Medical Marijuana and Chronic Back Pain

Medical Marijuana and Chronic Back Pain

Chronic Back Pain is one of the most common illnesses seen by physicians. Almost everyone has back pain at some time in their adult life. Back pain occurs most commonly between the ages of 30 and 50 due to the aging process and due to a more sedentary lifestyle that begins in this age group. The pain can be neuropathic or nociceptive. Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to a nerve. This kind of pain is felt as a sharp stabbing or burning. Nociceptive pain is caused by disease to the tissues outside of the nerves. It is felt as a dull ache or sense of pressure. Examples of these kinds of pain are a pinched nerve (neuropathic pain), and arthritis (nociceptive pain). It is frequent for patients to have both types of pain at once, called mixed pain. Fifty percent of patients with back pain have experienced some type of trauma, such as a sports injury or motor vehicle accident. But the other fifty percent have no known cause of their back pain. Most patients who seek care for their back pain will undergo some type of evaluation that may include x-rays, CT scan, and/or MRI; occasionally some patients will have a myelogram (dye injected into the spinal cord area followed by x-rays) or bone scan (dye injected into the blood which will then concentrate in an abnormal area of bone). Many times no obvious cause of the pain is found. Patients who have acute back pain will often improve or recover in six to eight weeks. Patients with acute pain occurring more than three times in one year or who experience longer episodes of back pain that interfere with daily activities (e.g., sleeping, sitting, standing, walking, bending, riding in or driving a car) are more likely to develop a chronic back condition. Sometimes these chronic back pain patients will have pain, numbness or tingling in their legs. Some patients with chronic pain do not respond to conventional therapy and have to find a way to live with their pain. Physicians have found that living with chronic pain is extremely difficult and can lead to opioid dependency (addiction), anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The Treatment of Choice Medical marijuana is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice for many chronic back pain patients. Conventional treatment therapies such as over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications – NSAIDS – (such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, or aspirin) can be helpful but can cause side effects such as stomach upset, nausea, gastric bleeding, and ulcers. Prescription medications like other NSAIDS (like Celebrex) or opiates (like Vicodin or Norco) can be effective at treating pain but can also cause many adverse and unacceptable side effects. The addictive potential of opiates is very concerning to patients who struggle with chronic pain and need relief; it is this concern that leads patients to consider using medical marijuana, a very effective treatment for chronic back pain. In 1975, scientists began studying THC in cancer patients and found that it was a very effective pain reliever without significant or toxic side effects. Other studies followed and the conclusion was the same: marijuana safely and effectively treats chronic pain with little to no side effects. No nausea, no stomach upset, no ulcers, no addiction – many patients jokingly only refer to an increased appetite (”munchies”) the only “bad” side effect. Marijuana side effects of elevated mood, improved sleep, and reduced anxiety are welcomed by most patients and considered beneficial to having a good quality of life when you suffer daily with chronic pain. How can medical marijuana help your chronic back pain? • You will reduce or eliminate pain, allowing you to continue being active • You will reduce or eliminate the use of potentially addictive medications or dangerous medication side effects • You will reduce or eliminate the anxiety, depression, and insomnia associated with chronic pain • You will feel better knowing that you are using a natural treatment for the pain • You will have better quality of life Evidence for Medical Marijuana In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued an evidence-based report on medical marijuana. It listed conditions that may be helped by cannabinoids, including neuropathic pain, acute pain, spinal cord injury, post operative pain, cancer pain, multiple sclerosis, nausea and appetite control among others. The report says that discovery of a cannabinoid receptor in the parts of the nervous system that detect and control pain perception means that marijuana is a very promising source of pain relieving medications in the future. The IOM found that cannabinoids are capable of giving mild to moderate pain relief comparable to codeine. In one study cited in the report, 10 milligrams of THC (marijuana's active ingredient) yielded the same amount of pain relief as 60 milligrams of codeine. Side effects were similar with both drugs, but the THC seemed to be more sedating than the codeine. The patients taking the THC reported a greater sense of well-being and less anxiety

Smoking Medical Marijuana May Decrease MS Symptoms

Smoking medical marijuana could help relieve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a small new study suggests. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, found that people with MS who smoked cannabis had decreased pain and muscle tightness, called spasticity. However, the researchers warned that smoking the cannabis also led to problems with focus and attention. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included 30 people — 63 percent of them women — with an average age of 50. More than half the participants needed aids for walking, and 20 percent of them were in wheelchairs. Some of the study participants were randomly assigned to have the cannabis, while others received a placebo. At the end of the study, researchers found that people who smoked the cannabis had lower numbers on a spasticity scale, as well as a 50 percent decrease in pain scores. But researchers found that the people who smoked the cannabis had decreased cognitive functioning, in that they scored lower on a test that measured their focus. This effect was only seen for a short term. “Smoked cannabis was superior to placebo in symptom and pain reduction in participants with treatment-resistant spasticity,” researchers wrote in the study. “Future studies should examine whether different doses can result in similar beneficial effects with less cognitive impact.” Just last year, a study in the journal Neurology also showed that multiple sclerosis patients who smoked medical marijuana have a doubled risk of developing cognitive impairments. “Whatever benefits patients feel they might be getting from smoking marijuana might come at the cost of further cognitive compromise,” the researcher of that study, Dr. Anthony Feinstein, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, told WebMD. Marijuana use is currently legal for medical purposes in 16 states and Washington, D.C., the New York Times reported. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the brain and spinal cord, according to the National Institutes of Health. It occurs when the myelin sheath, which is responsible for protecting nerve fibers, is damaged, causing symptoms of cognitive problems, muscle weakness, disturbed vision, strange touch sensations and balance and coordination problems. While there’s no cure for the condition, current treatments for multiple sclerosis attacks include taking drugs called corticosteroids and undergoing plasma exchange (where blood cells and plasma are mechanically separated), according to the Mayo Clinic. Other drugs and even physical therapy can help reduce symptoms or even slow the disease down.

Marijuana Prohibition: Required or Ridiculous?

Recently, the Huffington Post ran an article stating that according to more than 300 economists, the U.S. government could potentially save $13.7 billion dollars by not enforcing the prohibition and taxing it like tobacco and alcohol. As someone who has always been pro-legalization, I found this interesting and saw it as a ray of light through the thunderstorm that is this ridiculous marijuana prohibition. So, if it could potentially save the States billions of dollars, what about Canada? According to the 2009 Angus Reid poll, 53% of Canadians were in favour of legalizing cannabis. Obviously, possession, trafficking and growing of marijuana is illegal in Canada. Simple possession ( anything under 30 grams ) can result in a maximum $1000 fine or six months in jail, and trafficking can result in anything from a slap on the wrist and a fine to jail time. Drug prohibition in Canada started in 1908 with the Opium Act. It forbade the sale, manufacture and importation of opium for anything other than medical use, and it later expanded to include morphine and cocaine in 1911. It wasn’t until 1923, when the Opium and Narcotics Act came in, that cannabis was added to Confidential Restricted List. While it was criminalized in 1923, it didn’t start getting attention until the 1930s, and the first arrest wasn’t made until 1937. Even in the next two or three decades, it was barely a blip on police radar. Between 1946 and 1966 cannabis only accounted for 2% of drug arrests in Canada. In 2002, Jean Chretien’s Liberal government introduced a bill that would have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Possession of a half ounce or less would have only resulted in a fine, and those possessing up to a full ounce would be either ticketed or charged. Up to seven plants for personal use would have also become a summary offence, but any more than that would have a more severe punishment. It looked like the bill might have been able to pass, too, but it died when Parliament prorogued. Not only that, but the DEA supposedly put a lot of pressure on our government, threatening to slow down border-crossings along the border just in case someone decided to try to smuggle our legal weed into their country. As if that wasn’t happening already. An identical bill was introduced again in November 2004 by Paul Martin’s Liberals, but it got shot down too. So should it be illegal? There are reports of cannabis use for medicinal purposes as far back as 2727 BC in China and apparently even Queen Victoria used cannabis to relieve her menstrual cramps. In 1937 it is criminalized in the United States, and by 1965 over 1 million Americans had tried it, and that number jumped to 24 million by 1972. Now, marijuana is America’s number one cash crop, raking in around $36 billion per year. In 1996, California introduced Proposition 215, making marijuana legal for medicinal use, and since then around 14 other states, and Canada, have followed. Of course, it’s not as easy as just flipping a switch and legalizing it. There are a few things that would need to be considered: what about the price? The quality? It makes sense that the illegality of the substance has influence on the price because of the risk factor. If it was legal, would the price go down? Would the government employ growers that are already in operation? And will the quality increase or decrease if the government gets their hands on it? Recreational marijuana users and those who need compassionate care services ( medical marijuana – for more information, visit www.medicalmarijuanacure.com ) obviously want it to be legalized, and I would have to say that I agree with them. Sure, weed is a drug, but so are alcohol and tobacco. People are getting smarter since the “Reefer Madness” days, where everyone was afraid that one toke of weed would turn their poor innocent children into raving homicidal maniacs. Anyone who has ever ingested the drug knows how false those claims are. Marijuana is not physiologically addictive like alcohol or cocaine; it can be habit-forming but normally users do not report withdrawal symptoms like those of alcohol or other narcotics. Also, to those of you that say that if it’s legal, more people will use it, I have this to say: In Holland, where marijuana is legal, it was reported that once it became legal, usage of marijuana and hard drugs dropped significantly. As it is, there is practically unlimited access to weed whether it’s legal or not, so people are going to get it no matter what. If it was legalized, the soft drug trade would stop feeding organized crime, stop congesting our prison system with nonviolent offenders and make obtaining the drug safe and risk-free, especially for those looking for compassionate care. The way I see it, marijuana is just like alcohol. Some people come home and relax on the couch with a beer, and some do it with a joint. It has even been proven that alcohol does more damage to your body than marijuana does, and there have been no recorded deaths that could be directly attributed to using marijuana. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I would rather be in a room full of stoned people than a room full of drunk people. You never hear of a marijuana user getting high and coming home and beating his wife and children; the most damage he is likely to do is to his refrigerator. So what do you guys think? Should it be legalized, decriminalized, or should the laws stay the way they are?

Did you know? Little known facts in the Medical Marijuana Debate

1.Marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, meaning it is considered to have a "high potential for abuse," "no currently accepted medical use," and "a lack of accepted safety." Rescheduling marijuana to the less restrictive Schedule II or III (45 KB) remains a contentious issue. 2.The University of Mississippi has grown marijuana (including a placebo with virtually no THC) for US government-approved research since 1968. Each year the university grows 1.5 acres, 6.5 acres, or none, depending upon demand. 3.The first cannabis-based prescription medicine, Sativex, was launched in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2010. Sativex is a mouth spray approved to treat spasticity in patients with Multiple Sclerosis. 4.Eight of the 10 states that had legalized medical marijuana by 2006 saw a decrease in teen use of marijuana from 1999 to 2006. 5.The states with the three highest possession limits among the 16 states with legal medical marijuana are Oregon (24 plants), California (18 plants), and New Mexico (16 plants). 6.Smoked or inhaled marijuana takes only a few minutes to reach the brain, where a series of cellular reactions occur that ultimately produce the "high" feeling. When eating or drinking marijuana, this process can take up to an hour. 7.When swallowing marijuana (in teas, brownies, etc.), the main active ingredient, Delta-9-THC, is transformed by the liver into the more psychoactively powerful Delta-11-THC. 8.In 1978 the US government started the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program. Although closed for new patients in 1991, it still supplies 320-360 marijuana cigarettes monthly to each of the four seriously ill patients remaining in the program. 9.According to FDA data obtained by our filing of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, marijuana was not reported as a primary cause of death at all between Jan. 1, 1997 to June 30, 2005 (the time for which the data were available). 10.The US Department of Justice, in an Oct. 19, 2009 memo, advised federal prosecutors not to target medical marijuana patients whose actions are in compliance with the law in states that have legalized medical marijuana. 11.Marijuana contains over 400 different identifiable chemical constituents, including steroids and Vitamin A. 12.The British Lung Foundation reported in Nov. 2002 that 3-4 marijuana cigarettes a day are as dangerous to the lungs as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day. 13.A UCLA study presented on May 24, 2006 found no association between marijuana and lung cancer, and it suggested that marijuana may even have "some protective effect." 14.Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled on Feb. 12, 2007 that "there is currently an inadequate supply of marijuana available for research purposes." 15.The 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, commissioned by the US government, recommended that under certain narrow conditions marijuana should be medically available to some patients, even though "numerous studies suggest that marijuana smoke is an important risk factor in the development of respiratory disease." Read more about the report's conclusions. If you have any little known, straightforward, and interesting facts that you'd like to share, please contact us. Please include a link or reference to your source.