I have been seeing a lot of stories on television lately about people who are using marijuana for medical purposes, particularly pain. Just today I read an article on Health.com that medical marijuana mey help fibromyalgia pain. Marijuana has been used for quite some time to help cancer patients with their pain. From what I was watching on The Doctors regarding medical marijuana use, there are benefits to using it over prescription medications, but there are also some negative effects you have to consider as well. For one, if you are using marijuana for medical reasons, if it is not legal in your state, you can get into big trouble with the law. Even if our prescription pain meds aren’t good for us, at least they are legal, as long as we are using them as prescribed.
With marijuana, there are different grades that will determine the effects the person will get when using it. The Health.com article says this about marijuana use for pain:
It seems logical — why shouldn’t fibromyalgia sufferers try marijuana for their symptoms, if they live in a state where medical marijuana is legal?
But there are two problems with herbal cannabis, Silverman and other critics say: It’s a complex natural substance that contains about 60 different compounds with potentially medicinal effects, some of which may interact with one another. The other problem is that the amount of these various compounds may vary by batch, as marijuana is not synthesized but grown.
While Silverman says he has great hopes that synthetic medicines based on individual compounds in cannabis may one day help fibromyalgia patients (after appropriate randomized controlled clinical trials have been done), he argues that the real thing today is just too inconsistent.
“We think that there’s probably a role for that class of compounds, the cannabinoids in general, and it’s just a question of working out how that’s going to be put into practice,” says Mark Ware, M.D., an assistant professor in family medicine and anesthesia at McGill University, in Montreal, and the executive director of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids.
I don’t know if marijuana is something I would try even if I could get it legally. I guess there is just this huge stereotype surrounding marijuana and when I think of it, I think of Cheech and Chong. That’s what pot reminds me of. But if it works for people who can get it legally, then more power to them.
If you want to see a guide that lists marijuana laws state by state, click HERE.
Marijuana is a GREAT treatment for FM and CPS, despite what all the propaganda says. It doesn’t matter that “It’s a complex natural substance that contains about 60 different compounds with potentially medicinal effects” because there is not one documented case of any of those compounds being harmful to anyone. And scientists (those allowed this rare privilege) testing these 60 canaboids are finding amazing results with treatment of cancer tumors and many other illnesses. Everything you think you know about marijuana is a lie unless you are reading non-mainstream sources. Silverman also said, “The other problem is that the amount of these various compounds may vary by batch, as marijuana is not synthesized but grown.” What this means is that they (the seller) can’t tell you how much to take for your medical condition. But that’s okay too. In fact, it’s even better than pharmaceuticals because YOU, as the patient, titrate your dose. Because the effects are almost immediate, you know how much to use and when to stop. You can modify your dose based on how you are feeling, i.e. on worse pain days you can use more. As far as the stereotypes of Cheech and Chong, that’s all they are…stereotypes. You would be surprised to know how many people you interact with everyday, who all use this miraculous herb given to us by nature. Police, teachers, blue collar workers, white collar workers, and yes, dumb people who watch TV all day…we come from all walks of life. If you don’t live in a State that allows for this, start a campaign to change the law.
Best Wishes
without trying it, and following the feeble reasoning of the drug warriors (booze is much more ruinous in our society, drug laws keep cops employed forever with overtime), we will suffer needlessly, with mediocre, damaging and horrendously expensive pharmaceuticals. If you want real relief from fibro pain and want to sleep normally and go for walks and come home refreshed, please give marijuana a try and then please let us know if it worked. It has for me.
I cannot believe (or maybe I can) in this day and age we STILL have to have the conversation about whether marijuana should be legal or not. I just get so mad when something that can help people either deal with or fight a disease is blocked by our government. If the entire country didn’t answer directly to the pharmecuetical companies, marijuana would most likely be legal right now. And we could all sell it from the back of our electric cars – but that’s another discussion for another day.
I live in Pennsylvania, and Medical Marijuana isn’t legal as of yet. Laws a pending, blah blah.
That being said, (let me state that my doctor THINKS I have FM, but I’m not diagnosed yet) I am on a pain regimen consisting of Ultram, Flexeril, and Mobic. This barely relieves my pain symptoms, and makes me incredibly tired, while blurring my vision making it harder to function normally. I have been prescribed Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxycontin. None alone relieved my pain. Oxycontin did relieve my pain, but I was so spaced out I couldn’t function. This regimen relieves more pain than those other 2 medicines (when used alone), but I still have moderate/severe pain throughout my entire body.
Before I was prescribed any narcotics for my pain, I would use marijuana. To this day, it’s the only thing that has given me close to full relief of my pain. I still feel it a bit, but nothing close to without marijuana. Not allowing medicinal use forces people like me to obtain marijuana illegally. Do you think I like risking encounters with police, or getting hurt by shady drug dealers, just to relieve pain? Absolutely not. With medicinal use, I would be able to either readily access it, or grow my own without fear.
I’m just saying that I – yes, only I – should truly be in charge of what I put into my body. The government has absolutely no business telling me what I’m allowed or not to use. But that’s a totally different issue.
The point I’m trying to make is this: With medicinal use of marijuana legalized, people like me will be able to SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY obtain necessary medicine to ease our suffering.
Hi Corey, I live in PA also!
I have Lupus and Fibromyalgia. I have severe pain some days, nausea, trouble sleeping, IBS, and I have found marijuana to be Extremely Helpful. I am off the steroids, muscle relaxers, and pain killers. I strictly use Marijuana and it works wonders. I use a vaporizer instead of a pipe as then I dont get the carcinogenic junk like cigarettes, but I would recommend it to anyone who has pain,nausea,insomnia… I live in Montana and it is legal here. Thank goodness. Good Luck All
I tried marijauna for relief from my fibromyalgia pain and found total relief.
However, the pain returned as soon as the high wore off and it felt worse than it did before. Staying high all the time is not an option I can live with!!!!
I have researched the use of MJ for Chronic Pain extensively. And I have yet to find a single death related to the use of Cannibus. Not one. But there are 100,000+ deaths each year as a result of Pharmecutical Prescriptions. Hello? MJ was used and was very common prior to “Modern Medicine”. The argument that the additional compounds my be a problem doesn’t hold weight. Look at something as simple as a stalk of Broccoli… it’s the “cofactors” that allow the primary vitamins to be more beneficial not the other way around. It’s been PROVEN that sysnthetic MJ does NOT have the same properties as the natural plant and therefore is not effective, because it simply is not the same thing. Yes there are different strains of MJ and yes the THC content varies… but this is just a better argument for PHARMECUTICAL COMMERICAL processing so it can be standardized. People who do not believe the Big Pharma is working against them will continue to deamonize this amazing PLANT. But as soon as these people get cancer they are looking as quickly as possible to find a source. I found your site researching Ribose.
I’d absolutly love to use marijuana for my fibro pain. Nothing that I’ve taken from the doctor has even touched the pain. I’d love to know how you go about getting it. I do have a question though. I drive alot for work everyday. Does that mean i wouldnt qualify for treatment. Or what happens if you get a random drug test? Any info from anyone would be appriciated greatly. Thanks!
Marijuana was originally used for medicinal purposes. It was later made illegal by the government just like alcohol (prohibition). The government made alcohol legal but have continued to make marijuana the bad horrible drug. Drunk drivers kill people, alcohol can kill you by damaging your liver but that is okay. Opiates are also legal even though they are highly addictive, destroy lives and people OD and die. Marijuana is a miracle, it stops the pain completely! I am disabled from cervical spine issues and I have severe Fibro too. Marijuana is not legal in my state but I can’t suffer anymore so I take the risk.
My wife has had CFS for 4 years and began using Cannabis about a year ago in edible form based on recommendation from a friend. She takes a small 3 mg dose every other day and after about 2 months of use, she has almost returned to her normal energetic self. Nothing else prior worked at all, including several medications her doctor prescribed. We now again have a happy social life with all of our friends. I live in So. California where medical marijuana is legal, thank God!