Marijuana as wonder drug

[Jess Stone]

Marijuana as wonder drug

By Lester Grinspoon | March 1, 2007

 

A NEW STUDY in the journal Neurology is being hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine. It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine -- and US drug policy -- that we still need "proof" of something that medicine has known for 5,000 years.The study, from the University of California at San Francisco, found smoked marijuana to be effective at relieving the extreme pain of a debilitating condition known as peripheral neuropathy. It was a study of HIV patients, but a similar type of pain caused by damage to nerves afflicts people with many other illnesses including diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Neuropathic pain is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs. Even powerful and addictive narcotics like morphine and OxyContin often provide little relief. This study leaves no doubt that marijuana can safely ease this type of pain.

 

As all marijuana research in the United States must be, the new study was conducted with government-supplied marijuana of notoriously poor quality. So it probably underestimated the potential benefit.

This is all good news, but it should not be news at all. In the 40-odd years I have been studying the medicinal uses of marijuana, I have learned that the recorded history of this medicine goes back to ancient times and that in the 19th century it became a well-established Western medicine whose versatility and safety were unquestioned. From 1840 to 1900, American and European medical journals published over 100 papers on the therapeutic uses of marijuana, also known as cannabis.

 

Of course, our knowledge has advanced greatly over the years. Scientists have identified over 60 unique constituents in marijuana, called cannabinoids, and we have learned much about how they work. We have also learned that our own bodies produce similar chemicals, called endocannabinoids.

 

The mountain of accumulated anecdotal evidence that pointed the way to the present and other clinical studies also strongly suggests there are a number of other devastating disorders and symptoms for which marijuana has been used for centuries; they deserve the same kind of careful, methodologically sound research. While few such studies have so far been completed, all have lent weight to what medicine already knew but had largely forgotten or ignored: Marijuana is effective at relieving nausea and vomiting, spasticity, appetite loss, certain types of pain, and other debilitating symptoms. And it is extraordinarily safe -- safer than most medicines prescribed every day. If marijuana were a new discovery rather than a well-known substance carrying cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug.

 

The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to isolate cannabinoids and synthesize analogs, and to package them in non-smokable forms. In time, companies will almost certainly come up with products and delivery systems that are more useful and less expensive than herbal marijuana. However, the analogs they have produced so far are more expensive than herbal marijuana, and none has shown any improvement over the plant nature gave us to take orally or to smoke.

 

We live in an antismoking environment. But as a method of delivering certain medicinal compounds, smoking marijuana has some real advantages: The effect is almost instantaneous, allowing the patient, who after all is the best judge, to fine-tune his or her dose to get the needed relief without intoxication. Smoked marijuana has never been demonstrated to have serious pulmonary consequences, but in any case the technology to inhale these cannabinoids without smoking marijuana already exists as vaporizers that allow for smoke-free inhalation.

 

Hopefully the UCSF study will add to the pressure on the US government to rethink its irrational ban on the medicinal use of marijuana -- and its destructive attacks on patients and caregivers in states that have chosen to allow such use. Rather than admit they have been mistaken all these years, federal officials can cite "important new data" and start revamping outdated and destructive policies. The new Congress could go far in establishing its bona fides as both reasonable and compassionate by immediately moving on this issue.

 

Such legislation would bring much-needed relief to millions of Americans suffering from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and other debilitating illnesses.

 

Lester Grinspoon, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is the coauthor of "Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine."

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

 

article .... the Boston Globe

Edited March 3, 2007 by Jess Stone

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

The condition they've mentioned here as "Neuropathic pain" is really something else.

It's caused from when your brain recieves constant pain signals for extended periods, with no relenting.

Our brain should register pain, so to warn us to remove our hand from the toaster surface, put down something heavy when back pain registers for example, so we don't leave our hand on the toaster, doing ridiculaous damage, or without our back hurting when we lift something too heavy, we keep holding onto it, doing damage to our spines etc..I'm sure we mostly know why we get acute pain. Painas much as we hate it is a very usefull body adaption that protects us from seious injury. But what happens when the pain won't go away, and the reason for it in the first place has passed?

 

Chronic pain is when for one reason or another, the pain continues, maybe a trapped nerve, damage to a disc in our back which won't let pressure off the many nerves tightly packed inside the spinal canal etc. No visible reason for the pain, but most likely still a reason exists, and the brain message is still doing it's job alerting us to sort out the problem

 

Pain killers, often opiates, are great for stopping these signals, as they so closley resemble the natural pain control mechanisms we have, hence opiate receptors don't really exist, rather, pain receptors do exist, which opiates just happen to neatly match up with. But properly treated, as with say the use of anti-depresants, they should be used to create releif for a person, while the route cause of the pain is discovered, and corrected.

 

What happens with neuropathic pain though, is when ya brain recieves this signal of pain for so very long, ( year, two, three years etc without a let up), that it starts to read all kinds of things as pain that aren't really injured.

 

After years of pain that hasn't abated for even a minute (saving when smashed on opiates), I've developed this "neurpathic pain", in Australia we're calling it "Hyperalgesia". well that's what they're calling mine anyway.

 

What's happened is that on my upper/outer thigh, I have a burning sensation that's as intense as if it's got a huge cigarette burn going on, sometimes maybe like a sword hanging out of my leg. This isn't colourful expression, it really is what it feels like. It covers a size about the palm of a hand.

It's so sensitive, if I go to the beach, and the breeze blows against it, no shorts rubbing it or anything, just the breeze gently blowing air onto it, I'm crippled with the pain. If my daughter touches it (as she does many times a day) the pain is sensational, but incredibly, the pain is far worse when the touch is very, very light. such as light maerial rubbing gently against my leg, or as Isiaid, the air blowing on it.

No opiates can help. I have hundreds of injections per month of Lignocaine (insanely expesneive and not covered by medicare) as is the only thing that will assist in at least subduing it for a while, but lignocaine is very short acting. (the stuff they inject in your gum to drill a tooth for example, is lignocaine or similar).

 

The condition "neuropathic pain" (also called "reffered pain") causes sharp stabbing pains randomly all over the boy for no apparent reason. Just sitting having a cup of tea, speaking with my wife, or who-ever, and an shout of exlamation leaves my mouth, as I cluth my wrist, finger, ear, knee... you name it...in mind numbing pain. it usually lasts just a second or two in that instance. But is pretty embarresing, and has caused me to becomea total shut in.

 

Since all this has taken place, I've had Fentanyl, an opiate that's 40 times stronger than heroin weight for weight. Dilaudid, and oxycontin among many other narcotics. They removed the 120mg doses of oxycontin from sale, because a single tablet is a lethal dose for a patient who has no toerance to opaites, and a couple youth nicked a tablet each from their mum, both died. That was 120 mg. If anyone here has had a migraine, and been injected with Morphine, that was probably a 10mg ( or m aybe just 5-8mg dose).

I'm currently still (since last September) trying to get my dose down from 2000mg a day morphine! That means I have nearly 20 lethal doses of opaites a day, compared with an opiate naive person. Oxycontin is 1 and a half times stronger than morph. I was taking 880mg oxy a day, with 60 tablets of 8mg Dilaudid (a very strong morphine), and injecting myself with ten injections of 10 mg valium a week, along with oral valium.

 

I've taken to injecting myself mainline IV, have put my beautiful family through an asolute hell for ten years, and am still in the same pain position (only worse) that when I started. I'm a complete and full blown narcotic addict now days

 

Yet if I have a gram of grass on me, the cops can kick the door in, the papers will hold me up as some criminal, and I'm suffered to read endless reports of the terrible dangers, physically and mentally of grass!

 

The whole thing is so insanely wrong, and is no wonder so many pain patients suicide each year. Three freinds who have developed huge narcotic addictions due to pain treatment have suicided in the last two years. How can they sleep at night with the damage these clowns are doing to society?

 

While withdrawing the last 6 months, which has been a living hell, and am still not free of the crap, I mentioned I was smoking grass to help withthe pain the opiates have not helped, and to help withthe terrible anxiety of withdrawal.

Amazingly the doctors (these are specialists in pain and narcotics) freaked! Telling me that marijuana addiction is more serious that opiates, sends people to the looney bin, etc etc.. No matter how I argued, even though I've lived using both heavily now for all my life (first grass, then opaites), they won't take my word for the reality of matters.

 

I presently have 120 x 80mg tablets of oxycontin in my houe, and am terribly depressed from all ths addiction and carry on. A deadlier situation just couldn't exist, but I still see crap on Tv about the dangers of grass.

 

I wish I could be prescribed the right to use grass. Not that I would use any more or less than I do, but at least I wouldn't live in fear of arrest for medicine.

 

rob

[pipeman]

the doctors (these are specialists in pain and narcotics) freaked! Telling me that marijuana addiction is more serious that opiates

 

I find this very hard to believe. Even Doctors who are against cannabis use are aware that its less addictive and less dangerous than opiates. If I came across a Doctor who was this ignorant I'd find another one because god only knows what other aspects of my treatment he is fucking up.

[Pa-uul]

Doctors are only trained in some areas well and are totally ignorant of other important medical truths. They are trained to work closely with the pharmaceutical industry and often receive gifts from them, even recent reports show (1, 2). A doctor I was seeing one time told me a scare story about a woman who went to hospital with all the symptoms of schizophrenia for a few hours after taking marijuana. Yeah, doc she had "temporary schizophrenia". This is surely impossible! She was probably just really, really stoned and therefore paranoid. But doctors will believe anything the Pharma companies tell them.

[auspamp]

RobbieGanjaSeed, I feel for you. I smoke pot because I like it and because I feel that My God gave it to me to use. I believe in civil disobediance in accordance to unjust laws, and I refuse to stop smoking/growing cannabis because I believe it is the morrally right thing to do. I am not in a position like you as to need it, but I feel that because of countleess people like you, we need to keep up the fight against cannabis prohibition.

My dad had back pains for years, and me and my mum used to take him to the hospital up to 5 times a week for three or four years, to have injections. I reckon it was mostly psycosamatic<sic>, and he was just addicted to opiates. But the lesson it taught me umpteen years later is that the doctors dont know everything. If my dad have had been allowed to smoke cannabis, then we would have not had to drive him to the hospital all those times. I remember my love for late night telly was created in a hospital waiting room,. even now I dont sleep propperly.

 

Cannabis Prohibition is a crime against Australians. Scream loud the truth so everyone can hear and see. We can all do our bit, send letters, talk to people, provide truth etc.

 

I wish you peace and happiness RobbieGanjaSeed. You are truly a victim of our barbaric laws, and I will do everything in my power to help protect innocent people like you, it is every stoners duty to do the same.

[DownUnderDoper]

Robbie: I wont try and tell you what your own problems/symptoms are, but some of your definitions are off the mark.

 

Neuropathic Pain is a reference to any type of pain that is the result of nerve damage whether from injury or disease.

 

Peripheral Neuropathy (the subject of this particular test) refers to nerve damage in the extremities (usually starting in hands or feet but often spreading the entire length of the limbs) which can be caused by AIDS, MS, Strokes or injury (or many other conditions). It can feel like anything from touch sensitivity or 'pins and needles' all the way up to 'blast furnace' or 'electrocution' and may also cause muscle wasting and/or uncontrolable spasms or even loss of use of the affected extremity(ies).

 

Chronic pain is not necessarily neurological, it (the pain) simply needs to be debilitating, long lasting and unrelenting. Arthritis sufferers (for example) are most certainly able to suffer 'chronic pain' without having any damage to their nervous system whatsoever.

 

Hyperalgesia refers to an increased sensitivity to pain (hyper = increased & algesia = pain) either in a specific part of the body, or all over, it is possible that the hyperalgesia could occur in an area that has not been directly damaged. For example someone with a lower back injury that is causing a nerve impingment affecting the sciatic or femoral nerves (main nerves of the leg) may suffer hyperalgesia at any point on their leg, or the whole leg.

 

'Referred pain' is not the same as neuropathic pain, it just means pain felt in a different part of the body to where the damage is, it's not necessarily neropathic in origin, tho it can be.. in my example above the pulsing electric/burning pain running down the back of the leg that is known as sciatica and is all too familiar to those with lower back injuries is a type of referred pain. So is the right shoulder pain felt from gall bladder inflamation or the left arm pain felt during a heart attack.

 

'Phantom pain' the pain suffered by amputees in limbs/body parts that are no longer there, can also be cosidered a type of 'referred pain'.

 

One of the biggest problems with using opiates (morphine, oxycontin, methadone, fentanyl etc) especially for neuropathic pain, is that they have a known problem of tolerance which leads to a 'cycle of pain' in long term users (pain increases -> dose increases -> tolerance increases -> effectiveness decreases -> pain increases) and as you have found it almost invariably leads to dependance on ever increasing doses for ever decreasing effectiveness, opiate withdrawal can in itself also cause nerve pain even in someone who wasn't suffering pain to start with. (Some heroin addicts have described withdrawal as 'a toothache in every part of the body')

 

And that's before you even start on the side effects, which can often require an entire regime of other drugs to treat.

 

A more cynical person than myself might suggest that it (opiate use) is a self perpetuating industry, that generates billions for pharmaceutical companies, while doing little to alleviate the suffering of millions worldwide.

 

But surely our government wouldn't allow that, would they?

Edited March 4, 2007 by DownUnderDoper

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

Pipeman, the doctor who said this was Dr. Jeremy Hallayar, head of the Drugs of Dependency unit, Brisbane. Changing doctors is not an option, he is "the" doctor in this regime, melaluca DDU West Chermside.

Marijuana is now considered by these proffesionals as more dangerous than opiates because the new wave of medical reports have proven (to them) that grass causes all manner of serious mental dis-orders, potentially resulting in suicide to boot. So long as opiates are used within the precribed dose, they consider them safe, and the withdrawal described as "uncomfortable". In fact, opiates are actually being experimented with in Canada to treat mental disoprders such as depression etc . When a doctor has a medical research report saying drug "A" is making users skitso, depressed, and potentially endangering their family's well being, while report on drug "B" is presently being considered a cure for depression etc; you can see why the new wave of thought that drug "A" is more dangerous that drug "B".

 

So regardless of what doctors practing in the community think about it all, (doctors for or against grass on personal bias), it's completely irrelevant. These guys that are treating adddiction (and whom we addicts are forced to deal with), wish to keep their jobs, be promoted , and don't want to be sued, and to do that requires studying all the latest research data and advise; without personal opinion or emotion. They have to stick to published, accpeted documentation, regardless of how much, you, I , or the Gp up the street dis-agrees. Or else they will find themselves defending mal-practice cases all day long.

 

Imagine I suddenly killed myself (or worse yet, killed my wife in an angry case of domestic violence)and Dr. Hallayar was brought to court by some concerned memebr of my family for how the case was managed, as they had become aware I was smoking grass at the time. What would the doctor face when it was realised I had spoken of using grass to help with the withdrawal anxiety symptoms, and he hadn't wanred me in the strongest possible terms of how dangerous I was acting. After all, the judge, most likely not a trained doctor, or having overhwelming practice with grass is going to rely entirely on the medical reports that publish the dangers of grass, and that same judge is going to sentence on the strength of those reports.

 

This new wave of "medical research" proving the dangers of grass are more than just annoying and insulting to those of us that know it's all BS, it's potential to really add to the arguement agasinst us is fairly there.

 

I agree with you totally in principle though mate; of course.

 

Auspamp, don't get me wrong, I've smoked grass since I was a kid. It's been an entire life expereince since I was 13. Just now as an old bugger, I see it important as a medicine too.

 

Pa Aull, you're dead right. Doctors (GPs) by and large are no more then front men for pharmacy companis. If Phamcies could offfer meds without the need of scripts I truly beleibe they'd do a better job than most GPs. They at least know and understand the drugs they offer.

A GP recently was prescribing my opiates (oxycodone) while my regular doc was away for 6 months. She wanted to stop me using oxy and start using this wonderful "new" (yeah new like the planet earth is new) pain treeatment calleed "Durogesic"!

I listened on amused, as she told me about the tiny amount of active drug that is administered transdermally, and non-opiate.

I told her then the stuff she's talking about was gear not only does my chart list me as not being able to use anymore (for the huge amounts I had used caused a rejection in my body) is Fentanyl. Perhaps the most poent opaite int he world, and is considered 40 times stronger than heroin weight for weight. She objected and told me it was only administed in Ug( micro grams) and that incredibly was my point. Although only 100 micro-grams, it is equivelant to over 300mgs (1/3 gram) of morphine!

 

She had come up with this great idea of getting me onto the durogesic when the drug company rep had discovered I was reducing my oxycontin dose and had set a goal of total freedom of opiates. The drug rep had suggested I be trialed on Durogesic (sold on the streets as "white china"). Seesm to me the drug rep was scared at loosing a life long patient.

And another case of a doctor simply prescribing what the drug reps tell them to.

 

Fentanyl is sometimes found sold on the heroin market, re-directed by a stolen phamcy worker or something. Sold as "white china" it's so strong people are usually found dead with not onlythe needle still in their arm, but only a small amount of the dose administered with the remaining still in the barrel!

Periodically you might hear of an epedemic of people dieing like flies in USa (mainly) of heroin Overdoses. it's usuallybad media reporting, and it's in fact fentanyl. It wouldn't be a problem, but those selling it don't let the customer in on what it is, and so accidently wack up a dose around 40 times stronger than they expected to. (just a bit of trivia).

 

Downunderdoper, sorry mate, it's just such a huge subject I guess I didn't cover it well. The reading of medical conditions gives a very clear cut and dry view of diagnoses. Actually being diagnosed hpwever is more subjective and "grey area-ish".

I am diagnosed with all these conditions and so indeed suffer the extreme burninf sensations you mention.

Hyperalgesia is simply a garden variety term doctors use to describe pain that's gone beserk. "hyper" -" pain" right? Neuropathy is certainly well in this catagory.

I appreciuate your desire for accustacy, but as Isaid, these things are never as accuarately diagnosed when dealing with the real end of it. A lot of conjecture/specualtion and so on..

 

For example, I suffered a condition known as "TArdive Dyskonesia" brought on by an abrupt ceasation of using large amounts of Melleril, a serious sedative. (never stop taking serious drugs abruptly).

However, a different doctor diagnosed the condition simpy as a facial "tic" (if you know what this condition is you will understand the humor of that), and still another doctor said it was just a result of anxiety. It was diagnosed for the longest time as a parkinson's.

 

All were basically right diganoses, but each one when read as medical reports different madly.

You're dead right thogh, when talking about medical things, it's deealy important to get things very accuarate, right down to spelling, and I appologise if I confused the issue for anyone.

 

cheers

rob

 

sorry about the shocking spelling, I'm feeling pretty crook right now. cheers

[Jess Stone]

High Robbie, I feel for you bro ! Can I ask a few questions? I hope I can here goes

 

1] Is the spelling of this Doctors name correct? as I searched on Google and BrisVegas White/Yellow Pages

and I've come up with zilch! I assumed it was spelled "HELLYAR" or "Hellyer" the common spellings as there seems to be no one with the surname Hallayar.

 

2] I'm wondering if the cocktail of lethal and toxic and who knows the longterm consequences of drugs these

"experts" are peddling to you is the real problem now? I realise originally you were prescribed a drug for a mental condition either real or percieved real but are the rest of the drugs that followed the problem ? ( beyond dependency issues)

 

3] As posted by myself in The Science of getting it Wrong. can the opinions of "experts" who seem incapable of reading research ,especially when it disagrees/proves them wrong/not their paymasters official position be trusted ?

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

Actually the doctor is Dr. Hayllar. I mispelled it intentionally. I was afraid of defemation, but there it is. he's head of the DDU at West Chermside.

For goodness sake, don't mention my name, I'm already in the shit.

 

I took an accidental OD today and spent several hours in shock, so please excuse me for being breif. i feel like crap.

 

cheers

rob

[Jess Stone]

I was just intending to research him,not contact him,I wanted to see if he was published. I'm sorry to hear about your crap day ,maybe tomorrow (which is now today ) will be a better day for you,be careful and look after yourself. OD is a lousy way to go and we wouldn't want that for you!