal.
Like I said I think it should be readily available to those who seek it out, without the threat of substantial punishment, it would just be a shit show if Johny H.S. Senior is able to pick up a sheet at 7-11.
How many "Johny turned the school cafeteria into an acid test" news stories is this LSD legalization experiment gonna last for? It pains me to have to say that because I'd love to be able to pick some up at 7-11, just not sure if it's the best idea.
The medical industry considers the hallucinations recreational LSD users enjoy a nasty side effect. If this wasn't the case, such would possibly be on the market specific known treatments that LSD / psilocybin might help (eg cluster headaches), versus the industry trying to look at similar non-hallucinogenic compounds (eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Bromo-LSD) or other completely different alternatives.
https://www.cannabisreports.com/cannabis-studies
This includes a section for studies on cannabis and opioid addictions.
Yes, we have 7 or 8 different types of categorical pains listed for this reason.
> Is cannabis most effective for any particular type?
To my knowledge, there is not a specific type of pain that cannabis has been shown to be "most effective" for. Cannabis acts on important receptors as an agonist or antagonist throughout our bodies.
> Is it probably the wrong choice for any particular type?
There is no evidence, that I'm aware of, that would indicate cannabis would exacerbate or otherwise extend pain for any type of treatment. On the contrary, we discovered our endocannabinoid system[1], which is a strong regulator of pain and discomfort signals, through research and treatment with cannabis.
Also, cannabis has a much milder effect than prescription drugs and fewer negative side effects. It's not much of a stretch to imagine someone using it in place of a prescription drug when their symptoms are not as strong.
A "friend of mine" who suffers in excruciating pain for days from the occasional kidney stone smokes weed and takes ibuprofen rather than go through bottles of prescription pain killers. They have tremendously negative side effects if taken over a long period of time that he would rather not experience on top of the pain. After seeing his sister get addicted to them after having surgery, he doesn't want to risk them destroying his life.
This study only looked at 250 people who already have medical cannabis prescriptions for pain, so this shouldn't be extrapolated too heavily.
So my guess is people with long term pain are probably better off with canibis long term even if Opiods work really well for post operation pain for example.
I say this after having had a C6-C7 spine fusion surgery -- prior to that, the pain was incredible. And two or three years ago I couldn't have even imagined what that kind of pain felt like, until I was actually suffering it. Luckily surgery was incredibly effective, and I hated having to take pain pills (made it difficult to work), but the pre-op alternative (living with constant pain) wasn't very great.
I certainly didn't want to sit in a hospital just to be able to move around a bit -- and I couldn't have immediate surgery, though I did have surgery as soon as I was allowed to (primarily due to insurance).
I'm sure there are people out there with far worse pain, and in many cases likely untreatable causes. Putting all of those people in the hospital certainly isn't going to help with insurance prices, nor is it a particularly humane way to treat people in the general sense.
A few queries resulted in this, which is pretty informative as far as cannabioid treatments go. You're right, the benefits and potency aren't very clear cut, but, unlike opioids, THC-based treatments can produce desirable side benefits, which result in overall better outcomes (if we treat patient satisfaction as a major factor)
People can handle some pain, and that is fine. 100% pain relief through opiates vs 50% pain relief through less detrimental means is probably worth it.
Although, I suppose the side effects of pot are considered desirable by many.
What are those? Beyond the physical addiction, which shouldn't be much of an issue with proper dosage.
But for the pure side effects, the most common issues are constipation and nausea. Then there's sedation (which may be comparable to effects of pot), and of course the suppressed breathing which makes accidental overdoses potentially deadly, unlike pot. Especially for chronic pain management, the long term effects add up, then you also risk liver damage, etc.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443635 is a good place to start if you're interested in details.
Combine this with other therapy methods and you have rid yourself of pain, or at least rid yourself of the holds it has it over you.
Your comment reads condescending to me: "my pain is all in my head." But it's not, and treating my mental heath is treating the symptoms and not the cause. The best thing for my mental health would be an end to my physical pain.
People offering mental health treatment are not saying the pain is "all in your head"[1]. They're saying you deserve treatment for all your problems, not just a focus on one specific pain problem.
We've known for sometime that treatment for mental illness is more effective if it looks at more than the patient's mental illness - if it looks at all the biological, psychological, and social factors.
This concept is moving into physical health treatment, especially for long term pain.
And it seems that mental health treatment can reduce the amount of pain that people feel.
[1] I'm not sure if you realise just how dismissive this sounds. Mental illness is debilitating and one of the top ten causes of years lost to disability. Those people aren't "making it up", which is the implication many will draw from your "all in my head" comment.
(Although personally I think while mental health is a large component of chronic pain management I'd say the pain management itself is still the primary issue at hand)
> Lucas suggests the main reasons for the switch to cannabis from prescribed meds is due to reduced side effects, better symptom management and a feeling that cannabis is safer than prescription drugs.
Also, looking at http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/understanding-pai..., it seems like chronic pain doesn't necessarily (?) mean severe pain, but maybe I'm wrong about that.
When I think of cannabis, I view it as safer. You don't hear about overdoes like you do with opioids. Add in a few famous celebrity deaths like Prince you quickly get a public image that views opioids with suspicion. In my opinion rightly so. Hopefully medical marijuana can be more accessible to more people sooner.
I don't think that one can appreciate how effective it is for chronic pain, until you've had to use it for that.
Very annoying that the body do this. If you could figure out a drug that prevents this you could make billions!
For example and something everyone can try: My body is addicted to coffee. If I don't take it for a few days I'll become very tired, headaches, etc. It's lasts for about two weeks. While addicted I don't abuse it. I've even switched to tea a few times.
Moreover, my pain is neuropathic, rather than physiological in nature, and so what works for me, may not work for other forms of pain. That said, I had the best effect managing pain with high CBD low THC strains - meaning strains with over 7% CBD and one percent or less THC. For me, the pain relief is so profound and quick acting that I can pinpoint the second it starts to have an effect, and it has the added benefit of leaving me sober enough that I can go about my business.
Unfortunately, while I found CBD strains most effective for pain, I personally have not been able to tolerate them - they cause me memory problems that I have not found any mention of in the literature, not anyone else who experiences them.
So, what do I use, when I need to keep the pain at bay? Usually I reach for a concentrate of a indica-dominant hybrid, or an pure indica. I stay way from Sour Diesels, and the like, as they don't agree with me, but these things tend to be individual in nature.
Sorry not to be much more help: all I can really recommend is low THC/high CBD strains, and smoking/vaping concentrates or hashish rather than eating, at least until you find something that works for you.
However,
What I actually recommend, and has helped for many of people, is the Phoenix tears/ Rick Simpson oil regiment.
You can buy premade oil marketed as such or Rick Simpson provides diy on how to do this yourself.
Essentially it is ingesting small amounts of concentrated cannabis oil daily, like taking a prescription.
It vastly helped my mom's Chrons and I know of a few people help with chronic back pain
Eating cannabis has very different effects to smoking it, due to liver metabolism. I am not sure what it does to CBD, but the psychoactive metabolite of THC does not have the same effects. Eating cannabis is more than just a different delivery method - it's essentially a different drug entirely.
Unfortunately, while I found CBD strains most effective for pain, I personally have not been able to tolerate them - they cause me memory problems that I have not found any mention of in the literature, not anyone else who experiences them.
It's important to note that, unlike opioids, cannabis doesn't make the sensation of pain less strong, it makes it less urgent.
This means that if you won't necessarily feel a direct effect on the pain, but that its subsequent effects aren't as strong - the pain is not as exhausting, distracting, or debilitating.
Taking opioids for pain relief is a dangerous route as doctors are now more likely to cut your Rx off if they suspect abuse. IF you are addicted and/or still have significant pain, you may have to resort to street drugs with unknown potency and purity.
I'd rather go with the medication that won't lead down a life-threatening path. If the treatment is worse then the symptoms, it's not really worth it.
In tests with cannabis, patients reported improvements with both mobility and the amount of pain/discomfort. However, when researchers measured the spasticity there was no clinical improvement. Both were true - it seems sometimes all folks need to do is not be so bothered by their daily pains.
1. How many hours does MMJ control pain?
2. Does taking MMJ for chronic pain make you high all the time?
3. In California, most MMJ dispensaries are oriented towards recreational users. How do you go about this from a legitimately medical path, i.e. finding a doctor able and willing to provide sound medical advice, instead of just collecting the fee for a green card?
1)varies on so many factors to get into. -Tolerance,strength,variety,form, and how it's taken. What you eat before consumption can affect.
2)no. Lookup THC vs CBD, for pain relief it's more CBD which doesn't make you high at all. Some studies have shown full spectrum/mix of the 2 in concentrates may provide better results.
3)find a naturopath, or just go in and ask the dispensaries. Many dispensary workers are actually very knowledgeable.
Not sure about Cali, but alot of dispensaries here are very knowledgeable and cater alot to medical use rather than recreational, even though their key market is recreational.
Try finding a local compassion club, healing centers etc for support/seminars or information.
Recent article on CBD: http://hightimes.com/medicinal/cbd-the-cinderella-molecule/
Cannabis is not a wonder drug. It treats a few things effectively, like many other drugs. Just because it has been suppressed doesn't mean you should use hyperbole.
Second, naturopaths are quacks. They do not have proper medical training and often recommend nonsense like homeopathy. They are the opposite of what the OP was asking for.
Cannabis has not been fully explored since its supression by pharma/govt. there are many areas which they are discovering it treats effectively, more than a few already known and more being discovered.
i have seen a naturopath who also has a doctorate in science based medicine, and is not some hack pitching homeopathy.
not all are quacks and not all dont have medical training , i downvoted you for this reason, doesnt mean you should use a hyperbole.. :)
who do you recommend to see? you provided no information relevant to what OP was asking.
should they go see a medical doctor who in general (not all) dont believe the effectiveness just due to the stigma of marijuana?
or would you recommend a naturopath who may (not all) who has hands on experience advising and dealing with patients who have tried marijuana to help with various ailments.
My niece has Crohn's. From a lovely vibrant kid she has managed this pain with a smile and nearly died once or twice. She is ill again now. How many of those cunts snort coke before their big hypocritical speeches?
https://www.gov.uk/monitoring-work-workers-rights/drug-testi...
> 2. Drug testing
> Employers have to have consent if they want to test for drugs. Usually this is when they have a full contractual health and safety policy, which should be in the contract or staff handbook.
> Employers should:
> limit testing to employees that need to be tested
> ensure the tests are random
> *not single out particular employees for testing unless this is justified by the nature of their jobs
> Workers can’t be made to take a drugs test but if they refuse when the employer has good grounds for testing, they may face disciplinary action.
https://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-issues/health-and-safety/dr...
> Despite claims from drugs-testing companies, there is no real evidence that drug-testing is becoming common-place in British workplaces. It is mainly used, often with union agreement, in safety critical areas such as transport and energy generation or after an incident. There is also increased usage in the construction industry. However generally where wide-scale drug testing has been considered it has been rejected either because of cost, union objections, or doubts over the effectiveness.
BUT they didn't target the people who did use weed or drank a lot, they tested the ones who were clean. So the company looks clean.
What do gamers say, GG EZ lol
Source: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2868/pdfs/uksi_20142...
I told the doctors at the hospital I didn't want to get addicted again, so they gave me Tramadol.
I made it to Amsterdam and, that night, I finally gave in and took one of the Tramadols. It put me through a loop and wringer, but took away the pain and let me sleep through the night mostly.
The next day, my wife came back to our place with a "space muffin", or pot-laced chocolate brownie thing. I had never had any edibles before. That night, I figured, what the heck, they're always talking about medical uses so I ate it.
I have never been so surprised at something anecdotal in my life.
The pain was gone just as well as the night before with Tramadol. Furthermore, although the edible definitely was psychoactive, I was much more functional and less out of it than the single Tramadol I took, and felt much better the next day - not hung over.
I became a strong medical marijuana advocate that night.
Damn shame we don't have this available in my home state in the USA. Damn shame we have a moron of a President who loves states rights except when he doesn't (most of the time?). Damn shame we have a war on drugs. <sigh>
It took several months of me going in for half an hour, twice a week, but my pain started to subside. I now only occasionally get pain when I have very poor posture. Give PT a try. It really doesn't take very long and is very effective.
It's valuable stuff to learn, plus the therapy itself.
Given your aversion to taking opioids I would suggest trying to determine the exact nature of the pain (muscular, alignment, etc.) and attempt a suitable non-medicinal treatment (PT, chiropractor, yoga, etc.)
As someone who occasionally gets mild and (easily treatable) shoulder/neck pain I hope you get better, it's not something that is easy to deal with.
I've been making these oils that is just Hemp or Coconut Oil with the flower infused in it. It lasts a lot longer, but takes much longer to start. Around 2 hours whereas smoking is right away.
Let's not elevate the desires of the non-professional to equal the guidance of medical professionals, no matter how wishful we are to do so.
You want to pop your heroin, you're free to listen to the pros.
Others think cannabis works better for them? Let them have it.
For themselves sure. For their children, no.
It seems that we can't find evidence for the prayer healing. I've caught wind that prayer can sometimes help the individual alongside modern medicine (the same goes for positive thinking). I also assume these folks had a religious leaning before they got sick.
On the other hand, we've actually studied some of the effects of "recreational drugs" on pain and mental health. It has been difficult considering the laws of the land, so we've not done as much as we could have.
gee i don't know, doc
Fortunately, things have progressed so far at the state level that it would be impossible for the feds to shut it down now.
But then you see alcoholics, smokers with cancer, morbidly obese from food, stabbings... basically, follow the money to see why anything is banned, ever.