Cannabis as medicine for real, anyone?

[1acrefarm]

nevermind

 

[Beekissed]

Why should you mess with something in its near perfect state and heavily process it into a pill? Too many people take a pill for this and a pill for that. Many pills have loads of side effects. I can't stand putting anything unnatural in my body. As for Insurance paying for it many don't have the luxury of insurance. As for coke and meth you cannot compare them to cannabis. A total different class.

But if its so medicinally effective and the problem is legality, then surely this is a way to get what people want~this med that is so very effective for pain control~and be legal in the process? As you have already stated, marijuana has no side effects like other pain meds(my drug handbook states differently!)~supposedly it is nothing less than a miracle cure for pain, nausea, etc.~surely this would be just as effective compressed into a pill form, like any other herbal med?

Let's explore marijauna for a moment:

MARIJUANA

WHAT IT IS


Names: Cannabis sativa, hashish, hashish oil, marijuana, Mary Jane, Acapulco Gold, ace, bhang, Colombian, ganja, grass, hemp, Indian, Jamaican, jive, joint, Mexican, Maui wowie, Panama red, Panama Gold, pot, reefer, ragweed, sativa, sinse, tea, Thai sticks, weed, roach, hash, hash oil, honey oil, weed oil.

Type: Hallucinogen.

Forms: Grey-green to green-brown dry leaf, resin oil, leaf oil.

Combinations: With PCP, "supergrass," "killer weed"; with opium, "OJ.'; with heroin, 'atom bomb," "A-bomb."

Usage: Inhaling by smoking a 'joint," bong or pipe. May be cooked or baked in foods and eaten.

Legal Status: Illegal.

Other Forms: The prime psychoactive element of cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is administered in gelatin capsules for medical research testing of nausea treatment related to cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma, epilepsy and muscle spasm due to multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury.



WHAT IT FEELS LIKE


Feelings of contentment and relaxation may be accompanied by loss of inhibition, bouts of laughter, continuous talking, increased sensitivity to audio and visual effects, increased sensitivity of touch, smell, taste and movement. Confusion, disorientation, recent memory loss, reduced attention span, lack of balance and stability, loss of muscle strength, shaking, anxiety, and paranoia may occur with higher dosages.



WHAT IT DOES



To Your Mind: Distorts perception of reality.
To Your Body: Increases heart rate, lowers blood pressure, limits control of movement.



HOW IT CAN HURT YOU


Heart related effects. Asthma, bronchitis, damage to respiratory system and tissue. Reddening of eyes, change in sex drive, infertility. Changes in body temperature, hallucinations, slowed reaction time. Delusions, panic, toxic psychosis, activation of latent schizophrenia which may continue indefinitely. Arnotivational syndrome, memory loss with possible permanent brain damage. Death of self and others due to driving under the influence, especially when combined with alcohol. Dependence can develop as a psychological craving. Unborn children of mothers who use cannabis may develop congenital defects or experience delayed development after birth.

And from my nursing drug handbook:

Dronabinaol is the principle active substance in Cannibis sativa(marijuana), which can produce both physiological and psychological dependance and has a high risk of abuse.
Drug effects may persist for days after treatment ends.

As for "reefer madness", I believe this refers to the mood swings and behaviors associated with the withdrawal of cannibis. I have lived with a cannibis addict and I can tell you that the "madness" to which they refer is entirely derived from not being able to have "a fix" to "calm them down". As with just about any mood altering drug, the opposite of calm and relaxed is agitated, angry, short-tempered.

Everyone with whom I've discussed the medicinal use of marijuana, insists that they want to grow it and use it themselves and wouldn't want it if it were manufactured by a drug company. It seems as if the "growing it and using it" is the common denominator with this type of discussion, and not so much as obtaining it for medicinal purposes.

No, not everyone has insurance~I'm one of them~in which case I manage my health concerns at home as much as possible. There are many more options for pain control besides illegal and harmful herbal smokage, folks. And before you ask if I've ever had severe pain associated with muscles, joints, etc.~I have and do every day. I deal with it.

 

[Big Daddy]

Sure am glad I don't smoke that stuff anymore. Sounds like some really bad stuff.

Now can we discuss the benefits of alcohol?

 

[FarmerChick]

I want a strawberry daquiri if you please....

 

[1acrefarm]

I want a strawberry daquiri if you please....

Alcohol is very bad for you.

 

[Wifezilla]

surely this would be just as effective compressed into a pill form, like any other herbal med?

The coca leaf in its natural form is chewed by natives to combat altitude sickness. In its refined form, we get cocaine.

Corn in its natural state is a handy food. Refined it becomes high fructose corn syrup.

Herbal pills are just compressed herbs. Marinol is not compressed mj, itcontains an artificial version of THC and doesn't work for many people...much like cheap generic drugs can work for some, but others have reactions to the different formulation.

As for my Reefer Madness crack, it refers to an old anti-pot propaganda movie....
"Reefer Madness (aka Tell Your Children) is a 1936 exploitation film revolving around the tragic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marihuana": a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, rape, and descent into madness all ensue. The film was directed by Louis Gasnier and starred a cast composed of mostly unknown bit actors. It was originally financed by a church group and made under the title Tell Your Children.[1][2]

The film was intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.[1] However, soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer Dwain Esper, who re-cut the film for distribution on the exploitation film circuit.[1] The film never gained an audience until it was rediscovered in the 1970s and gained new life as a piece of unintentional comedy among cannabis smokers.[1][3] Today, it is in the public domain in the United States and is considered a cult film.[3] It inspired a musical satire, which premiered off-Broadway in 2001, and a Showtime film, Reefer Madness, based on the musical."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefer_Madness

 

[FarmerChick]

I want a strawberry daquiri if you please....

Alcohol is very bad for you.

If everyone can smoke pot to relief an ache and pain, I sure can have a legal drink!

 

[Homesteadmom]

Thanks bee! I rest my case.

 

[Beekissed]

Herbal pills are just compressed herbs. Marinol is not compressed mj, itcontains an artificial version of THC and doesn't work for many people...much like cheap generic drugs can work for some, but others have reactions to the different formulation.

Actually, Marinol is a derivative of marijuana and not entirely artificial. It is not thought to be as affective in this form, as I had already pointed out. But, if marijuana can be made into a tincture, as described, and rubbed on joints for topical delivery, or even baked into a brownie and deliver some effects, then surely unrefined marijuana leaves, ground and placed in a capsule, could be just as effective.

Generic drugs are no longer as "cheap and ineffective" as they once were and many, many patients are benefitting from the use of generic drugs on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, many generic drugs are manufactured by the same companies, using the same ingredients, as brand name. They do this to corner the market on their own drug patents(which expire), as medicare and medicaid will only pay for generic when its available.

Corn in its natural state is a handy food. Refined it becomes high fructose corn syrup.

Corn in its natural state that is ground fine is something we call cornmeal and we eat it just fine. No one suggested refining marijuana, just grinding it and compressing it into a pill, or even capsule, form. One could even express the leaves and obtain a topical med to be delivered in a patch form for extended release.

The push here seems to be that it must be smoked to enjoy the benefits of the drug. It seems as if those who want it legalized, want it in this form and no other, which seems to me a little suspicious.

 

[FarmerChick]

wife
reefer madeness is real for some.
as is alcohol trouble, as is cocaine trouble, as is lsd trouble.

it all causes trouble...certain degrees for everyone.

let it go OK.....we know we aren't talking insanity for smoking a joint at all......just that everything effects people different and an addiction is just that, an addiction and people kill, steal, ignore life etc. to fill that addiction regardless of what it is causing the problem.