Medical Marijuana: A Better Alternative for Ostomy Patients?

Last night at the Willie Nelson concert in Boise, ID, my three daughters and I signed a petition to legalize cannabis in our state. I did ask if I could "sample before signing"...ha ha. The concert was great and sold out days before. We had good seats. As Willie sang, a lovely smoky cloud wafted above the crowd.

Great topic! It does have its benefits and is not toxic like some meds really are. Worth a shot. Works for me.

PrimeBoy, we all puffed and didn't inhale! I always enjoy your responses.

Jeez. I wish I had parents like you. It seems strange to me that alcohol was legalized and pot has always been taboo. Seems it should be the other way around. Anyway, Canadians and Americans are getting closer to seeing the light... I hope.

I was born in the early sixties - and weed was very popular. I believe it's better than any Rx out there. It helps with depression, nausea, and poor appetite. I believe in it so much.

When I was hospitalized for septic shock - I was given a med to help with my appetite - as I had an emergency ileostomy and was malnourished. The med I was given had many hormones in it, and after being 10 years into menopause, I started bleeding again. My OB/GYN said it was the meds. Weed has never done that to me - so use it, people.

Marijuana got started in the US with a bad rap: reefer madness. People falsely understood that pot led to mental disorders and social maladjustment. Not a problem as long as happy days were allowed back with the repeal of prohibition. Years later, pot was associated with the anti-war movement and Timothy Leary's counter-culture as expressed by "tune in, turn on, and drop out." The whole protest scene along with the drug scene were written off as anti-social and anti-American. Over time, however, social protests, particularly those relating to racial justice, sexual equity, and the peace movement, all gained some respectable ground in the arena of human progress. Drug use, however, remained sub-rosa for artists and anathema for students.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta's recent documentary on marijuana is going to have a bombshell effect on popular misbeliefs about the drug. We need to shake off the shackles of past thinking by exposing outdated ideas to the light of critical analysis and common sense. The next great breakthrough in scientific research will be our understanding of how the brain works and what it needs for proper development. Clearly, what it does not need is age-old certitudes blocking progress at every turn.

On a personal note, I think the brain is actually "the final frontier," as Captain Kirk would say. We already know intelligence is multidimensional and uniquely present in each individual. Some drugs might even have dramatic impacts on our ability to learn in different modes. But progress is grindingly slow, and I am afraid the villain here is caution and tradition. Myth Busters like Dr. Gupta will hurry the process along. Posts like those in this thread will help create a climate where researchers can boldly examine data and fearlessly present unpopular findings. I think the world is on the brink of unbelievable advances in medical sciences, and I plan to stick around and see it.

Such seriously great posts in here!...........and our Primeboy just hit a grand slam with his last post!! ...Certainly sums it up, most perfectly worded and straight up with many highlighted points.

Well........let's hope for faster evolution with government, modern science, society awareness,.........sometimes we need to look behind us to find the answers to lost knowledge and grasp a better understanding for the benefit of 'future' ........

Totally agree! It has been used for hundreds of years by human beings for its medicinal (and other) properties. I'd rather try something like that all day instead of having to put the poison of Humira and Cimzia and Remicade in my body like they want me to. I just can't see the rationale of making you sick to make you well.

And honestly, people with Crohn's know all about not eating - no appetite - food tasting like ash because you know how much it's going to hurt you after you eat it - nausea - all of it - and marijuana was the only way I could alleviate that in all these years. It really does work and it won't give you lymphoma or a life-threatening infection. The only thing it will give you is the munchies, which we sorely need to have.

I've switched from chemo to Rick Simpson oil. The chemo wasn't working and it was ruining what time I have left, so I figured the oil will at least let me live happily till the end and might even cure me. I've had a lot of chemo and surgery, and I'm in stage IV, so the oil has to rebuild my body back up to a point where it can then resolve the cancer. Mostly, I feel normal and good, and my body appears to be regaining health. My hair and skin haven't been thriving for years, and now they are, and I have the energy of two, though I can crash and burn pretty easily and absolutely must rest when tired, or I end up in pain that is mild but is telling me I'm not resting enough and can't recover if I don't. I appreciate the reality check since I have the type A cancer personality, lol.

I find it interesting that cancer cells have forgotten how to die. That's why they take over the body, and if I am stressed, I can stay awake for days without wanting to really. I have always stayed awake as long as I can, not wanting to miss anything, even watching TV till I fall asleep if I can find something worth watching. I am attempting to cooperate with the THC and eat and sleep more regularly because I do want to raise my kids and see my grandchildren and help babysit them and make parenting easy for my kids. But frankly, if I'm going to die, I'm going to do so taking the medicine of my choosing. I have the right to be as happy and as good feeling as I can be, and I haven't had so much as a parking ticket in twenty years. I'm a tax-paying, cooperative, and even pleasant and helpful citizen that volunteers in my kids' schools, feeds stray animals, and wants the best innovations and products our marketplace can come up with. I don't ever deliberately hurt people's feelings, I respect marriage, I don't molest kids. My happiness comes from good, clean living surroundings and people that are well-meaning and seeking their own independent happiness while happy to be courteous and respectful or oblivious of me. I just can't find a thing wrong with being me. I can't in good conscience find any flaw in the way I live, and I ingest quite a bit of THC quite often all day, every day. I prefer ingestion; it is more discreet and very easy to take no matter what's going on around me. I don't need to set aside time or have strict privacy, and there's no chance of my kids getting it into their system through the air. Now that the medical people are studying THC more seriously, they are finding that the age when you first start ingesting does have an impact on developing brains. The impact is demonstrable within the white mass of the brain, and there is peer-accepted theory that what the white mass differences are demonstrating is a decreased or at least slower processing of information in order to reach conclusions. I personally am open to the idea that it is demonstrating slower and therefore more accurate processing of information, given that I personally was exposed to THC regularly within the ages studied (I was twelve, actually), and I have an IQ of 152. That's a very low (very low) scoring genius. I'm not pushing that envelope at all with my kids, however. Like me, if they go to pot, it will be another kid that turns them on to it, and like me, I expect that all the other stuff out there will not be good enough in comparison...pills, powders, alcohols, they just come with too many consequences: hangovers, sexual indiscretions, not remembering what happened, overdoses. Who needs to risk all that when there's pot that doesn't cause any of that stuff, and it is just as or even more fun? I am responsible and happy with this natural product, and without it, I am responsible and stressed, and I don't eat and sleep and simply sit the heck down enough. No brainer which one I pick!

One other thing...I had to do five months of 30mg sustained-release morphine during my cancer care, and wean myself off the morphine by myself after my surgery. I could really see the difference in my mental processing after the morphine; it was distressing. I was forgetting words to end almost half my sentences for about a year after being completely off the morphine (I spent six weeks weaning myself off; it was a bit touchy). I haven't been doing that for the past month or so; I seem to be coming out of it. I am quite relieved; my mind has always been my best friend and greatest entertainment, actually. Nice to have my thought processes improving again, even though I'm ingesting regularly! Put that in your pipe and smoke it, anybody!

Oh yeah, and I have a permanent ostomy from the cancer. LOL, that's my membership card and why I'm relevant to this thread. And I just love that I can pop in with my ostomy, and nobody here cares. It's old news, and everybody has one, had one, or will be getting one. Yay! I'll take a thread and a topic of anybody's choosing once a week and give it some thought and try to answer either happily, intelligently, or happily hilariously. Either way works for me when I'm looking for something to read and with someone/thing to relate.

THANKS!

Hello patri.  What a fantastic post!!  Not a lot more I can say except that I enjoyed it so much I think you ought to write a book.

Best wishes

Bill

I agree with everything PB said. I received a card 90 days ago. The meds I've been taking the past 4 years since my surgery have thrown me into renal failure and liver failure and caused my high blood pressure. My doctor said my liver can no longer process these high-risk medications. I try to wean myself off but the pain, anxiety, depression, and nausea are just too much for me. I either feel like I'm about to vomit or I hurt so bad I can barely walk.

Anyway, the dispensary closed in my hometown, so I have to go to Albuquerque to get my first dose?, box? baggie?... whatever they call it. If it works, I'll apply for a grow card. I'm like a lot of others here, very conservative and afraid of law enforcement, as well as feeling uncomfortable about using it. I have friends who have spent time in prison back in the 70's for using it. I see how that prison time, not the weed, ruined their lives. They still use the weed. Thankfully, it is now legal in my state, so I can try it without feeling so terrified.

If I don't get off these meds, I will need either a liver or kidney transplant in 5-7 years. That scares the hell out of me. I'm even too scared to get a reversal, not that any doctor would perform one now with my organs in the shape they are in. My doctor is desperately trying to hold me at Stage 3 in the kidney disease so I don't have to start dialysis. I eat what I'm supposed to and have lost 33 pounds since April to help reduce my ALT count and the size of my liver which is over twice what it should be. I take such a high dose of Lisinopril to control my hypertension that my hair is falling out and I'm always so tired.

So I am going to take the step and make the drive to Albuquerque next week. Driving long distances is almost impossible because of the pain of sitting for long periods, but I feel I have no choice. I am going to die from organ failure (not due to the colostomy, but due to the meds prescribed to me to help with the cascading complications since the colostomy) if I don't do something and fast. Every time I take a pill, my liver starts pinging and swelling. I can literally feel it with my fingertips. I'll let you all know how it turns out. I will not be smoking it (have never smoked a day in my life and the thought makes me gag) but love salads and brownies, so here goes. Thank you for opening this forum. I've been debating what to do and your posts made me finalize my decision. Loretta

I think it's great!! I live in Alabama, so there is no chance in hell it will ever become legal!!! Right on, bro!! LOL!

I watched the Weed on YouTube and found it to be very interesting. When my Crohn's was in a raging flare-up, it was my daughter who told me I should try weed. She was even willing to find a place to buy it for me, even though she doesn't use! Never did, although I sometimes think about it for my chronic pain in my hands... Crohn's-related arthritis...

It really helps me as well. But I don't know if ostomy/ileostomy qualifies here in Canada. It definitely is something to look into.

Hi there. Just to let you know, my ostomy was one of several reasons my doctor signed the necessary papers to obtain medical pot... but that's here in BC.

DRUGS.



Some may say one loses hope

when once one chooses to use dope.

Others take a different stance

for them it will their lives enhance.



And yet there is another view

which stands somewhere between these two.

This says, some of the drugs do harm

whilst others have a certain charm.



Our world has come to think of drugs

as being organised by thugs.

But drug-taking takes many forms

and may not fit to any norms.



It's hard to tell which drugs are good

even though we think we should.

Some drugs are legal, some are not

but that depends from where they're got.



When the drugs are medical

they may seem quite ethical.

But if the drugs are from the street

they're often seen as bittersweet.



So what's the point and what's the aim

if the drugs are much the same.

If not a case of worst or best

then maybe that of self-interest.



Talk of drugs can be emotive

but maybe money is the motive.

Perhaps it's just a huge charade

for those who profit from this trade.



                                                B. Withers 2013

Once again Bill makes his point
Regarding choice to smoke a joint
Still undecided of my view, hence
It seems I sit upon the fence

Staring down upon you all
Hoping that I will not fall
While pondering all the pros and cons
Will pot disrupt my brain's neurons

Though those who know me doubt so much
This feisty attitude, it may not touch
Yet, ...possibly a little toke
Might settle this gal among the smoke

Now before y'all roll me a big fat doob
And I end up splattered across YouTube
This one more thing I really must say
What I want for us all is a happier day
............and may it stay...........

Wounded Doe on pot (RC)



A big hello to wounded doe

a pillar of the status quo.

Who has not yet made up her mind

to leave tradition far behind.



She questions everything she's got

suggesting it's the same with pot.

And whilst I would not moralise

this course of course could be quite wise.



As she explores I'm sure she'll find

that pot will not destroy her mind.

And it may well be apposite

to say that it's the opposite.



Once she starts her exploration

and she takes in moderation.

She'll see with taking cannabis

there is no deep and dark abyss.



The scary stories they put out

are there to sow the seeds of doubt.

They'll try to sell you other drugs

because they take us all for mugs.



They would want you to eschew

but you can't trust their point of view.

Their motivation's clear to see

they don't want you thinking free.



What they want is full control

of your mind and of your soul.

What they say is balderdash

to try to pry you from your cash.



                                B. Withers 3013

I see you and Bill are having lots of fun. Anyway, today I discovered a new delivery system for marijuana. It is called a tincture. Two or three squirts under the tongue, hold for 30 seconds then swallow. 15 minutes later... whammo blammo. No inhaling or coughing or the dreaded skunk smell.

A study has just been completed in Israel that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that medical marijuana is excellent for the treatment of Crohn's Disease. It increases appetite, elevates stress, lowers pain levels, and helps fight depression. Its use put the majority of the control group in remission, and the others had drastic reductions in symptoms. Certainly sounds like a good idea to me. Certainly doesn't sound like "Devil Weed"! The only problem I see is how to administer controlled doses.

Cool, but I think you meant "alleviates" stress, not "elevates".

I have been seriously researching more about everything we've all posted and the evidence that weed has its powerful medical benefits for numerous ailments and serious issues. I am pretty much sold on the idea. I don't think it would take too much coaxing and I will be sitting next to Chong rolling one.... LOL.... Kidding aside, this has really been a very interesting thread. I try to be so careful about my choices and what I decide to put into my body. I wish I would have given more careful research to the high dollar medications that were pushed on me in the past by my doctors. In my personal individual experience with them, it has done so much damage that cannot be reversed. And in comparison, weed is in fact ruling as a much safer choice, for sure. We know there is no cure for Crohn's, yet, just as there are many other situations for lack of cures or proper meds that make our lives more miserable in the process of trying to 'help' us....

I have jumped 'off the fence', my friends, and I stand with you on this... even though I have still not made the move to use, I have a much greater understanding of the natural herb and its benefits... and therefore I'm on the side, strongly so at this point, that legalization should be a must...

Glad to hear you fell off the fence. As for Tommy Chong, you would have to come here to Vancouver to do it. He lives here.

I have a friend, Doe, who has done much research concerning the medical use of marijuana, and she tells me she feels weed is more beneficial in other ways than smoking it; for example, she juices live plants which she has a medical license (in California) to grow on her land. Others I know put it in baked goods.

Any time smoke is used as the method of delivery, you need to consider the effects of smoke on the respiratory system.

That is exactly why I use a tincture.

I'm so there with you on that one with the drug therapy for Crohn's......they want to put me on either Remicade, Humira, or Cimzia - none of which I've ever taken and I have no experience with them at all - but the research I've done is scary.    I haven't yet had a single doctor who can explain to me the rationale of making you sick to make you well.    I guess it will be my own decision whether or not to take them, but man is it a hard one........

I live in Texas and believe that the use of medical marijuana will never be made legal in my state within my lifetime. All I can do is vote -- and hope that it will be readily available and financially accessible to people like myself. Although I have never tried marijuana, I am insatiable in my curiosity about almost everything and would like to know if I can benefit from it.

I will not "grow my own" unless it is legalized. I suffer from the physical pain, debilitation, and psychological stress of several physical illnesses as well as the side effects of the medications I am taking. In addition to an ostomy, Crohn's Disease, Arthritis, and the debilitating pain of nerve damage, I have no relief or effective way of controlling either the pain of my conditions or side effects of my many medications.

I don't know if I would benefit from marijuana, but I would sure like to find out!! However, I am a mother and cannot afford the consequences of breaking the "law."

Suggestions? I do vote!

LOL!!! ...........Is he really?? ....aww, and here I thought he was hangin' in Wisconsin, LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDE_Qn2zihA

Let's not forget WA state, where not only is it medically available, it is soon to be commercially available for those who would prefer not to get a "green card.

Speaking of WA state, a university grad (UBC) recently tried to cross the border from Canada to the US at Peace Arch and was refused entry simply because she admitted (stupidly) she had smoked pot in the past. The citizens of WA can smoke it legally but a Canadian cannot. Go figure.