Do you think Marijuana has Legitimate Medicinal Benefits or not?

[Philosoraptor]

[OhioChick]

1. Yes n/t

[TN al]

2. yes

[FuzzyDicePHL]

3. Absolutely.

nt

[Kber]

4. I don't know.

but my doctor thinks so.

[nashville_brook]

5. yep

[Epiphany4z]

6. yes

much like prozac

[jbnow]

43. More benefits than prozac

since prozac doesn't reduces neurological tremors, pressure in eyes, side effects of chemo, reduce intracellular inflammation and so on like marijuana does.

[deaniac21]

76. Except with permanent lung damage.

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13625.html#adverse_effects_of_marijuana

[Asgaya Dihi]

97. The document you point to says nothing about permanent.

The quote from the section you pointed directly to states "chronic marijuana smoking is associated with lung damage, increased symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and possibly increased risk of lung cancer."

The key word there is chronic. Yes it irritates the large air passageway and with abuse can cause chronic bronchitis. The damage is not permanent and clears up when chronic use ends. The lung cancer part is keyed on the word "possibly" and has since been proved to be an invalid concern by the same gentleman who did the research which said it might. Link to that follows. http://www.counterpunch.org/gardner07022005.html

Another page you might find interesting on the subject of lung damage and marijuana is the following chapter from a book by Jack Herer, in it he quotes interviews with Tashkin who for three decades has been our leading marijuana researcher on pulmonary functions. http://www.jackherer.com/chapter15.html

[atreides1]

7. Yes

[marmar]

8. Yes...

I know a couple of bipolar people who would be absolute wrecks without it.

[rfranklin]

Who cares? Adults should choose their self-medications...

Whether it's alcohol or nicotine or even the Rush of Viagra.

[rfranklin]

9. Who cares? Adults should choose their self-medications...

Whether it's alcohol or nicotine or even the Rush of Viagra.

[yewberry]

10. Yes.

It was the only thing that allowed my dear friend to eat some days, and it helped with pain management. (Juvenile diabetes) The pharmaceutical version never did much good, as he couldn't keep them down.

[SmokingJacket]

11. Yes.

The reason it's not recognized as a pharmaceutical is because it can't be patented and profited from.

[deaniac21]

78. Or maybe because the delivery system does permanent

damage to the lungs.

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13625.html#adverse_effects_of_marijuana

[Marnieworld]

12. you betcha

I know for sure.

[Rosemary2205]

13. I really don't care either way

decriminalize it. Regulate it up the wazoo. Tax the living daylights out of the sale of it. Not a chance anyone will convince me it's any worse than cigs, alchohol or freaking high fructose corn syrup.

But yes, I do think it has medical benefits. Quite a few in fact.

[anarch]

14. oh come on now...no *plant* could have medicinal properties,

could it? Who you gonna believe, billions of people throughout the history of the planet, or the pharmaceutical companies?


Incidentally, there is a drug called Marinol (or something like that), which is basically THC in pill form, that is prescribed to cancer patients and the like...what does that tell you?

[deaniac21]

18. It tell me that the medical profession thinks it's very harmful

to your body to smoke.

[leesa]

26. Actually, all that really tells you is that they are afraid they'll get

busted for recommending pot or writing a prescription for medical marijuana. The smoking is a problem for those with pre-existing heart-lung problems or for those with immune suppression (aspergillous concerns), but effects are minimal for healthy people. Besides you can cook or bake it to get the effect as well. They are very shy about writing for medical marijuana though and I live in California where it's legal.

[deaniac21]

39. Minimal effects, huh. Go talk to a pulmonologist about that one.

[jbnow]

46. You go to google

and look at recent studies. The large study released last year showed at least NO cancer risk (of lung, tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus) and suggested some protective effect.

The finding was not what was expected.

Marijuana is an irritant to the large air passageway but has a positive or neutral effect in other areas of the lung. It can cause acute irritation as they smoke, but not long term damage. Marijuana is known to ease emphysema rather than cause it due to the opening and dilation of the bronchial passages.

[deaniac21]

65. You are living in a dream world. My pulmonologist tells me

that it has more tar than tobacco and is inhaled more deeply. Smoke if you want but don't pass out bullshit information that will affect peoples health.

[jbnow]

72. Why would you accuse me of

"living in a dream world" and passing out bullshit information without bothering to check first? At the very least you could have asked to see the studies if you didn't want to bother looking it up.

I was incorrect in my previous post saying the most recent study was last year. I meant last month. I did note they were surprised by the findings themselves.

Your pulmonologist is right as far as the inhaling and tar. They also hold it longer. That is why the outcome (the study done by a pulmonologist) surprised them so much. From the article:

Tashkin's group at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA had hypothesized that marijuana would raise the risk of cancer on the basis of earlier small human studies, lab studies of animals, and the fact that marijuana users inhale more deeply and generally hold smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers -- exposing them to the dangerous chemicals for a longer time. In addition, Tashkin said, previous studies found that marijuana tar has 50 percent higher concentrations of chemicals linked to cancer than tobacco cigarette tar.

but what they found was:
"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html

His guess at the reason was that the THC, may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous. Others from previous work have other theories but they are not note in this study. This was the largest case-control study ever done and this is a researcher who has long been quoted in those who felt it was damaging.

I do not smoke pot. I did find some and take it to my mother in the 90's as she was wasting away on chemotherapy, couldn't get out of bed or keep anything down. Nothing was helping. I heard this might. It did. She ate, gained weight, got out of bed again.

I researched it then as much as I could because I love her. I am not a pot head, but thanks for assuming so.
I also suggested it to a friend with MS who had intention tremors. She could not even feed herself because her hands would shake so bad. Nothing was helping. Studies indicated this did. She tried it. She actually goes out to eat in public now, she can write, she can knit, all things she thought were lost to her.

I don't pass out bullshit nor accuse others of doing so without checking first.

[deaniac21]

73. read up

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13625.html#adverse_effects_of_marijuana

[BlueStorm]

94. Isn't the AMA kind of right leaning? n/t

[deaniac21]

102. Yes the American Medical Association is a right wing political

tool. The AMA's journal of Medicine is known only for pressing right wing political and religion. Decades ago they quit focusing on medicine and health.

[BlueStorm]

104. I thought so...

because I read somewheres (maybe here on DU) that they endorsed the sexual abstinence program and on this thread when I saw that poster put a link to them here, I thought that "Isn't the AMA that group that endorsed some political programs or something?"

Blue

[transeo]

89. You don't have to smoke it.

You can eat it in a variety of foods for a good effect.

[Greyhound]

50. You go talk to one that isn't amerikan. The only medical practitioners

that tow this bogus line are amerikan, just like the "scientists" that deny global warming.

[deaniac21]

66. I know. Smoke in the lungs soothes lung disease. I have

asthma and I know what it did to me. It was probably just in my head though.

[Greyhound]

91. Nobody said that. You asserted that it is harmful to the pulmonary system

and I challenged that statement.

Nice evasion. :eyes:

Are you interested in learning, or do you just like parroting propaganda?

[Zhade]

100. Considering that it used to be prescribed for asthma...

...I think you're lying.

[0007]

70. cough cough

[Greyhound]

53. It is a synthetic analog that has nasty side-effects combined with

prohibitively high cost and very limited effectiveness, IOW, a corporate wet dream.

[anarch]

58. but nevertheless, a tacit admission that the chemicals in question

are effective as medicine. Even if this particular drug is limited in its effectiveness.

The corporate nightmare is people being allowed to self-medicate, and thus not buy the many over-priced products sold by the various drug companies.

[Greyhound]

61. Give this man a cigar! (or a blunt as appropriate)

:rofl: :smoke:

[Tsiyu]

15. Well, one of my son's friends

has a disorder which makes it very difficult for him to gain weight.

After a battery of tests, his physician asked him if he'd ever smoked pot.

He's an honest kid, so he said, "yes."

"Good," said his physician. "It will help give you an appetite."

He vowed not to disclose the conversation to this kid's Fundy, Dobson-loving parents. And I'm happy to say the young man is finally putting on a few pounds.

So, I'd say if this physician ( and others I've spoken with) thinks marijuana is a good medicine for underweight folks to use, it qualifies as having medical value.

[deaniac21]

75. Wonder how those lungs are doing.

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13625.html#adverse_effects_of_marijuana

[Tsiyu]

101. Yeah, I ALWAYS trust the AMA

His lungs won't do him much good if his body is starving so badly his organs are being destroyed.

By your logic, any risk associated with a medicine makes that medicine unsuitable.

Have you read the side effects for the most common, money-making drugs these days?

You really just are a one-trick pony, comment-wise, but keep singing that one note if it makes you feel better.

I'm sorry you're stuck there. An open mind is really a good thing.

[InternalDialogue]

16. Yes.

A friend suffers from debilitating back pain without it. Prescription pain meds gave him debilitating side effects. In order to manage the pain but remain able to live, work, and sleep a normal schedule, he smokes. It works.

[Bandit]

17. I think it has been proved to be the case.

:shrug: More governmental interference in private affairs. IMO

[movie_girl99]

19. yes, i know it does.

it helped my mom through her chemo.

[WyLoochka]

20. Absolutely -

It is the very best anti-depressant for some people. (Note - I didn't say all).

[ThomCat]

21. Absolutely. Of course.

[gkhouston]

22. yes, but not when you get it directly from the plant.

It must be carefully processed into tablets which sell for $1 apiece. :sarcasm:

[NVMojo]

23. YES. Too many cancer patients have proven this out to me.

[ms liberty]

24. Yes, absolutely...

I know this for a fact, personally.

Nuff' said!

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Yes. It has legitmate recreational benefits for some folks, too.

Legalize it, already.

[slampoet]

27. I have witnessed it

Night and day When someone is dying of Multiple Sclerosis.

[pookieblue]

84. a person can die from MS?

Not that I doubt you. Just that I have MS and reading those words just scared the hell out of me.



about the MJ...I read and heard many stories how it helps.

if it were legal here, I would be smoking it myself.

[Philosoraptor]

28. If Politician's kids get high, above the law then why o why can't I?

Somewhere over the rainbow?

[guinivere]

92. Naw, you don't have to go that far.

It's available on this side of the rainbow too. :smoke:

[Sammy Pepys]

29. I don't know....

But I tend to think about it this way:

1) If marijuana were exceptionally effective in some medicianl area, it probably would've been legalized for such use already.

2) While I am a proponent for making marijuana legal, I think a lot of folks more active in that cause see medicianl marijuana as little more than a convenient way of doing that.

[jbnow]

51. Are you kidding?

The only ones denying it has beneficial effects is the government and anti-drug crowd.

Studies have only been allowed here in recent years and some older studies were also skewed by bad pot. (By that I mean low quality, leaves and stem rather than just bud and so on) Studies leave no doubt.

A lot of folks active in the cause might be sincere. If you have one someone use it for things nothing else had helped and with fewer side effects it would make you an advocate.

If someone you loved was wasting away until they tried pot and could eat again and gained some strength and energy despite chemo you would be an advocate forever.
Same thing if you saw someone with tremors so bad they couldn't feed themselves until they used pot and their life was so changed...

If you saw it in someone you loved you would think "This is crazy, no one should have to suffer or face arrest for this"

[Greyhound]

55. Upon what do you base your belief in point number 1)?

I think you should look a little more closely at the history of pot in amerika. The only reason it is illegal is for corporations and law enforcement organizations to make $billions$.

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

30. um.... definite maybe

Medicinal Weed, sure why not I guess. Weeds a good time for anyone, if your sick, dieing and in pain why go through the same hassle everyone else does to get ahold of the stuff right. You've been through enough.

[Liberal Veteran]

31. I know for a fact it does.

When I first was diagnosed with AIDS, I was down to 110lbs and just starting meds and recovering from pneumonia and used marijuana to jumpstart my appetite and help deal with the initial side effects I had from the medication.

It worked wonders for my appetite and my mood until I was healthy again.

[AlienGirl]

32. Beating the nausea without compazine side effects?

When I was in radiation and chemo, I was on a whopping dose of the tranquilizer compazine so I wouldn't throw up from the treatment. I would take my compazine pill in the morning, go to the clinic, be given an IV dose of another anti-nausea drug (also with sedating properties), then chemo, then radiation, then go home and sleep...and sleep. I was conscious for only a few hours a day, and even while conscious I was pretty sedated.

If I had been able to fight the nausea with something less sedating, I might have been able to clean house well enough to hold my failing marriage together. (Well, probably not, because I'm still a flake when I'm conscious, but...you get the point.)

Tucker

[Cameron27]

56. zofran was better for n/v than compazine

marijuana would be an excellent choice for combatting nausea & vomiting induced by chemo & radiation. we used marinol with no real success at all.

[KyuzoGator]

33. Yes, without any fraction of a doubt. nt

[MamaBear]

34. Yes.

Deponent further sayeth not. ;)

[negativenihil]

35. 100% Yes!

And i speak from personal experience. Not only does it help to keep my asthma in check(yes, i know this is hard to believe, but THC seems to relax the bronchial tubes...), as well as some other misc issues i don't care to share.

In any case, 100% yes.

[Saphire]

36. it helps with my restless leg syndrom..so yes.

[kentuck]

37. It has a positive economic impact...

It has been found that people eat more when they smoke marijuana. So, they have to buy more food. Therefore, they have to buy more food which helps the economy... :)

[dogday]

38. Yes

Between the FDA ruling that it has no medical benefits, and the federal government's ruling to convict anyone using, even in states that allow... I would say there is a strong agenda here to curtail other states from passing favorable pot laws....

[JuniperLea]

64. See my #63, dogday...

It's all about the money... like everything else.

[fed-up]

40. I KNOW pot works for my sister's MS muscle spasms w/o side effects nt

[Viva_La_Revolution]

62. My Mom's too

It took two years of my brother and I badgering her to try it. Finally one night we were both there, heard her moaning in the other room, walked in and put the pipe in her hand. She now has a little stash of her own, we even bought her a dugout for her birthday that year. :)

[deaniac21]

69. .

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13625.html#adverse_effects_of_marijuana

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. eom

[nonconformist]

42. 100% YES. nt

[Ksec]

44. I do.

I believe doctors are undermedicating pain in this country. Too many are worried about being put in jail for prescribing needed meds. If a person is in pain, give him meds. Hooch included.

[Joey Liberal]

45. Yes n/t

[JVS]

47. I think it has perfectly legitimate recreational benefits

[Greyhound]

48. Of course it does. It has been used safely for 1000's of years.

The only reason it was ever outlawed, was to allow certain campaign contributors to make billions, and it is the only reason it is still outlawed.

[spanone]

49. They can kill you with chemo, but you can't smoke a joint.

It's all about the big pharma companies profits, it ain't about medicinal benefits. These companies are huge contributors to political futures.

[dysfunctional press]

52. absolutely. as an arthritic chronic pain sufferer- i KNOW it does.

nt

[otohara]

54. Yes

a mom of a friend used to put pot in olive oil - let it sit for a very long time and used topically for pain.

Many herbs have multiple healing agents - there's no reason to think marijuana is any different.

[Jawja]

57. Best thing I know of

for a migraine. :thumbsup: :smoke:

edited for spelling.

[terrya]

59. Absolutely, positively, unequivocally yes.

My father passed away from cancer 3 years ago. I KNOW he would have benefited from medical marijuana. Without a doubt.

[Beaverhausen]

60. yes

[JuniperLea]

63. Absolutely yes... without a doubt

I've seen it work wonders for people with AIDS, MS and cancer. It is also beneficial for high blood pressure and glaucoma.

The drug companies could never be able to pull the wool over our eyes and charge outrageous prices for "manufactured" Marijuana because we already know it grows so easily. They can't control it. They don't want us to fully know its benefits.

Same old story.

[dogday]

68. Protecting their interest, in this case the Pharmaceutical

Industry who can manufacture a pill for $32.00 dollars a piece, when you could smoke a good dubie and get the same effect for a couple of bucks....

Between the FDA announcement that weed has no medicinal properties, and the Congressional decision to prosecute anyone who has weed, even in states that allow it, set up the boundaries for other states who wish to assert their rights...

Voters in these states vote for these laws, this is the will of the people... Undermining State's Rights.. Not a very good idea on their part....

[hiphopnation]

67. mos def

n/t

[pointblank]

71. Stress is one of the number one killers

Marijuana relieves stress...so yes!

[JNelson6563]

74. I know it does

:toast:

[mwb970]

77. I forget. (n/t)

[nadinbrzezinski]

79. Yes

but taht is science, not politics

[Dees]

80. I hope so.....eom

[ljm2002]

81. Yes, and not only that...

...there is absolutely no reason on God's green earth not to legalize it anyway. It is one of the most benign recreational substances around (I hesitate to put the moniker of "drug" on it -- in my lexicon, drugs are refined, concentrated substances). If the complaint is the smoke, well as we all know, that is not the only way to ingest it.

Geez Louise, we do live in a paternalistic state. In fact it is worse even than that -- because the motive is not to protect us from ourselves, but to protect profits -- for the drug industry, the paper industry, and the prison industry.

Pffft.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

82. It's A No Brainer. Of Course It Does. Far Safer Than Most Meds Too.

[RagAss]

83. I'm no Doctor.......who knows...all I know is by slamming the door

on legalizing pot years ago....the devils came through the backdoor in this country....crack..meth...ecstasy..and who knows what's next......but it
can't be good....

[mdmc]

85. da munchies

guaranteed!

[Pastiche423]

86. Yes

I am living proof.

[Blue_In_AK]

87. Good replacement for Ambien. n/t

[misternormal]

88. Yes... Proven Medical Uses...

Just ask anyone who has used it while on Chemo... They'll tell ya.

[sweetheart]

90. The medical argument is a ruse

The argument has to do with freedom. You are free to smoke a plant if you want to,
That is a natural unenumerated right from a constitution printed on hemp paper.

The sickness is a social disease, of false moralism based on group-think consensus of
violence and police/prisons being a solution to ANYTHING. The message about drugs is
simple, let people be free like in the constitution. Let states rights dictate local
norms if need be, but the supreme court should be defending the natural right.

If you like to take cannabis for whatever your reasons, and you want to call that
medicinal, then that's your business, and why can't we just respect your choice?
You choose to take cannabis, i can respect that, what simplicity. What laws have
done to pervert the non-event irony of a agricultural plant...

[Vidar]

93. yes

[LosinIt]

95. yes, for my migraines

[BlueStorm]

96. I suffer from fibromyalgia

as well as bi-polar. I am on numerous medications for both. The meds for my fibro don't do jack and the meds for my bi-polar constantly keep me tired, thus aggravating the fatique of fibro. The other day I was watching the TV with my mom at her dialysis center and there was an ad that came up about two drugs one of which is Seroquel, a drug I take for my bi-polar. Apparently if you have diabetes, been in a diabetic coma or any of the two other diseases listed you can join up on a class action lawsuit or some shit like that. How wonderful that the drugs that are being made now can actually give you a disease. I am borderline diabetic though I think it's a combination of the meds and my dietary habits along with genetics.

Going back on topic, I occasionally smoke pot to help with the fibro pain and also to help me sleep better.

My mom and stepdad are advocates for the legalization of marijuana.

Karla

Edit: www.norml.org NORML is a great site for all of your marijuana info needs.

[WindRavenX]

98. there is absolutely an abundence of scientific proof

There is no reason why mj is labeled as a dangerous substance, no reason at all...

[Zhade]

99. Scientific studies prove it does, so yes.

Only idiots and the ignorant wrongly believe otherwise.

[killbotfactory]

103. Yes, The FDA approves marijuana derivitive drugs.

If someone found a way to patent and profit from marijuana, they would approve it.

[readmoreoften]

105. Obviously, if 75 year old cancer victims are risking jail to get it. /nt

[Philosoraptor]

106. I've certainly never heard of a single case of it making anyone sick.

Which ought to tell you something