Medical Cannabis?

[Niko]

Hi, I am not sure if there are any sensitivities to posting this subject, but I'll give it a shot anyway... Has anyone been using medical cannabis to treat their symptoms? Some of my friends with MS are using it and report numerous benefits, and I've done more than enough research to understand just how beneficial it can be, particularly for pain and spasticity in MS.

Has anyone noted other significant benefits?
I spoke to my neuro about getting a license, for things like protecting from cellular degeneration, for cognitive function (believe it or not), stress/anxiety, IBS/digestive aid, balance, insomnia....

My neuro looked me up and down for a moment, and clearly saw a steriotypical hippie by the way I dress, then called me a "pothead." I've never smoked pot or done any drugs in my entire life, and I don't even drink or smoke.

It's frustrating to have a professional be so adamant and quick to prescribe pharmeutical medications, but so reluctant and dismissive when it comes to alternative therapies and natural or herbal aids. It's a total disregard to therapies that have been used for thousands of years just because they haven't yet been "clinically proven." You would think that an herb or practice would stop being used if it didn't work, after withstanding centuries.

Anyway... I am hoping to try it, and find a doctor who will be open to prescribing it. I'd rather try all of my options and go through a trial and error than to completely disregard and stigmatize it.

Eager to hear what you guys have to say about it, for better or worse

[AMFADVENTURES]

Hi, I am not sure if there are any sensitivities to posting this subject, but I'll give it a shot anyway... Has anyone been using medical cannabis to treat their symptoms? Some of my friends with MS are using it and report numerous benefits, and I've done more than enough research to understand just how beneficial it can be, particularly for pain and spasticity in MS.

Has anyone noted other significant benefits?
I spoke to my neuro about getting a license, for things like protecting from cellular degeneration, for cognitive function (believe it or not), stress/anxiety, IBS/digestive aid, balance, insomnia....

My neuro looked me up and down for a moment, and clearly saw a steriotypical hippie by the way I dress, then called me a "pothead." I've never smoked pot or done any drugs in my entire life, and I don't even drink or smoke.

It's frustrating to have a professional be so adamant and quick to prescribe pharmeutical medications, but so reluctant and dismissive when it comes to alternative therapies and natural or herbal aids. It's a total disregard to therapies that have been used for thousands of years just because they haven't yet been "clinically proven." You would think that an herb or practice would stop being used if it didn't work, after withstanding centuries.

Anyway... I am hoping to try it, and find a doctor who will be open to prescribing it. I'd rather try all of my options and go through a trial and error than to completely disregard and stigmatize it.

Eager to hear what you guys have to say about it, for better or worse

Since "medical marijuana" became an issue a couple of years ago, I've tried to follow the scientific evidence. I had a hard time finding much, but there certainly is a plethora of claims. I even had a hard time finding legitimate negative studies concerning marijuana although I knew they existed because I studied it some 40 odd years ago as part of a degree in psychology. I don't doubt that it can relieve pain, so can aspirin and Advil with fewer side effects. It's possible it can relieve spacticity in some way since it does interfere with at least one of the main neurotransmitters in the brain. I know it can lead to the depletion of serotonin production and that it can take months to restore that to normal levels after stopping marijuana use. Also, that serotonin levels have been related to onset of depression. The whole serotonin thing worries me when it comes to PWMS because we tend to be on the edge of depression anyway. I do believe that occasional recreational use probably isn't any more dangerous than alcohol but that, like alcohol, there are individuals who won't be able to handle it appropriately.

I don't want to argue it with anyone, but I would suggest if you are interested in it you should do some real research. You might need to go to scientific journals. Because of all of the marketing hype concerning it today, Google seems to be full of what I'd call "marketing research" more than scientific material, in fact, IMHO, even the term "Medical Marijuana" is more marketing oriented than it is scientific. I'm betting there will be a noticeable rise in suicide rates within the next three years here in Colorado where they just upgraded it from "medical" to legal, and you can hold me to that bet.

Good luck,

Regrets on your neuro, that was very unprofessional.

[Fit Paul]

If marijuana helps alleviate some of the symptoms of your MS by all means use it. The only problem that I have is putting your name on an official document regarding using a substance that is still a crime federally. I have known many successful people who used pot recreationally with NO regard for laws. If I were to use pot at this point (I don't) I would do so underground. It is not that hard to get. In short, be a pirate.

[firefly]

I feel for you.

The AMA and AAN have both done some good research with regards to the effects of cannabis on MS, as have many others:

http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/images/pdfs...m_poster_1.pdf
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/abo...ana/index.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9252798
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...l#.Ud9D_0HVDK0

From personal experience though... neurologists have no frickin clue what it's like to have spasms bad enough to punch a hole in drywall by accident, and they certainly don't know that joyous pain of MS that's kind of like having a red hot fireplace poker jammed down their spine. Professional or not, until you actually reach that 10 on the pain scale, you don't understand it.

Even in Colorado, where you can get a red card, be aware that you cannot have a CCW permit if you have a red card, your employer still may terminate you as part of their enforcement of a drug free workplace, and in the event of an accident, your worker's comp claim may be cut in half.

With respect to the efficacy of orally ingested mmj (smoking is gross): it lasts longer and doesn't just knock you out like diazepam. If you have really bad spasms (the drywall hole-making kind), it will kind of limit the spasticity to where you can do things like eat a sandwich... but won't make it go away so much that you could do things like hold a spoon with liquid or write legibly. Dosages can change, and dispensaries that do edibles do have different packaging indicating how much is in each product, but so far, my experience has been that unlike with the diazepam/baclofen combo, it doesn't necessarily end your day in the "go directly to bed sense," but you shouldn't really expect to be productive after that point (go home). You're probably not going to get much of a euphoric effect (high) off of it, but if you're anything like me on those particularly bad days, you aren't that chipper to start with.

All else being equal, I think doctors tend to push the pills a little heavy... they seem to be of a very "if x is the problem, then pill y is the solution" mentality. The reality though is that while mj has side effects and downsides, it can be both more effective and less bad for you than some of the normal regimen.

[Niko]

Thanks everyone for the helpful input. It's difficult to come to any sort of conclusive opinion about this, I think mostly due to the inadequacy of available information (and the prevention and neglection of adequate information by parties with vested interest in drugs and politics...forgive me if I'm wrong) as well as its legality. Worries about serotonin levels is definitely something worth considering, especially with MSers being subject to depression. But I mean, when I think of my mum who's taken anti-anxiety pills for years, and that she can't come off of them even with the aid of others drugs or she could DIE, coming off of medical pot doesn't seem too harsh. I guess it comes down to trial and error and seeing if it works for you. If it does then great, if it doesn't then you move on to trying other things. I think personally I feel a hell of a lot more comfortable trying something that has been around since the dinosaurs, then something that was invented in a lab in the last fifty odd years. But again, the legalities.... Ugh! I'll hope for the best, for myself and for all of you, that something will work out