106. lizard is in the medical field! WARN PEOPLE TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU! If you think MM is crap, then you are a clueless dork. A lot of damage is done by clueless dorks such as yourself who think they know what is best for other people. Crawl under a rock, go away, and get OUT of the medical profession (which is, lets face it, not very professional). I highly suggest that lizard-tool try some real MJ and you'll see it has amazing anti-pain and anti-nausea qualities.

Mike O. at 11:56AM on Nov 29th 2007

107. Timo, you're not funny and you aren't contributing to this blog or changing any minds, so why don't you just go back to high school? I bet you're the Belle of the Lunchroom.

MC Hammer at 3:13PM on Nov 29th 2007

108. #106. "Mike O" ....or is that "zero?"

Mike, here's some good medical advice: go get a brown paper bag and breathe deep and slowly into it.
A free, easy fix for your acute hyperventillation. No illicit drugs required!! Here are the facts that are not synapsing between your damaged brain cells. 1). The medical community couldn't give a flying flip if a terminally ill patient wants to eat rat turds sprinkled with rice crispies, if it will make them feel better....either by placebo or actual effect. Neither does law enforcement care what you do for comfort measures when you are on death's doorstep. I guarantee that if you are arrested for smoking pot and can prove that you're terminal, your case will go no further than the district magistrate's office before being canned.
The problem lies in the fact that very few individuals fit the definition of "terminally ill,"
and want to use MM for everything from hangnails to headaches. 2). The medical community has nothing against marijuana in general, only distain for things that don't work as advertised. Case and point: a great deal of pain management drugs available to medical professionals, are derivatives of cocaines (Tetracaine, Xylocaine, Marcaine, etc. or opiates (morphine, Brevatol, Mannitol, etc. These are 'also' illegal substances in their street form, i.e. cocaine, heroin. Yet, physicians and hospitals use these products by the boatloads everyday, because....drum roll please....THEY WORK!! So If you could make your marijuana magic fairy dust work better than already available pain management drugs, the medical community would be all over it.
Let's see you manage the pain from end-stage bone cancer better with a few joints over a morphine drip, and I'll be marching on Capitol Hill with you.
The fact about MJ is that, as a CNS depressant, it only has minor anecdotal properties at reducing pain of any significance....no better than a few shots of Jagermeister!

lizard at 8:46PM on Nov 29th 2007

109. I love how Lizard, the health technician, speaks for the medical community, and he knows exactly why Ron Paul doesn't take Medicare and Medicaid. he knows what law enforcement officials will do in your state!!! Its like he is in everyone's heads or something. What am I thinking now Lizard?

Fact is Lizard, you can assume things about people based on what you think about that person. You think that because I can't spell, that I am not a doctor. You are wrong... You think that Ron Paul is greedy, and without giving any facts to support it... you say Dr. Paul didn't take medicare of medicaid because he wouldn't make as much money, rather than the more obvious disdain for government social programs because they are not provided for in the constitution. You assume everyone responds similarly to medications...and that noone could possibly respond better to MJ to decrease nausea, increase appetite and control pain than any conventional medical drugs...Do you even consider the side effects of these medications? Pain meds can make people feel sick and nausiated. Most people don't have that problem with pot...andpot is probably much cheaper than all the other medications, especially when people grow it on their own.

backtwohealth at 11:19PM on Nov 29th 2007

110. Lizard is just one of those people who's afraid to read anything -- no matter how credible the source -- that could possibly conflict with what he thinks he already knows.

I've actually seen how distraught people can become when they finally realize that the war they've been fighting has been destroying the very people they thought they were protecting. It's a pretty nasty thing when you realize you've been deceived, and used as a pawn in something so diabolical. Someone once told me they felt like they had been raped. So, in that sense, I guess I can't blame him for filtering out any facts that don't support his preconceived ideas. I don't think he's doing it consciously anyway -- at least I hope not.

Thankfully, he's in the minority. There really aren't very many people left who've been able to ignore the smell.

Sparky at 1:04AM on Nov 30th 2007

111. What Does the Future Hold for Marijuana for Pain?
By Bill H. McCarberg, M.D. (National Pain Foundation)

http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/MyTreatment/MyTreatment_Cannabinoids.asp

Sparky at 1:58PM on Nov 30th 2007

112. From the article mentioned above:

"Furthermore, herbal cannabis is neither standardized nor monitored for quality. The cannabinoid content can vary a great deal, and cannabis sold at dispensaries may be contaminated with pesticides or mold. Dosing is uncertain, depending on the preparation or method of use. So-called “vaporizers” do not eliminate all the contaminants. Without clinical trial data and an assurance of product quality, physicians lack the information necessary to assist patients in making informed therapeutic decisions."

[Again, this is a result of the illegality of marijuana.]

"Nevertheless, there may be some truth to the idea that there is pain relief potential in phytocannabinoids (plant-based cannabinoids) and that such potential may be affected by the interaction of THC with other botanical components, particularly with other cannabinoids. Modern strains of cannabis have been bred to maximize the THC at the expense of all other cannabinoids, most of which do not have psychologic effects. Some of those cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), have been demonstrated to have important therapeutic value, particularly on pain and inflammation."


So then why has the DEA spent 7 years illegally preventing Prof. Lyle Craker -- someone with many years of experience breeding medicinal plants for optimization of phytochemical coumpounds used in plant extracts -- from producing the quality-controlled, standardized, contaminant-free raw matierals that FDA-approved researchers need in order to conduct clinical trails?
http://www.umass.edu/psis/personnel/craker.html

Don't the actions of the DEA in this matter seem the least bit fishy to you, lizard?
http://www.maps.org/mmj/mmjfacility.html

Sparky at 2:55PM on Nov 30th 2007

113. Lizard,

We agree on one thing: morphine and cocaine-based medicines work miraculously (miracle is my word; you don't have to agree with me there), for many medical situations and for most people people (can't imagine getting cut open after eating a cannabis-brownie).

However, cannabis is not a substitute for the medicines you mentioned; it is not an either/or situation.

Cannabis should be an option -- along with the medicines you've mentioned -- for our sick, dying, AND our doctors for a few reasons:

1) Incredibly Low Toxicity of Cannabis -- Cannabis' LD-50 Rating (what dosage fifty percent of test animals receiving a drug will die as a result of drug induced toxicity) is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000.

Another way of putting this is researchers have been unable to give animals enough cannabis to induce death!!! (from DEA Judge Francis Young's Conclusion to reschedule cannabis).

The other medications you mentioned kill and injure patients, EVERY DAY. Cannabis has not killed -- from toxicity -- ONCE in 5,000 years

If we live in a "free" country, doesn't it seem just a bit strange that we do not have the freedom to choose a medicine that cannot kill us?

2)Treating chronic conditions with opiates can be difficult, due to the fact that patients do develop tolerance/physical dependence. Cannabis can actually help a patient minimize their opiate intake, so that smaller amounts opiates remain effective for longer periods.

If a patient takes opiates long enough, they can end up with more opiates in their system than Keith Richards back in the day. Here is the worst part: even with absurd amounts of opiates, a patient may still be in a lot of pain. Cannabis can help this situation as well.

2)Many people have allergic and fatal reactions to the medications you've mentioned. Should they have to just "suck it up" and "get strong?"

Also, if one knows they may have a potentially fatal reaction to these drugs, should they take them anyways, because they are the only legal option?

MILLIONS and Millions of people have EXPERIENCED Cannabis' healing properties for thousands of years.

But if you think that medical history prior to the random, double-blind "doesn't count"; then, maybe you could help us encourage the FEDS (fda, dea, hhs)to get out of bed with the pharmas and allow hundreds of trials (if cannabis is not medicine, as the Revisionist FEDs claim, then why are they blocking all the random, double-blind research? hmmm??)

Here is an article on one of the first (maybe the only?) random, double-blind, study the FEDS have allowed:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/01/opinion/edgrinspoon.php

mr lizard,

you owe it to the patients you work with to be open to all medications that may help provide them relief, even if you're not the one with the pad.

a. stern

almost forgot, NSAIDS also having amazing (maybe not miraculous) healing properties; but they can put a heavy strain on the liver, kidneys, and often cause stomach ulcer in regular users, to name just a few of the potential side effects (NSAID-induced ulcers occur in a shockingly large percentage of regular users, but you don't hear much about this...).

And how many people did Vioxx drop? Over 20,000?????

End the Lies about Cannabis. Time for reason and compassion...

adam stern at 3:30AM on Dec 1st 2007

114. It's worth noting, as mentioned in the article I linked to above, by Dr. McCarberg, the cannabinoid receptor system is the most widespread receptor system in the human body. It's also tied in to the immune system, so it's not just pain we're talking about here.

For instance, patients who suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) have obtained symptom relief from cannabis, as well as the ability to lessen or even eliminate their intake of other drugs, such as steroids, immunomodulators, and opioids. If you've ever known anyone with IBD (which includes Chron's and Ulcerative Colitis), you know how debilitating it can be to make a dozen or more trips to the bathroom each day, and/or feel like your colon is on fire, etc. It is typical for IBD sufferers to require surgical removal of portions of their intestines, and the disease can also be fatal. IBD is thought to be an autoimmune disorder, and research has shown cannabinoids have immunomodulative properties that allow the intestines to heal.
(From the journal, Gastroenterology)
http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/PIIS0016508505009297/abstract

Another immune system-related cannabinoid treatment has been shown to stop the spread of cancer, and shows promise as a possible non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.
(From the journal, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics)
http://mct.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/11/2921?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&titleabstract=cannabinoid&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resource

Of course, I'm sure all this research is being done by a bunch of stoners who just need an excuse to get high, right? It's all part of a vast conspiracy to eventually put crack-dispensing machines in preschools. So, I guess that's why the DEA continues to illegally obstruct the type of research required to maximize the therapeutic potential of cannabis. It's not FDA-approved, and they need to do whatever it takes to make sure it's never evaluated by the FDA (it's for the children). 8|

Sparky at 10:49AM on Dec 1st 2007