Meds Cannabis and Pain

[ataxian]

What a long and difficult road to travel. Chronic pain affects mental health big time. The constant nagging pain, loss of sleep, poor nutrition, lack of exercise all add up.
My previous surgeries have made it very hard to work out. I have found walking, watching what I eat, and ingesting hemp and weed to be my best bet at minimizing pain. Cause you know it's always there, it's how you manage it that makes the difference. The fucking meds are what fucks you up even more. Viscous cycle hard to break. JAJAJA But I did it with weed

I was given so many drug’s from Doctor’s?
CANNABIS has helped to eliminate these drug’s!
Too bad they don’t teach student’s about low cost CANNABIS for many sickness’s? (Med school)

 

[merlynschain]

I got on the wrong side of a Cadillac when I was a kid, lost the hip-age 18, on my third artificial hip now at age 63 and can't count the surgeries in between. Picked up a blood born pathogen in transfusions, bags of it - probably starting with the first surgery...Dark Age depression eras and civil war medicine along the way (girdlestone). Periods of pill boxes interspersed with nothing at all... anyway, I basically can only echo what others say in this thread.....pain and brain control is why I'm here. Vaping is one good way to reduce or eliminate powerful and addictive pain control pharmaceuticals, while addressing quality of life issues. So much of this chronic condition business is the head trip, regaining authority and consent over mind and body, reclaiming personal power and learning to fly, learning to fall.

Lot's of serious good work going on here at VA. Thank you. ~ . ~

 

[ataxian]

I got on the wrong side of a Cadillac when I was a kid, lost the hip-age 18, on my third artificial hip now at age 63 and can't count the surgeries in between. Picked up a blood born pathogen in transfusions, bags of it - probably starting with the first surgery...Dark Age depression eras and civil war medicine along the way (girdlestone). Periods of pill boxes interspersed with nothing at all... anyway, I basically can only echo what others say in this thread.....pain and brain control is why I'm here. Vaping is one good way to reduce or eliminate powerful and addictive pain control pharmaceuticals, while addressing quality of life issues. So much of this chronic condition business is the head trip, regaining authority and consent over mind and body, reclaiming personal power and learning to fly, learning to fall.

Lot's of serious good work going on here at VA. Thank you. ~ . ~

65 Ford Mustang was my first auto that I side swiped a brand new BRENTWOOD-CAD.
My older friend’s & cousin’s got drafted in a war (southeast Asia known as Vietnam) some chemical (agent orange)
Some came back messed up with all kind’s of medical illness?
Goofing off went dazed & confused was OK (waterless swimming pool’s after school)
420 was celebrated daily however risky.
I’m was a young gun at the time?
62 soon?
Welcome 2 madness!

 

[momofthegoons]

New Study Looks at Cannabis Users’ Pain Tolerance
The study looked at those who use cannabis more than three times a week and compared them with people who were not cannabis users.

A study by University of British Columbia Okanagan campus shows that regular cannabis use, unlike opiate use, does not make pain sensitivity worse, the way opiates do.

Due to the alarming opiate crisis in the country, coupled with an increased interest in medical cannabis, there has been an uptick in research on how cannabis can help with pain. This new study is important because it means that, even if you use cannabis frequently to help with pain, you will not need more and more cannabis or find that you are no longer getting pain relief at all.

“Recent years have seen an increase in the adoption of cannabinoid medicines, which have demonstrated effectiveness for the treatment of chronic pain,” said Michelle St. Pierre, one of the researchers who worked on the study. “However, the extent to which frequent cannabis use influences sensitivity to acute pain has not been systematically examined.”

“This study should come as good news to patients who are already using cannabis to treat pain,” added co-author Zach Walsh, head of the UBC Therapeutic Recreational and Problematic Substance Use Lab, the group that specifically conducted the study. “Increases in pain sensitivity with opioids can really complicate an already tough situation; given increasing uptake of cannabis-based pain medications it’s a relief that we didn’t identify a similar pattern with cannabinoids.”


Pain and Opiates
Opiates are currently the go-to prescribed items for pain, and dependence on opiates is a major issue. Patients often have to up their doses to deal with pain, which makes them even more dangerous.

“There is a different effect from opioid users; sustained use of opioids can make people more reactive to pain. We wanted to determine if there was a similar trend for people who use cannabis frequently,” said St. Pierre. “Cannabis and opioids share some of the same pain-relief pathways and have both been associated with increases in pain sensitivity following acute use.”

The study looked at those who use cannabis more than three times a week and compared them with people who were not cannabis users. Participants had their hands and arms submerged in cold water to determine pain tolerance level. From doing that, they were able to determine that cannabis does not cause hyperalgesia, or enhanced sensitivity to pain.

“Our results suggest frequent cannabis use did not seem to be associated with elevated sensitivity to experimental pain in a manner that can occur in opioid therapy,” St. Pierre concluded. “This is an important distinction that care providers and patients should consider when selecting options for pain management. These findings are particularly relevant in light of recent reports of opioid overprescribing and high rates of pain in the population, as it suggests that cannabis may not carry the same risk of hyperalgesia as opioids.”

This is a hugely important study for the brave new world of cannabis pain research, as it provides even more evidence that cannabis is a safe alternative to dangerous, habit-forming opiates. More research will reveal even more details about how cannabis works with pain management.

 

[CarolKing]

CDC Meets With Medical Marijuana Patients To Discuss Cannabis As Alternative Pain Therapy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently been hosting meetings with medical marijuana patients as part of a broader series of listening sessions on alternative pain treatments. Dustin McDonald, who uses cannabis to treat Lyme disease and also serves as policy director...

www.marijuanamoment.net

CDC Meets With Medical Marijuana Patients To Discuss Cannabis As Alternative Pain Therapy

Published
7 hours ago
on
September 15, 2020
By
Kyle Jaeger

Dustin McDonald, who uses cannabis to treat Lyme disease and also serves as policy director with Americans for Safe Access (ASA), told Marijuana Moment last week that his conversation with the federal agency was productive, with representatives listening attentively as he explained his personal experiences as well as the advocacy work that ASA is involved in.

Beyond simply getting an audience with a main federal health agency, McDonald said what especially stood out to him was that the CDC representatives told him that his wasn’t the first meeting they’ve had with someone who uses medical marijuana as an alternative pain management option. In fact, they said “a lot of the folks that they had spoken with were using cannabis for chronic pain.”

“In addition to my interview and my testimony discussing my experience utilizing medical cannabis for chronic pain and acute pain, there was a large population of people that they spoke with that were doing something similar,” McDonald said, adding that the CDC officials “seemed fairly open-minded” about the subject despite the ongoing federal prohibition of marijuana.
The ASA activist was especially encouraged by the last question the agency put to him, which he said asked “what could CDC do to assist in it advancing the conversation on additional research into medical cannabis applications to human health and health disorders, in talking to the lawmakers about the need to dive more deeply into researching all of these applications.”

ASA wants to take advantage of the opportunity to work with CDC and other related agencies to advocate for “removing roadblocks to research and pushing federal dollars towards combined grant programs for federal government agencies and academic institutions to really take a look at what’s going on with medical cannabis as a medicine,” McDonald said.

While it’s not clear what steps, if any, CDC will take to advance that conversation, McDonald said the fact that the agency heard from a multitude of voices about the therapeutic potential of marijuana could push them to take some action. At the very least, he expects medical marijuana to be discussed at some length in CDC’s forthcoming updated Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.
Marijuana Moment reached out to CDC to find out how often cannabis has been brought up in its meetings with stakeholders, but a representative was not immediately available.

The agency said in a notice about the pain management meetings published in the Federal Register in July that the conversations “will help inform CDC’s understanding of stakeholders’ values and preferences related to pain and pain management and will complement CDC’s ongoing work” on updating that guideline.

This comes months after CDC closed a public comment period on pain management that saw over 1,000 submissions advocating for marijuana and kratom as pain relief options.

 

[deep_meditation]

I always considered myself more of an indica or india dominant hybrid type of guy. I tried some of the sativa dominant Lone Star crumble this morning. I used the Sequoia and took only a couple of puffs. It really helped with my pain and this strain combined with my opiates will help me to keep the opiates at a lower dosage. I would say the difference was dramatic. I need to read more about how the different terps "work". I'm going to ask one of my PA's about it as she went to a cannabis convention for medical professionals.

 

[ataxian]

I always considered myself more of an indica or india dominant hybrid type of guy. I tried some of the sativa dominant Lone Star crumble this morning. I used the Sequoia and took only a couple of puffs. It really helped with my pain and this strain combined with my opiates will help me to keep the opiates at a lower dosage. I would say the difference was dramatic. I need to read more about how the different terps "work". I'm going to ask one of my PA's about it as she went to a cannabis convention for medical professionals.

In my experience I found SATIVA in the morning Ideal for me?
HYBRID after 11:00 am
INDICA after 4:20 pm
My friend’s (some) took LSD on Saturday
Some when to UNIVERSITY
Some died?
Moral of the story: What work’s for your situation?
I like CANNABIS as my medicine of choice!

 

[CarolKing]

I am an Indica kind of a girl but do hybrids as well. It depends on what I like - vapor taste too. Sometimes one place will have Gorilla Glue a Sativa and sometimes it’s a Hybrid. Then I question the budtender and they tell me that the growers offer both. I like both of them usually. I have arthritis all over so cannabis is an important pain reliever.

I prefer really nice buds, not the scubby stuff, so I pay more for quality, don’t want too dry. That’s usually the stuff that’s marked down.
I really like the citrus taste of the vapor and how it works on my pain. So go find some Gorilla Glue and try it out if you have it locally at the store, if it’s in a legal state - a friend of a friend........

I’m recovering from Bells Palsey still having a little trouble with the eye, sorry for typos, I’m trying. My face feels bruised on the side by my ear - using some concentrate oil in my ecig vape

 

[LesPlenty]

I had White Rhino for over 10 years, a very strong indica dominant strain that made me pretty sleepy/couch locked a lot so I changed to Incredible Bulk that has a slightly higher sativa percentage and I still get the pain relief and I remain a bit more alert.
Dabbing over vaping seems to wake me up more...the slap in face occassional big dab might be the reason too...Plenty herb vape just before bed...very heavy bend to the Plenty, just something about vaping over a gram at once maybe.

 

[ataxian]

Let me ch

I had White Rhino for over 10 years, a very strong indica dominant strain that made me pretty sleepy/couch locked a lot so I changed to Incredible Bulk that has a slightly higher sativa percentage and I still get the pain relief and I remain a bit more alert.
Dabbing over vaping seems to wake me up more...the slap in face occassional big dab might be the reason too...Plenty herb vape just before bed...very heavy bend to the Plenty, just something about vaping over a gram at once maybe.

Chime in and tell you in writing a story about CANNABIS?
Back in the 1970’s in HAWAII and long hair was popular (4-men)?
Large plot’s of coastal land with COLAS protruding from the top’s of the super cropped CANNABIS plant’s !
Surfer/grower’s for survival of the fittest crossing MAUI WOWIE with AFAGANI from the Indian Ocean.
Kind of like GRANDADDY PURPLE before the GREEN RUSH.
So strong compared to the mainland MARIJUANA?
Seed’s on plant’s was not available due to pulling up the male plant’s!
From the deck up high around the house on a hill in the wilderness far from CIVILIZATION.
Coughing up a lung or two has the delicious taste made the experience memorable.
CANNABIS is very amazing actually?

 

[momofthegoons]

MARIJUANA MICRODOSING STUDY CONFIRMS PAIN BENEFITS​

When it comes to cannabis dosing, more isn’t always better. In fact, the very best dose of cannabis might be the dose you don’t immediately feel at all!
That’s according to a study put out by Syque Medical, a Tel Aviv-based medical cannabis company. Published only recently, in May of 2020, this clinical trial is the first to show that microdoses of cannabis can be just as effective as much higher doses.
Before getting into the study itself, though, let’s go over the basics.

WHAT IS MICRODOSING?​

The concept of microdosing is pretty simple. It just refers to taking small amounts of cannabis, usually frequently throughout the day.
The premise behind marijuana microdosing is equally straightforward. Instead of overwhelming the endocannabinoid system with more cannabinoids than it needs, the thinking goes: Why not provide smaller doses designed to kickstart the body’s own endocannabinoid production? Endocannabinoids like anandamide, after all, are what really keep pain and inflammation at bay.
But that’s all theoretical.
Up until recently, scientists didn’t know whether microdosing worked or not…

MICRODOSING STUDY: IMPORTANT FINDINGS​

In light of this lack of research, Syqe Medical’s scientists set out to learn more. They gave 27 patients with chronic pain (reporting pain levels of at least six out of 10) one of the following treatment options:

• .5mg of inhaled THC
• 1mg of inhaled THC
• Placebo containing no THC at all

Patients didn’t know what dosage they were getting.
When the study was complete, the 1mg THC group’s plasma THC levels peaked at over twice the .5mg group’s, implying that higher THC intake may facilitate slightly higher THC absorption. But interestingly, while the 1mg THC group also experienced side effects more than twice as intense, they didn’t experience twice the pain relief — the two groups reported 39% and 25% reductions, respectively.
Both doses resulted in a notable reduction in pain intensity: 63.64% of the patients in 0.5 mg dose, and more than 69.57% of the patients in 1.0 mg dose, demonstrated at least 2‐points reduction in pain scores.
Translation? Higher THC doses aren’t always necessary to alleviate pain.

MICRODOSING WITH THC​

According to those close to the study, these findings indicate that it really is possible to get the best of both worlds. As Syqe Medical’s CEO, Perry Davidson, explains to The Times of Israel:

It’s about using the smallest amount of the drug to get the highest symptom relief, lowest side-effects and best quality of life.

And getting the best of both worlds also means avoiding unwanted side effects. According to Davidson:

Cannabis use usually comes with side effects. [We’ve] found that a microdose can give significant pain relief, similar to the pain relief from smoking cannabis, but has close to no side effects which makes it a better way of dosing.

Microdosing THC also allows one to avoid the infamous THC-induced high — at least in part. Indeed, most patients given .5mg of THC felt almost nothing (save for some pain relief, of course!).

MICRODOSING WITH CBD​

More good news: The benefits of microdosing don’t stop with THC!
CBD microdosing may allow for reduced pain and inflammation in the absence of side effects, too. Patients also report that CBD microdosing may combat anxiety and depression.
Here’s to hoping that studies begin to uncover more CBD-specific benefits soon!

​

 

[momofthegoons]

Cannabis And Pain Management: Is Alternative Plant Medicine Becoming The New Norm?​

As time goes on, alternative plant medicine, such as cannabis, are slowly changing the way pain management is viewed and executed.​

Did you know that in 2019, chronic pain impacted one-third of the U.S. population? This number continues to rise, and so does the consumption of various substances to help manage and/or combat pain.

Currently, different NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), acetaminophen, and opioids are used the most often for the treatment of pain. However, there’s no guarantee that these drugs will be fully effective in eliminating pain nor is there a guarantee that these drugs won’t cause any adverse side effects.

Nowadays, cannabis and its many cannabinoids are being pursued more because of their medicinal and therapeutic properties.Overall, though, alternative plant medicine is becoming a part of thousands of people’s routines and lifestyles for numerous reasons. Here are a few main reasons why.

Understanding Types of Pain and How to Treat It Properly​

Oftentimes, when someone experiences pain, their primary mission is to eliminate it and use or consume a product to achieve relief. Before treating pain though, it’s important to understand the characteristics of the pain itself, the severity of it, and the nature of it. For example, is the pain acute or chronic? Is it neuropathic or inflammatory pain? Is the pain caused by an injury, illness, ailment, or a new medication? After understanding the type of pain, finding an appropriate treatment method is the next step.

When evaluating numerous treatment methods, it’s essential to understand the efficacies of different treatment options and potential adverse effects/reactions. From here, an individual should be able to find a suitable treatment method that aligns with the type of pain they’re experiencing.

Traditional Medicines Versus Alternative Plant Medicines​

Although opioids, NSAIDs, acetaminophen, and various OTC (over-the-counter) drugs tend to be the norm for pain management and/or relief, cannabis and its array of beneficial cannabinoids are growing in demand and usage.


Specifically, to avoid potential adverse side effects and/or the risk of drug addiction or dependency, for many, opioids are taking a back seat, and cannabinoids are being pursued instead. Despite traditional medicines demonstrating their efficacy in many different situations and among different people, issues can still arise post-consumption.

For example, NSAIDs can be beneficial, but they’ve also been associated with severe complications involving the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal systems. Next are opioids, which have proven their effectiveness in different situations, but they’ve also demonstrated their ability to cause cognitive deficiencies, motor impairment, and respiratory depression. Opioids also unfortunately represent a substantial addiction and dependency risk among specific groups of individuals.

As time goes on, alternative plant medicine, such as cannabis, numerous cannabinoids, and terpenes, are slowly changing the way pain management is viewed and/or executed.

Cannabis For Pain Management & Treatment​

The cannabis plant contains over 100 cannabinoids, but some of them are more well-known such as Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Numerous cannabinoids are medically and therapeutically beneficial in multiple ways, but CBD, THC, Cannabichromene (CBC), and Cannabigerol’s (CBG) analgesic properties stand out. So far, it has been found that CBC contains both anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Whereas, CBG has proven its stronger analgesic activity than THC.

Aside from different cannabinoids’ analgesic properties, various terpenes found on the cannabis plant are analgesics as well, especially myrcene. One 2008 study expanded on this and stated that: “Myrcene is analgesic, and such activity, in contrast to cannabinoids, is blocked by naloxone suggesting an opioid-like mechanism.” Another terpene that contains analgesic and anti-inflammatory attributes is β-caryophyllene.

In addition, cannabinoid analgesics have generally been well-tolerated within clinical trials. The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported that CBD is non-psychoactive, non-toxic, non-addictive, and has a good safety profile.

Although there’s more to learn about cannabinoids and pain management, various surveys of cannabis users have shed light on the substitution of cannabis products for opioids. Specifically, one 2017 survey focused on American and Canadian cannabis users, and the following was reported: “Our findings are consistent with prior surveys of American and Canadian marijuana users in which substitution of marijuana for opioids was prevalent due to better symptom management and fewer adverse and withdrawal effects.”

 

[ataxian]

Cannabis And Pain Management: Is Alternative Plant Medicine Becoming The New Norm?​

As time goes on, alternative plant medicine, such as cannabis, are slowly changing the way pain management is viewed and executed.​

Did you know that in 2019, chronic pain impacted one-third of the U.S. population? This number continues to rise, and so does the consumption of various substances to help manage and/or combat pain.

Currently, different NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), acetaminophen, and opioids are used the most often for the treatment of pain. However, there’s no guarantee that these drugs will be fully effective in eliminating pain nor is there a guarantee that these drugs won’t cause any adverse side effects.

Nowadays, cannabis and its many cannabinoids are being pursued more because of their medicinal and therapeutic properties.Overall, though, alternative plant medicine is becoming a part of thousands of people’s routines and lifestyles for numerous reasons. Here are a few main reasons why.

Understanding Types of Pain and How to Treat It Properly​

Oftentimes, when someone experiences pain, their primary mission is to eliminate it and use or consume a product to achieve relief. Before treating pain though, it’s important to understand the characteristics of the pain itself, the severity of it, and the nature of it. For example, is the pain acute or chronic? Is it neuropathic or inflammatory pain? Is the pain caused by an injury, illness, ailment, or a new medication? After understanding the type of pain, finding an appropriate treatment method is the next step.

When evaluating numerous treatment methods, it’s essential to understand the efficacies of different treatment options and potential adverse effects/reactions. From here, an individual should be able to find a suitable treatment method that aligns with the type of pain they’re experiencing.

Traditional Medicines Versus Alternative Plant Medicines​

Although opioids, NSAIDs, acetaminophen, and various OTC (over-the-counter) drugs tend to be the norm for pain management and/or relief, cannabis and its array of beneficial cannabinoids are growing in demand and usage.


Specifically, to avoid potential adverse side effects and/or the risk of drug addiction or dependency, for many, opioids are taking a back seat, and cannabinoids are being pursued instead. Despite traditional medicines demonstrating their efficacy in many different situations and among different people, issues can still arise post-consumption.

For example, NSAIDs can be beneficial, but they’ve also been associated with severe complications involving the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal systems. Next are opioids, which have proven their effectiveness in different situations, but they’ve also demonstrated their ability to cause cognitive deficiencies, motor impairment, and respiratory depression. Opioids also unfortunately represent a substantial addiction and dependency risk among specific groups of individuals.

As time goes on, alternative plant medicine, such as cannabis, numerous cannabinoids, and terpenes, are slowly changing the way pain management is viewed and/or executed.

Cannabis For Pain Management & Treatment​

The cannabis plant contains over 100 cannabinoids, but some of them are more well-known such as Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Numerous cannabinoids are medically and therapeutically beneficial in multiple ways, but CBD, THC, Cannabichromene (CBC), and Cannabigerol’s (CBG) analgesic properties stand out. So far, it has been found that CBC contains both anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Whereas, CBG has proven its stronger analgesic activity than THC.

Aside from different cannabinoids’ analgesic properties, various terpenes found on the cannabis plant are analgesics as well, especially myrcene. One 2008 study expanded on this and stated that: “Myrcene is analgesic, and such activity, in contrast to cannabinoids, is blocked by naloxone suggesting an opioid-like mechanism.” Another terpene that contains analgesic and anti-inflammatory attributes is β-caryophyllene.

In addition, cannabinoid analgesics have generally been well-tolerated within clinical trials. The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported that CBD is non-psychoactive, non-toxic, non-addictive, and has a good safety profile.

Although there’s more to learn about cannabinoids and pain management, various surveys of cannabis users have shed light on the substitution of cannabis products for opioids. Specifically, one 2017 survey focused on American and Canadian cannabis users, and the following was reported: “Our findings are consistent with prior surveys of American and Canadian marijuana users in which substitution of marijuana for opioids was prevalent due to better symptom management and fewer adverse and withdrawal effects.”

Main stream Society is controlling the narrative?

 

[momofthegoons]

Limited British Study on Cannabis and Chronic Pain to be Launched​

Up to 5,000 adults between the ages of 18-85 suffering from chronic pain will eventually be able to take part — but the question remains, why is there no formal trial scheduled?

After all the delays, obfuscations and denials, the British are finally taking the next obvious step toward a better understanding of the medical efficacy of cannabinoids. Namely, a highly limited medical cannabis trial dubbed Canpain focusing on chronic pain has just been announced. However, so far, despite reports to the contrary in the media, including The London Times, medical regulators have still not formally authorized a wide-spread study of cannabis and pain management.

While a small trial is a good first step, the question remains why this has taken so long to even get going, let alone why the project is so limited.

Canpain is not the first cannabis experiment in the country and is far from the largest. That distinction goes to Project TWENTY21, organized by a non-profit research organization called Drug Science.

However, Canpain would be, upon proper launch, the first government backed trial which could also lead to patients finally being prescribed medical cannabis via the National Health Service (or NHS).

Its success remains in doubt, however, particularly given what is happening elsewhere in Europe right now. This includes Germany, the largest reimbursed medical cannabis market in the EU, where public health insurers are increasingly turning down applications for medical cannabis authorization on the basis of “just” chronic pain.

What Is Actually About to Happen​

The initial “feasibility study” will be conducted by a private cannabis clinic, LVL Health, which will first enroll 100 patients as a first step of the larger experiment (which has not yet even been approved by the NHS). Canpain aims to enroll up to 5,000 adult patients who will receive cartridges with unprocessed cannabis flower on a daily basis for at least one year.

This will not be completely free. Patients will have to pay about $300 per month to receive capsules embedded into vaping devices.

What Is New?​

The big news here is that NICE — the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence — will, once the feasibility study is reviewed, approved, and launched, examine the data to determine if the clinical evidence justifies the prescription of cannabis for chronic pain.

In the past, NICE has specifically denied that there was any evidence supporting the use of cannabis to manage chronic pain. According to government data, one in three Britons suffers from this condition—defined as that which creates severe discomfort for more than three months.

By definition, the new Canpain trial in the offing is also admitting that their first limited medical efforts will also exclude most of the chronic pain patients in the country.

In the US, in sharp contrast, the number one reason for medical cannabis use is in fact, chronic pain.

The Slow, Shameful Pace of Cannabis Reform In the UK​

Like everywhere else, cannabis reform of even the medical kind has been vigorously fought by British government authorities and agencies, even after medicinal cannabis was technically legalized here in 2018 and a larger medical trial, albeit still limited, was launched in Germany in 2017. Even fewer people have actually gotten prescriptions in the UK than Germany since then via the NHS. Even worse, thanks to the NICE intervention, chronic pain patients were explicitly excluded from receiving reimbursed care post 2018, even if they had managed to obtain such permission previously. Only 18 cannabis prescriptions were subsequently written through the NHS (for whatever reason) and only 259 private prescriptions were issued in 2019.

ProjectTWENTY21 launched in August 2020 with the goal of providing lower cost cannabis to registered patients and studying the same with the goal of providing a large-scale clinical trial that also helped patients obtain cannabis at a lower cost than is available through private medical care. Many cannabis cultivators signed up, at a considerable cost, to be able to provide lower cost cannabis via this trial. About 20,000 patients have subsequently become part of this trial which has now expanded to Australia.

It is not clear why this data has so far been ignored by government authorities.

In the meantime, both further medical and recreational reform debates continue to rage in the UK as the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that he will launch a recreational cannabis decriminalization trial in certain parts of London.

Beyond this effort, no British national authority has taken either medical or recreational cannabis reform seriously.

As a result, British, just like other European patients are still mostly left out in the cold and stuck between outrageous monthly costs via private health care, the black market, or going untreated (which is obviously not a viable option for most patients).

The Criminalization of Legitimate Patients Continues​

For all the police press releases about tackling drug crime, there is no effort currently underway to track the fates of legitimate patients who are routinely arrested and prosecuted under federal narcotics laws which they are still subject to when their applications for medical treatment are denied (for whatever reason). All of these patients must go somewhere to find another source to obtain cannabis and, when turned down by insurers, this almost always means that such individuals have to turn to illicit sources because they cannot afford private care.

In Germany right now, insurers are routinely turning down 40% of patient applications — and for a variety of specious reasons including supposed lack of clinical evidence — even when presented with the most recent data, refusing to process complicated forms that even doctors get “wrong” or even denying patients reimbursed care because their healthcare provider sent in forms later than insurance company imposed deadlines. The only reliable way to obtain legitimate medical cannabis in Germany right now is to have enough money to obtain private healthcare or sue one’s public insurer.

Despite all the protests, and data, one thing is clear. There is a long, hard fight still ahead before the cannabis plant is normalized, anywhere.

How many more people have to face criminal charges or even die before that happens?

 

[momofthegoons]

Pain Patients Are Switching To Medical Marijuana Instead Of Opioids, American Medical Association Study Shows​

About one in three chronic pain patients report using marijuana as a treatment option, and most of that group has used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids, a new study published by the American Medical Association (AMA) found.

The new paper from researchers at the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University builds on the growing body of scientific literature indicating that cannabinoids can serve as effective pain management tools for some people and as substitutes for certain pharmaceuticals

The cross-sectional study, published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Substance Use And Addiction, involved data from 1,724 adults 18 and older living in 36 states, plus Washington, D.C., from March to April 2022. The analysis was based on data from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) AmeriSpeak panel.

“More than half of adults who used cannabis to manage their chronic pain reported that use of cannabis led them to decrease use of prescription opioid, prescription non-opioid, and over-the-counter pain medications, and less than one percent reported that use of cannabis increased their use of these medications,” the authors wrote in the research paper, which received federal funding through the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“The high degree of substitution of cannabis with both opioid and non-opioid treatment emphasizes the importance of research to clarify the effectiveness and potential adverse consequences of cannabis,” it says. “Our results suggest that state cannabis laws have enabled access to cannabis as an analgesic treatment despite knowledge gaps in use as a medical treatment for pain.”

“Among adults with chronic pain in states with medical cannabis laws, 3 in 10 persons reported using cannabis to manage their pain. Most persons who used cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain reported substituting cannabis in place of other pain medications including prescription opioids.”

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano commented on the findings, saying in a blog post on Friday that cannabis has “established efficacy in the treatment of multiple conditions, including chronic pain, and it possesses a safety profile that is either comparable or superior to other controlled substances.”

“So it is no wonder that those with legal access to it are substituting cannabis in lieu of other, potentially less effective and more harmful substances,” he said. “As legal access continues to expand, one would expect the cannabis substitution effect to grow even more pronounced in the future.”



Another recent AMA study found that state-level medical marijuana legalization is associated with a significant decrease in opioid prescriptions and use among certain cancer patients.

A study that was released in September similarly found that giving people legal access to medical cannabis can help patients reduce their use of opioid painkillers, or cease use altogether, without compromising quality of life.

That same month, another study found that the pharmaceutical industry takes a serious economic hit after states legalize marijuana—with an average market loss of nearly $10 billion for drugmakers per each legalization event.

There’s no deficit of anecdotal reports, data-based studies and observational analyses that have signaled that some people use cannabis as an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical drugs like opioid-based painkillers and sleep medications.

Last year, a research paper that analyzed Medicaid data on prescription drugs found that legalizing marijuana for adult use is associated with “significant reductions” in the use of prescription drugs for the treatment of multiple conditions.

Meanwhile, a study funded by a top federal drug agency that was released in November found that state-level marijuana legalization is not associated with increased youth cannabis use.

Researchers published more than 4,300 studies on marijuana and its components in 2022, an analysis from NORML found.

 

[t-dub]

I have to come clean and admit to having found something unconventional, but very effective for chronic pain control. The level of pain relief I am getting is actually better than any opiate I have ever taken. I think you guys know I was on morphine sulfate for like 5 years and of course, it didn't end well. Well this new modality I have found is more effective than morphine and it has NO side effects. None. Well almost none, except it turns your pee blue . . . I'm taking a blue dye called methylene blue. I read a book on Amazon about it, by a Dr. Sloan, called "The Ultimate Guide to Methylene Blue". LINK

Now, there are 3 different kinds of MB so you want to make sure you take the right one because the industrial grade, that is used to dye blue jeans, is full of heavy metals and is not fit for human consumption. The lab grade which is used to stain slides for microscopes isn't good either. You must only use USP grade (United States Pharmacopeia) MB that has a certificate of analysis proving its purity and that comes in a glass bottle. The one I take comes from a company called Compass Labs LINK I actually just had to have a rear molar extracted because I somehow managed to crack the root and the tooth couldn't be saved. Needless to say this had the potential to be a very painful procedure, especially because doctors are afraid to Rx opiates any more, you simply just can't get them and I was given none by my dentist. If it wasn't for the MB killing the pain after the Novocain wore off I don't know what I would have done but it worked absolutely beautifully.

So, here is my setup:

You're probably wondering about the empty 00 gelatin capsules and the OJ . . . Many people just put the MB in water and drink it down, and you can do that BUT, it will stain your teeth and tongue blue. I want to avoid this so using the dropper supplied in the bottle I load the MB into the large end of the empty gelatin capsule, cap it, and down the hatch it goes with some orange juice. This avoids mouth staining and the OJ is needed as vitamin C actually helps your body absorb this stuff. The reason it turns your pee blue is because the body does not metabolize the dye. The cap holds about 20 drops of MB which translates into about 10 mg of dye and I take 2 so that's 40 drops containing about 20 mgs of MB which is about the right dose for my body weight (200 lbs) You want about .2 mgs/kg of body weight, just like Ivermectin so you can use a dosing table for that. The dosage window on this stuff is wide open and many people take a hellava lot more than that so you would have to be extremely stupid, I mean like drunk Russian stupid, to hurt yourself with this stuff.

I know this sounds off the wall but there is hard science behind it. Believe it or not, MB is a very effective anti malarial. Its use for the treatment of Malaria awarded methylene blue the honor of being the first pharmaceutical drug in history and it was given to soldiers during WW2 for that purpose. It was also used to determine the freshness of milk in the 40' and 50's and it was one of the first drugs used to treat patients with psychosis at the end of the 19th century. It was studied for bipolar disorder in the 1980s. Since then, it has been under investigation for its potential use in dementia and other neurodegenerative related disorders. Also, its been found that Methylene blue works by directly increasing mitochondrial respiration through its interactions with the electron transport chain. The electron transport chain is a series of four protein complexes that sit inside the mitochondrial membrane and are responsible for producing ATP—a process called oxidative phosphorylation. The remarkable therapeutic effects of methylene blue are predicated by its ability to act as an alternative electron carrier when any of the mitochondrial complexes I-IV are dysfunctional.

Combined with red/near infra red light therapy (which I do regularly) which also affects the mitochondria in a similar fashion, when the two are combined it's called photodynamic therapy and I have found this to be a very powerful, new modality of treatment for my chronic pain and inflammation that I can do at home. Since I have no cartilage left in my right ankle and it's constantly swollen and inflamed, this treatment has proven to be a lifesaver and its keeping me sane these days as getting help from my doctors is getting harder and harder to obtain. Here is a short, kinda crappy, vid I made of me capping and consuming the MB:

 

[momofthegoons]

I'm posting this, not so much for the NORML article itself, for the list (and links) of studies on cannabis for pain in the footnotes.

Chronic Pain​

An estimated one in five US adults suffers from a chronic pain condition of a duration of six months or more and requiring medical intervention. Nearly half of these patients report that their pain persists despite the use of conventional pain medicines, such as NSAIDS and opioids. Health economists estimate that the annual cost of chronic pain in the United States is $635 billion in health care costs and lost productivity.[1]

Cannabis and cannabinoids – as well as specific flavonoids (phytonutrients) in the plant[2] — are well-documented to possess pain-relieving properties. Recent reviews of the clinical literature identify dozens of controlled studies, involving thousands of patients, documenting the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids in pain management.[3] A 2017 review of over 10,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine acknowledged, “In adults with chronic pain, patients who [are] treated with cannabis or cannabinoids are more likely to experience a clinically significant reduction in pain symptoms. … There is conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis is effective for the treatment of chronic pain in adults.”[4]

Numerous gold-standard (randomized, placebo-controlled) trials document the ability of either inhaled or vaporized herbal cannabis to significantly mitigate pain in various populations as well as in healthy volunteers exposed to laboratory-induced pain.[5-6] Specifically, several trials report clinically significant reductions in pain in patients with HIV,[7-8] diabetes,[9] spinal cord injury,[10] or with severe treatment-resistant neuropathy (nerve pain),[11-13] among other chronic conditions. These positive results have been replicated in clinical trials utilizing relatively low doses of cannabis[14-15] as well as in trials using plant-derived cannabis extracts.[16-17]

Longitudinal data further shows that cannabis provides patients with continued pain relief long term without producing significant adverse side effects,[18] including among elderly populations.[19-20]

The co-administration of either smoked cannabis or oral cannabinoids has been documented to augment the pain-relieving effects of opioids. In one study, vaporized herbal cannabis was demonstrated to enhance the pain-relieving activity of morphine and oxycodone in chronic pain subjects, therefore potentially allowing “for opioid treatment at lower doses with fewer side effects.”[21] Another study reported similarly enhanced analgesic efficacy when low doses of oral THC were combined with hydromorphone (aka Dilaudid). Authors reported, “These data … are indicative of [the] possible opioid-sparing effects” of cannabinoids.[22] These synergistic effects have also been documented in settings where subjects were provided with only sub-therapeutic doses of cannabis and opioids.[23]

Numerous studies of various patient populations, including those with chronic pain,[24-25] cancer,[26]fibromyalgia,[27] multiple sclerosis,[28] and other conditions, consistently find that subjects taper or even eliminate their use of prescription pain medications following the use of cannabis.[29-30] There are now dozens of peer-reviewed papers documenting this trend. Some observational studies have similarly reported reductions in opioid-related mortality following the enactment of marijuana access.[31-33]

Not surprisingly, among patients enrolled in state-specific medical cannabis access programs, over 65 percent are registered to use the substance for the treatment of chronic pain.[34] This is the most commonly reported qualifying condition among active US cardholders.

The use of cannabis for pain, and as a potential substitute for opioids and other prescription analgesics, is rapidly becoming more accepted among clinicians,[35-36] with a coalition of physicians in 2020 issuing “consensus-based recommendations surrounding the safe introduction and titration of cannabinoids in concert with tapering opioids.”[37]

REFERENCES

[1] Science-Daily, September 11, 2012, “Chronic pain costs U.S. up to $635 billion, study shows.”

[2] Medical Xpress, July 24, 2019, “Researchers unlock access to pain relief potential of cannabis.”

[3] Grotenhermen and Muller-Vahl. 2017. Medicinal uses of marijuana and cannabinoids. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 35: 378-405.

[4] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research.

[5] Wallace et al. 2007. Dose-dependent Effects of Smoked Cannabis on Capsaicin-Induced Pain and Hyperalgesia in Healthy Volunteers. Anesthesiology 107: 785-796.

[6] Cooper et al. 2013. Comparison of the analgesic effects of dronabinol and smoked marijuana in daily marijuana smokers. Neuropsychopharmacology 38: 1984-1992.

[7] Abrams et al. 2007. Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Neurology 68: 515-521.

[8] Ellis et al. 2008. Smoked medicinal cannabis for neuropathic pain in HIV: a randomized, crossover clinical trial. Neuropsychopharmacology 34: 672-80.

[9] Wallace et al., 2015. Efficacy of inhaled cannabis on painful diabetic neuropathy. Journal of Pain 7: 616-627.

[10] Wilsey et al. 2016. An exploratory human laboratory experiment evaluating vaporized cannabis in the treatment of neuropathic pain from spinal cord injury and disease. The Journal of Pain 17: 982-1000.

[11] Wilsey et al. 2008. A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of cannabis cigarettes in neuropathic pain. Journal of Pain 9: 506-521.

[12] Ware et al. 2010. Smoked cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ 182: 694-701.

[13] Eisenberg et al. 2014. The pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and ease of use of a novel portable metered-dose cannabis inhaler in patients with chronic neuropathic pain: a phase 1a study. Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy 28: 216-225.

[14] Wilsey et al. 2013. Low-dose vaporized cannabis significantly improves neuropathic pain. The Journal of Pain 14: 136-148.

[15] Almog et al. 2020. The pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of a novel selective-dose inhaler in patients with chronic pain: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. European Journal of Pain 24: 1505-1516.

[16] Johnson et al. 2009. Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of THC: CBD extract in patients with intractable cancer-related pain. Journal of Symptom Management 39: 167-179.

[17] Kawka et al., 2021. Clinical outcome data of first cohort of chronic pain patients treated with cannabis-based sublingual oils in the United Kingdom – analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology [online ahead of print].

[18] Ware et al. 2015. Cannabis for the Management of Pain: Assessment of Safety Study. Journal of Pain. 16: 1233-1242.

[19] Lum et al. 2019. Patterns of Marijuana Use and Health Impact: A Survey Among Older Coloradans. Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine 5 [open access publication].

[20] Abuhasira et al. 2018. Epidemiological characteristics, safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in the elderly. European Journal of Internal Medicine 49: 44-50.

[21] Abrams et al. 2011. Cannabiniod-opioid interaction in chronic pain. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics 90: 844-851.

[22] Dunn et al. 2021. Within-subject, double-blinded, randomized, and placebo-controlled evaluation of the combined effects of the cannabinoid dronabinol and the opioid hydromorphone in a human laboratory model. Neuropsychopharmacology [online ahead of print].

[23] Cooper et al., 2018. Impact of co-administration of oxycodone and smoked cannabis on analgesia and abuse liability, Neuropsychopharmacology 43:2046-2055.

[24] Boehnke et al. 2016. Medical cannabis use is associated with decreased opiate medication use in a retrospective cross-sectional survey of patients with chronic pain. The Journal of Pain 17: 739-744

[25] Reiman et al., 2017. Cannabis as a substitute for opioid-based pain medication: Patient self-report. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 2: 160-166.

[26] Zylla et al. 2021. A randomized trial of medical cannabis patients with stage IV cancers to assess feasibility, dose requirements, impact on pain and opioid use, safety, and overall patient satisfaction. Supportive Care in Cancer [online ahead of print].

[27] Manuela Mazza. 2021. Medical cannabis for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome: A retrospective, open-label case series. Journal of Cannabis Research [open access publication].

[28] McCormack et al. 2019. Multiple Sclerosis and use of medical cannabis: A retrospective review evaluating symptom outcomes. Neurology (Supplement).

[29] Meng et al. 2021. Patient-reported outcomes in those consuming medical cannabis: A prospective longitudinal observational study in chronic pain patients. Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia 68: 633-644.

[30] Lucas et al. 2021. Cannabis significantly reduces the use of prescription opioids and improves quality of life in authorized patients: Results of a large prospective study. Pain Medicine 22: 727-739.

[31] Powell et al. 2015. Do medical marijuana laws reduce addictions and deaths related to pain killers? NBER Working Paper No. 21345.

[32] Averett and Smith. 2019. Medical marijuana laws and their effect on opioid related mortality. Economics Bulletin[open access journal].

[33] Hsu et al. 2021. Association between county level cannabis dispensary counts and opioid related mortality rates in the United States: panel data study. BMJ [open access journal].

[34] Boehnke et al., 2019. Qualifying conditions of medical cannabis license holders in the United States, Health Affairs 38: 295-302.

[35] Mark Collen. 2012. Prescribing cannabis for harm reduction. Harm Reduction Journal 9: 1.

[36] Sunil Aggerwal. 2012. Cannabinergic pain medicine: a concise clinical primer and survey of randomized-controlled trial results. The Clinical Journal of Pain 29: 162-171.

[37] Sihota et al. 2020. Consensus-based recommendations for titrating cannabinoids and tapering opioids for chronic pain control. International Journal of Clinical Practice [online ahead of print].

 

[CarolKing]

Cannabis Reduces Chronic Pain Patients’ Need for Prescription Drugs

65% stopped using opioids

norml.org

Patients

Analysis: Cannabis Products Mitigate Need for Other Prescription Medications in Chronic Pain Patients​

• BY NORML
• POSTED ON FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Saarbrücken, Germany: The use of cannabis-based medicinal products is associated with significant decreases in pain and prescription drug use among patients suffering from chronic pain, according to data published in the German science journal Schmerz.
A team of German researchers assessed the efficacy of cannabis-based medicines in a cohort of 187 pain patients.
Over 88 percent of patients reported experiencing either significant or moderate improvements in their overall condition following the initiation of cannabis therapy. Participating physicians reported that 61 percent of the study’s participants achieved “substantial pain relief,” 66 percent achieved better sleep, and 34 percent achieved improvements in their mental well-being

 

[CarolKing]

I deal with everyday pain. Since I had spine surgery not in excruciating pain, I would say mild. I do have arthritis in my feet The Aleve and NSAIDS can harm your body. Still using cannabis to help with pain and living a productive, active lifestyle. You don’t want couch lock! So don’t overdo.

 

[t-dub]

I haven't checked into this thread in a long time . ..

I tend to not talk about long term pain because it evolves . . . it teaches . . . and it drains the body clean and eventually purifies the spirit . ..