Blog Archives

Stopping the Progression of MS

10/15/2020

Jack Chavez of Colorado: Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

I consider Jack a friend of mine. Jack’s a pretty remarkable guy. Jack has Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve interviewed a number of people with MS, but none quite as remarkable as Jack.

The first time I met Jack was in 2006 while traveling across the country with Journey for Justice 7. My good friend and Denver Caregiver Diana McKindley agreed to introduce me to some of her patients. Jack was number one on the list.

At the time of my interview, Jack was still having difficulty talking. So for the interview, Diana agreed to read a short speech to me that Jack had prepared.

We take for granted the choreography of muscles required to sustain speech. Jack has to concentrate and apply great effort to do what comes naturally for us, even when all he is trying to do is say a few words.

In 1994, Jack was diagnosed with Chronic MS. This progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis is similar to what claimed the life of comedian Richard Pryor.
Read More..

Chemo Blows! Cannabis Sooths..

10/13/2020

Catherine Adaberry of Missouri: Breast Cancer

Catherine developed breast cancer in 2002. She was in her 40’s. No one in her family had ever dealt with the disease. It was a difficult time for her and her loved ones. She underwent surgery and considerable chemotherapy and radiation treatments. “Physically, it took quite a toll on me…I was very sick.”

“I was sick the whole time, and I used marijuana. It helped.”

She had heard that cannabis could help with those battling cancer. A member of her extended family had dealt with brain cancer. He used cannabis and attributed his prolonged life to his use of cannabis.

With the chemo, Catherine didn’t want to eat. She just didn’t have an appetite. She was a nervous wreck. “I would smoke and I could eat. I would smoke and I could sleep. With the radiation, it was the same thing.”

“There’s just so much stress with having cancer. I mean, your hair falls out. You don’t feel good. I had grand babies during that time and I couldn’t hold them. I was an emotional wreck. It helped. So many pills…you don’t want to take another pill. It was so much better just to smoke – and to eat – and to smoke – and to sleep.”

Spinal Injury Pain Relief!

10/12/2020

Todd Walk of Missouri: Spinal Injury, Neurological Pain

Todd has a spinal cord injury at T3, that’s complete paralysis from about the mid-chest down. Because of the traumatic nature of his injury, he suffers from neurological pain.

It’s tough for Todd to describe the experience. “…strangest type of pain you can describe. You can’t understand what it’s like unless you have it.”

There can be different degrees. Todd’s is moderate to severe. “It’s like being burned or stabbed, or, anything like that…twenty-four hours a day.”

For Todd, it’s worse at night. “It’s not as bad during the day as long as I take my pharmaceutical medication.”

The pain is particularly bad when storms are coming in and when he forgets to take his medicine.

“Nothing really seems to help.” Todd is prescribed a number of anti-seizure medications. “Some, I take for the baseline pain, but they don’t help with the flare-ups.” Opiates are reserved for the flare-ups. “That doesn’t seem to do much either.”

Arthritis Relief!

10/10/2020

Marena Collins of Missouri: Arthritits

Marena is from Clinton, Missouri. She suffers from arthritis. She’s no longer able to take anti-inflammatories. The only pharmaceutical that she is currently taking, she may have to stop, since her stomach and liver are already compromised by the prescriptions she has taken in the past. The only medicine that she can be certain that her body will not eventually reject is cannabis.

“I didn’t know how bad my arthritis was until a few months ago. …I ran out of cannabis. I thought my arthritis was just some aches and pains here and there. But when I ran out of cannabis, slowly, over time, my body began to stiffen up.”

She discovered that the stiffness in her joints rendered her almost completely incapacitated.

“I called my doctor. He asked me what I was taking for anti-inflammatory and pain. I told him cannabis. He said to go get more. That was the best thing there was. He couldn’t give me anything better. He talked a little bit about the side effects and the side effects of contemporary (pharmaceutical) medications. I would much rather do the cannabis.”

"Multiple Sclerosis Under Control"

10/9/2020

Joe Cullin of North Carolina: Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Multiple Sclerosis

Joe lives in Whitier, a very rural part of North Carolina. He began using cannabis in 1999, following the accelerated progression of his congenital disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth, or CMT, is the most commonly inherited neurological disorder. It affects an estimated 2.6 million people.

Joe’s condition is slowly robbing him of the use of his limbs. He is already confined to a power wheelchair.

“It gives me muscle spasms and loss of nerve to muscle control…I cannot control balance; how to walk, anything like that…”

He has chronic pain that accompanies the spasms. Joe has found that cannabis relaxes his muscles when he has these episodes, much better than with the Flexoril that his physician has prescribed him; better than the Vicodin or Hydrocodone. The opioid narcotics made his skin crawl and itch.

Joe has seen a slow but steady decline in his physical strength and balance. At times, he is depressed. But he’s not tempted to seek refuge in alcohol or other drugs. To him, those would just be escapism.

How Marijuana Affects You: Part 3

10/7/2020

From WebMD..

How Does Marijuana Affect You?
In our previous two posts, we discussed what makes Cannabis a medicine and how to effectively administer it. In this post we discuss any possible detrimental health effects of cannabis.

Cancer.
No link has been found between smoking marijuana and cancers in the lung, head, or the neck. Limited evidence suggests that heavy marijuana use may lead to one type of testicular cancer. Researchers don’t have enough information whether cannabis affects other cancers, including prostate, cervical, and bladder cancers and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Lungs.
Regular marijuana use can give you constant coughs and phlegm. They may go away when you stop smoking. It’s unclear if marijuana can lead to asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. Cannabis actually helps open the airways at first. But evidence shows that regular marijuana use will make your lungs not work as well.

Mental health.

People with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders may be more likely to use marijuana heavily, about twice a month. Researchers have also found links between cannabis use and bipolar disorder, major depression, and childhood anxiety. What’s hard to untangle is if marijuana use leads to mental illness, or if it’s the other way around.

How Marijuana Affects You: Part 2

10/6/2020

From WebMD..

How Does Marijuana Affect You?

In our last posting, we started a discussion of the active treatment ingredients in Cannabis medicine. Then we started to discuss ways to administer the drug treatment, starting with smoking. We now resume....

Ways you can smoke cannabis include:

Rolled into a cigarette
In a pipe or water pipe, called a bong
In a cigar that has been hollowed out and refilled with marijuana, called a blunt
In the form of sticky resins that have been drawn from the cannabis plant. Resins often have much higher amounts of THC than regular marijuana.

Eating or drinking.

This slows marijuana’s effects because the THC has to go through your digestive system. It may take 30 minutes to 2 hours for you to get high. But it will last longer -- up to 8 hours -- than if you smoked or vaped pot. You can mix cannabis into brownies, cookies, candy, and other foods, or brew it into a tea.

How Marijuana Affects You: Part 2

10/6/2020

From WebMD..

How Does Marijuana Affect You?

In our last posting, we started a discussion of the active treatment ingredients in Cannabis medicine. Then we started to discuss ways to administer the drug treatment, starting with smoking. We now resume....

Ways you can smoke cannabis include:

Rolled into a cigarette
In a pipe or water pipe, called a bong
In a cigar that has been hollowed out and refilled with marijuana, called a blunt
In the form of sticky resins that have been drawn from the cannabis plant. Resins often have much higher amounts of THC than regular marijuana.

Eating or drinking.

This slows marijuana’s effects because the THC has to go through your digestive system. It may take 30 minutes to 2 hours for you to get high. But it will last longer -- up to 8 hours -- than if you smoked or vaped pot. You can mix cannabis into brownies, cookies, candy, and other foods, or brew it into a tea.

How Marijuana Affects You: Part 1

10/5/2020

From WebMD..

How Does Marijuana Affect You?

IN THIS ARTICLE

Medical marijuana is now legal in a majority of states. A small but growing number of states and cities have legalized recreational pot as well. Marijuana still is the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S.

Marijuana has some well-proven benefits, including relief for long-term pain. But smoking marijuana can have some bad effects on your health, including making breathing problems worse.

The federal ban on marijuana makes it hard to study its effects on humans. For example, very little research exists on edible marijuana.

Key Chemicals

Marijuana comes from the dried flowers of cannabis plants.It has more than 500 chemicals. Cannabis can have a psychoactive -- or mind-altering -- effect on you.

Marijuana: Good or Bad?

10/4/2020

According to the National Institutes of Health, people have used marijuana, or cannabis, to treat their ailments for at least 3,000 years. However, the Food and Drug Administration have not deemed marijuana safe or effective in the treatment of any medical condition, although cannabidiol, a substance that is present in marijuana, received approval in June 2018 as a treatment for some types of epilepsy.

Marijuana is being increasingly legalized in the U.S., but is it safe?

This tension, between a widespread belief that marijuana is an effective treatment for a wide assortment of ailments and a lack of scientific knowledge on its effects, has been somewhat exacerbated in recent times by a drive toward legalization.

Thirty Three states plus the District of Columbia have now made marijuana available for medical — and, in some states, recreational — purposes.

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