Currently viewing the category: "medical marijuana"

Irresponsible Drug Use the Common Theme

By On · Add Comment · In alcohol, cancer, chiropractic, drug abuse, drug overdose, drug use, Fentanyl, HIV, medical marijuana, narcotics, pain pills, pain relief, schedule 1 drugs

I was asked to say a few words about drug use, but not in the positive. Well darn-it, how could I resist? I’m guessing the request comes on the heels of my most recent posts on medical marijuana, of which I make no secret that I am in favor. But I wish to be very clear that my views on medical marijuana are not a condonation of recreational or irresponsible drug use. On the contrary, it’s precisely because I am so against the irresponsible and dangerous use of drugs that I advocate medical marijuana. When compared to the heavy-duty narcotics and other pain pills that are doled-out indiscriminately by doctors, believe me, medical marijuana is a blessing.

First and foremost, I am a former drug abuser, so I full well know what it means to be addicted. And I also know the down-side to heavy and/or long-term drug use. I have done it all, you name it, but alcohol and cocaine were my main weaknesses. I was also addicted to nicotine. For twenty years I smoked a pack a day.

My experience with drugs and alcohol were not all bad, though–I certainly learned a lot. If nothing else I came to understand how drugs can consume your life, how they can distort your view of the world, and how they could damage relationships. I got to experience how they could kill your motivation and prevent you from achieving your full potential. I was also exposed to a dangerous, seedy side of life that was full of mistrust, deceit, theft and violence, not to mention legal ramifications that could end a life of freedom by landing you behind bars for a long time. Yeah, lots of disadvantages to drugs; but for me it was a valuable education that will probably serve me, and hopefully others, for the rest of my life.

Despite medical marijuana being classified a schedule 1 controlled substance—high potential for abuse, lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision, and no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States (not entirely true, but that’s the definition)—it does have definite benefits. In my lifetime, I have seen it help HIV+ men keep from wasting away by giving them an appetite when they had none. I have seen it help cancer patients. One elderly couple, who are in their 90s, and whom I treat chiropractically, have shared their stories with me about the unrelenting pain they feel on a daily basis due to the cancer they each have; and how not even the Fentanyl* patches their doctors put them on would bring relief. Only medical marijuana did that. That’s right—these people in their 90s could only find relief from the intense pain they felt 24/7 by smoking a joint. They were not hippies; they had never had marijuana in their lives until they were sick with cancer. And it helped them. Duh!

Listen, drugs in and of themselves are not bad. They are helpful, even necessary, in many instances. I’ve needed the help of pain killers. An attack of acute appendicitis in 2006 showed me just how useful morphine could be (although not 100% effective and highly addictive). Whether antibiotics, sedatives, pain meds or steroids, each has a short-term use; but too many doctors give them to people long-term, as an easy yet temporary fix, instead of looking for real, long-term and self-directed solutions.  And it’s this that leads to serious problems.

Let me ask you a question. What do the following people have in common:

  • Jimi Hendrix, John Belushi, Sid Vicious, River Phoenix and DJ AM?
They all overdosed on recreational drugs.
And how about these people:
  • Elvis Presley, Keith Moon, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson?
In both groups the common theme was an irresponsible use of the drugs. So regardless of whether a drug is illicit or legal, using it carelessly is foolish, and it can lead to illness or death.
That doesn’t mean drugs are bad by any means. Worshiping and relying on drugs, however, is unwise. And that goes for medical marijuana too. But if a substance can help cancer patients, people with HIV and people that suffer from chronic pain find relief, and maybe even help them survive (by increasing appetite), and that substance has low-risk side effects when compared to harder drugs like narcotics, then shouldn’t we use it? Shouldn’t we at least study it to see what medicinal benefits it might contain, and do our best to understand it?
That’s not me condoning drug use. I have lived both a life of drugs and a drug-free one—and I can say without a doubt that I prefer being straight, sharp and clear of mind. But I don’t knock recreational drug use, either, if the user can do so responsibly. However, rehab centers and city morgues are filled with people who couldn’t, and frankly, that could be you one day.  So if you value your life, it’s better to stay clean.
That, however, is the farthest I will go with wagging a finger at society, because I know we can’t both live in a culture where taking prescription drugs is considered ‘normal’, and expect others to not do so recreationally. That would be a fantasy.
*Fentanyl is a schedule 2 controlled substance–high potential for abuse, currently accepted medical use in treatment in U.S., and currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions. Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence (not true of marijuana).  Medical cannabis (currently a schedule 1–see above) would be more appropriately placed in this category, and probably most appropriately as a schedule 3.

Montel: Israel Step Ahead in Med Marijuana Practice/Study

By On · Add Comment · In cannabis, chiropractic, medical marijuana, Montel Williams, multiple sclerosis (MS)

Montel Williams is back in the news.  The former Emmy Award winning daytime talk show host is praising Israel, not for its politics or Palestinian relations, but for it’s medical marijuana practices.  What?!?!  You heard right, Montel, the patient rights activist, is in Israel on a fact-finding mission to learn about its medicinal cannabis practices. He is meeting with legislators, scientists and physicians.

Montel Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1999 and has promoted alternative therapies in the past, like chiropractic (booyah!), but today it’s medical MJ.  And he believes the U.S. can learn something from Israel.  “We need to get out of the dark ages and into the new ages,” he told The Associated Press. “Not every patient can use cannabis, but for those who can–why deny it?”

In Israel, certain doctors can prescribe cannabis and even disperse them from their offices.  It is regulated, and many doctors prefer it as a lesser of evils when compared to narcotics for pain relief.  According to Itay Goor-Aryeh, the head of the pain management unit at the Sheba Medical Center in central Israel, “Those patients, if they do not get cannabis, they will get morphine-like drugs and other harmful drugs. I think that in many ways, cannabis is tolerated and is less addictive that morphine-based drugs.”

Well, no duh!  Thank you Montel Williams for bringing this issue to the forefront and adding some credibility to the cause.  As a beneficiary of medical cannabis, Montel is in a perfect position to discuss the advantages of marijuana (and it’s active compound, THC) in a serious and meaningful way.

Yes, Montel Williams, 55, says he has been taking cannabis on a daily basis.

“For me, there is nothing else that can do what it does,” he said. “It helps me suppress my pain … When I am not using cannabis I am thinking about my pain every 45 seconds.”

And bravo to the Israeli medical profession for it’s adoption of a benign yet advantageous drug that has much potential for pain relief, and maybe more.

I agree with Montel, the U.S. government could learn a thing or two from Israel in this regard.  If we don’t start investigating cannabis as a pharmacological option, and instead we keep vilifying it, we may never know its full potential.  Fortunately, they are doing the research in Israel, so we may get our answers regardless.

Montel Williams is a hero to me.  He’s been a champion for many of the same causes I have taken on in my own life, and for that I commend him.

CMA Endorses Marijuana Legalization

By On · Add Comment · In California Medical Association (CMA), California Police Chiefs Association, doctors, medical marijuana, pain relief

Another small victory for marijuana proponents, as the California Medical Association (CMA), is calling for cannabis legalization. The state association, which represents more than 35,000 physicians statewide, has taken an official position that despite its questionable medicinal value, marijuana should be made legal and regulated like alcohol or tobacco.  The CMA is the first major medical association to take that stance.


According to Dr. Donald Lyman, the Sacramento physician who wrote the group’s new policy, the change in position stems from frustration over California’s medical marijuana laws. As he explains, doctors are in a difficult position as more patients start to ask about marijuana’s medical benefits, particularly for pain relief, but which is still an illegal substance under federal law. Dr. Lyman believes that the question of whether marijuana has medicinal value can only be determined by legalization and research.

But this latest statement by the CMA has stirred much controversy.  John Lovell, spokesman for the California Police Chiefs Association said, “Given everything that we know about the physiological impacts of marijuana–how it affects young brains, the number of accidents associated with driving under the influence–it’s just an unbelievably irresponsible position.”


Other doctors associations have voiced concerns as well. Dr. Robert DuPont, M.D. and professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School, said the association’s call for legalization showed “a reckless disregard of the public health. I think it’s going to lead to more use, and that, to me, is a public health concern. I’m not sure they’ve thought through what the implications of legalization would be.”


But the rationale from the CMA has merit.  Although they acknowledge some health risks to using marijuana, they believe that the consequences of criminalization outweigh the hazards. Dr. Lyman says current laws have “proven to be a failed public health policy.” He cited increased prison costs, the effect on families when marijuana users are imprisoned and racial inequalities in drug-sentencing cases.

I tend to agree with the CMA, though I think they are taking the politically safe, yet smart, route by doubting benefits of marijuana use and playing up the risks, so as not to encourage recreational drug use, but also by pointing out, and rightly so, that the drug is benign…and it may have greater benefit than we know!  But we’ll never find out if we don’t open that smokey door.

Listen, I’ve said this repeatedly in this blog: There is no doubt that marijuana carries with it side effects (2 am Taco Bell runs for instance) physiological changes, but when compared to alcohol and tobacco–it’s lite-weight. The warnings by police enforcement officials is about as convincing as Reefer Madness. C’mon. Regulate it, tax it, punish driving under the influence, and you’ve got an open revenue source. No way it’ll lead to more chaos than booze…or pharmaceuticals…c’mon.

I am convinced that the ol’ MJ will be legalized in California within ten years, maybe sooner.  And as Cali goes, so goes the nation. That’s what the Heshers say, anyhow.

Weed Tax

By On · Add Comment · In Americans for Safe Access, City Council, Long Beach, medical marijuana, Proposition 19, tax

This just in: The City of Long Beach is considering taxing medical marijuana.  Joinks!  Taxing pot?  Is that ethical?  Don’t know, but a public hearing to put this issue on the ballot for November was passed by the City Council 8 to 1.

According to the L.A. Times, medical marijuana collectives are looking at a possible 5% tax if the measure passes.  This could help a cash-strapped Long Beach put a dent in its $18.5-million deficit.

But medical Mary Jane proponents are throwing up their arms in protest.  They argue that marijuana is medicine, and exempt to tax as are all medications.  Hmmm…good point, stoners.  Counter point.

Oakland is one city already taxing chronic clinics, and Berkeley, Sacramento and San Jose are considering similar measures that would tax collectives 2.5% to 5%.

“We tax alcohol. We tax cigarettes. Why wouldn’t we look at taxing marijuana?” said Councilman Patrick O’Donnell. “We’re turning over every rock to find new revenues, and under one of those rocks may be marijuana.”  Oooh….nice comeback.  Stoners.

If a tax must be enacted, Americans for Safe Access (the nation’s leading medical marijuana advocacy group) spokesman Kris Hermes said, “the tax burden should be removed from the patient to the extent possible.” 

Well, I must admit I am miserably in the middle on this one.  I do think marijuana should be legal–both for medicinal purposes and for recreation (see my surefire get-elected-to-Congress plan here).  And I also think it should be taxed, like booze and tobacco.  But it is pretty hard to argue with the point that other doctor prescribed medicines are tax exempt.  In that situation…sorry, rigid-rectums…but I gotta side with the stoners.  Bottom line: marijuana is a prescribed drug, benign when compared to the likes of Vicodin and OxyContin, so…gotta give it equal protection.

As it turns out, if Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana for recreational use passes in California this year, a 10% tax (on pot dispensaries) is likely to be levied.  And good–’bout time this damn puritanical society got with it–legalize pot and earn off this cash crop.

(Dusting off hands) There ya go: simple economics–everybody’s happy.  Now was that so hard?

Obama to Leave Weed Ds Alone

By On · Add Comment · In Attorney General Eric Holder, Cannabis sativa, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), medical marijuana, President Barack Obama, U.S. Justice Department

Good news for medical marijuana patients: The Feds won’t be closing legal dispensaries anytime soon–as long as they comply with state and local laws. A fortunate development for cancer, AIDS and glaucoma patients, as there was some uncertainty on President Barack Obama’s stance on medical marijuana clinics. However, before all you plantar fasciitis suffering hippies and skaters get too overjoyed–the Justice Department says it will have no problem prosecuting dispensaries conducting illegal operations. DOH!

According to Justice Department officials, formal guidelines were sent on Monday in a policy change reflecting President Obama’s views that federal money should not be spent closing down medical marijuana dispensaries in states where it’s legal–which includes Alaska, California, Colorado, and Hawaii among the thirteen states in total. Patients and dispensaries were recently holding their breath as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) conducted a raid on a dispensary in Lake Tahoe, California earlier this year. This coupled with the Bush Administration’s opinion that it could enforce federal law against marijuana, even above and beyond state laws had many in the industry worried. But President Obama said during his campaign last year that intended to halt raids of medical marijuana facilities operating legally under state laws. Hail Obama!!!

My regular readers know how I feel about this issue. Not only do I think Cannabis sativa (Mary Jane for you non-botanists) should be available for medicinal purposes, I think it should be legalized all the way around. As a recreational mind-altering substance, marijuana is bengn. The revenue that could be generated from the legal and controlled sales and distribution of this currently illegal drug would be highly useful. But hey, I’m odd–I also think prostitution should be legalized, you know? Go figure.

Anyway, Attorney General Eric Holder did make it perfectly clear that certain illegal activities revolving around the current medical marijuana industry will not be tolerated. These include:

  • drug trafficking
  • unlawful use of firearms
  • violence
  • illegal sales to minors
  • money laundering
  • or other violations of the law.

Which I interpret to mean that the average citizen will eventually be unable to walk into a clinic, claim nagging elbow pain, and walk away with a scrip for Weed Brownies eaten once every 12 hours for the rest of your life. Sorry stoners, but I think that lid will be closed very soon…for now. But who knows–the way things have been going, my blueprint for a smoke-legal nation may just be on the horizon.

More Cannabis Controversy

By On · Add Comment · In causation, correlation, depression, marijuana, medical marijuana, suicide, teens
I told you, keep your eyes peeled: Marijuana is once again being fingered as a serious health threat. The Federal Government last week released a report stating that marijuana use among teens can lead to depression and–gulp–suicidal tendencies. According to the report provided by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, “A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed—25 percent compared with 12 percent.” And “teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers.”

I reported on the increased attacks on cannabis consumption last year in a couple of posts (here and here) and I said then that I believe the heightened attention has to do with the explosion of medical marijuana dispensaries across California. Now, legality or no legality, it seems odd to place so many ill effects (unproven if I may add) to this mostly benign substance. But the Puritanical powers that be see pot smoking as public enemy number two, right after tobacco use.

What is important in this story is that we really need to distinguish between the concepts of correlation and causation. Correlation is a mutual relation of two or more things. It means that we tend to see a relationship among certain things. Causation, on the other hand, means one thing causes another. So the fact that smoking pot causes one to get high is a definite causation. But smoking pot causing one to become depressed and even suicidal is really stretching the truth. The adage in science and statistics is “correlation does not imply causation.” Period.

Although our Puritanical roots may lead our government to see nothing but the ills associated with marijuana use, as attested by research conducted by our Centers of Disease Control (CDC)*, British research shows something different. According to Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, an organization that advocates the decriminalization of marijuana, “This very week the British government’s official scientific advisers on illegal drugs issued a report saying they are ‘unconvinced that there is a causal relationship between the use of cannabis and any affective disorder,’ such as depression.

Like I said before, there is a real battle going on and it ain’t gonna be pretty. But if certain factions persist, you may see some changes in policy in the near future.


*I’d also like to point out that the CDC probably has data only on dysfunctional individuals who present with a variety of problems. I’m certain they have no data on the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of totally functional citizens who consume cannabis on a regular basis. Why would they? It’s still illegal, isn’t it? Boing!

You Better Believe It’s On

By On · Add Comment · In asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, Legalize Pot, lung damage, lung function, marijuana, medical marijuana, pot smoking, tobacco
This battle just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Marijuana, that killer weed, is in the news again. More health risks associated with pot smoking: A new studyshows that one joint causes the same amount of lung damage as 2.5 to five tobacco cigarettes.Researchers at the New Zealand Medical Research Institute used lung function tests, high-resolution X-rays and questionnaires to look at the lungs of pot smokers, tobacco smokers, and smokers of both marijuana and tobacco. What they found was that long term pot smokers developed asthma, bronchitis, obstruction of the large airways and excessive lung inflation just like tobacco smokers do. You don’t say? However, they found that marijuana smoking does not seem to increase the risk of developing emphysema.

Looks like we’re going to be seeing much more negative press about the ol’ Mary Jane over the next few weeks, months, or years(?). As I said in my earlier post, Dummy Weed?, this is a real battle between Legalize Pot/medical marijuana advocates and the “Just Say No” crew. It’s no surprise to me that a bevy of studies is now being released as things heat up around the legality of medical marijuana clinics. C’mon now, medical science has suddenly become this interested in the physiological effects of marijuana, even after forty years of mainstream use? I know, studies have been done consistently throughout the years, but mark my words, you’re going to hear more – much more – about this in the near future.

All this attention on marijuana, I think, is going to get people talking, and I think we’re on the verge of social change. As they say, there’s no such thing as bad press, and the times they are a-changin’, so stay tuned for more.

This Week’s Stupid Health News

For this week’s dumbest health story: Researchers at the University of Texas conducted an exhaustive study on the reasons people have sex and found the most common reason was: It Feels Good. No kidding? Glad to see the innovation at our Nation’s Universities continues to flourish. Can’t wait for more of the same:

  • Why People Drink Beer: It Gets Me Loopy
  • Why People Run to the Can: I Gotta Go
  • Why People Pick Their Noses: Big Boogers Bug

Now that’s money well spent.

Dummy Weed?

By On · Add Comment · In controlled substances, federal agents, legalization, Legalize Pot, Los Angeles, marijuana clinics, medical marijuana, meta-analysis, psychotic illnesses, respiratory function, schizophrenia
Medical marijuana is dominating the news again. Last week, Congress defeated a measure that would have prevented the U.S. government from blocking the use of medical marijuana in states that allow it. On the same day, Wednesday, July 26, 2007, federal agents raided 10 marijuana clinics in the Los Angeles area. Seems like this battle will continue to rage on.

On the one side, you’ve got medical marijuana activists, which are really Legalize Pot advocates, and on the other, the federal government, or in some people’s opinions, the moral majorists. Basically, the former group wants the legalization of what they consider a benign substance, while the latter believes that all controlled substances are a danger to society.

I find this an interesting debate because it almost seems silly that a substance like marijuana would be illegal when taken in context to liquor, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals, all of which are more physiologically harmful to the body (for a laugh you have just got to see what the man on the street says about it all). Along with that, consider the benefits the government would achieve through legalization, like taxation and control, you know, things governments typically care about. It’s not like it wouldn’t be lucrative. I mean, doesn’t Snoop Dog still live here?

On the flip side, the medical marijuana clinics aren’t helping their cause any by supplying healthy customers with pot. These “clinics” are exploiting gray areas to basically operate as legal drug dens. Hey, I’m the first one to say that we should legalize marijuana – prostitution too – but first we’ll have to overcome our deep-rooted puritanical mores. Until then, well, the law is the law.

What I find particularly hysterical is that opponents to marijuana legalization (I’m using the term opponents here loosely – please play along) are looking for anything to rationalize their position. They are feeling hard pressed to show that marijuana use is harmful, so the best they can come up with is that pot smokers may be at a higher risk for schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.

Let’s get serious here. First, these results come from a meta-analysis (a comparative study) of 35 studies done over the last 27 years and not a single clinically controlled study. This means that the conclusions have been extrapolated and are therefore not definitive, not at all. Further, we have no way of knowing whether the mental illnesses observed were due to marijuana use, or whether the mentally ill are more likely to smoke marijuana. Basically, this is a flawed study. Even the study’s authors admit that “it may be impossible to establish for sure whether cannabis causes psychosis on the basis of current methods.”

But wait; before you start thinking that there are no health risks associated with marijuana use, think again. Pot smoking is hard on the lungs, so it could affect respiratory function (increased coughs, asthma, and upper respiratory infections) and cardiovascular capacity. Interestingly, though, it does not increase one’s chances of developing lung cancer.

It has other physiological consequences too, like possible dizziness, confusion, light-headedness, racing heart, agitation, feeling of tenseness, dry mouth, increased appetite, and loss of coordination. Marijuana also has cognitive consequences like short term memory loss, paranoia, anxiety, interruption of linear memory (difficulty following a train of thought), altered sense of time, psychological dependence, and loss of motivation.

So don’t think that pot smoking is all just fun and games – it has its risks too. But as I’ve said before, compared to some other substances that are perfectly legal in this country, marijuana does seem a bit lite by comparison.

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