{"id":1118,"date":"2012-05-20T07:17:19","date_gmt":"2012-05-20T07:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/?p=15975"},"modified":"2012-05-20T07:17:19","modified_gmt":"2012-05-20T07:17:19","slug":"marijuana-and-ms-a-true-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-and-ms-a-true-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana and MS, a true story"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-and-ms-a-true-story\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"193\" height=\"192\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/ms.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"ms\" title=\"ms\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-15981\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/marijuana-and-ms-a-true-story\/attachment\/ms\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15981\" title=\"ms\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/ms.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"192\" \/><\/a>This past week has been an exciting one for medical news on the marijuana front.\u00a0 The Canadian Medical Association Journal published the results of a <a title=\"MS and marijuana study\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/new-study-confirms-benefits-of-marijuana-in-treating-ms-symptoms\/\" target=\"_blank\">small study<\/a> on the effects of marijuana for people who suffer from <a title=\"Multiple Sclerosis defined\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmedhealth\/PMH0001747\/\" target=\"_blank\">Multiple Sclerosis<\/a>.\u00a0 Overall, the study shows that there is some benefit for patients. However, there are several drawbacks to the study. Its small sample size, 30 patients, as well as the inability to fully &#8220;blind&#8221; the patients.\u00a0 A blind study relies on patients not knowing if they are getting actual treatment or a placebo.\u00a0 Because of the &#8220;high&#8221; gained from cannabis use, most patients correctly guessed when they were given the real thing.\u00a0 Drawbacks aside, this is a very important study because it moves forward the idea that cannabis has legitimate medical use.\u00a0 For the most part, evidence in favor of marijuana use has been strictly anecdotal.\u00a0 While those stories can help sway public opinion, it does little to change the minds of the medical and political community. They want incontrovertible evidence, methodically gathered and rigorously tested. This is understandable, but it does nobody any good when these studies have difficulty obtaining funding and patients because Federal laws prohibiting its (schedule 1 substances have no medical value, and that is cannabis&#8217; official classification) use and study are hard to overcome.\u00a0 Despite this, the anecdotes abound, especially in our networked era. As the <a title=\"Testimonials from ASA\" href=\"http:\/\/americansforsafeaccess.org\/article.php?id=4558#testimonial\" target=\"_blank\">stories<\/a> spread, people who suffer will hear them and try marijuana for themselves.\u00a0 Hopefully it helps them and then they become one more reason to change a law and undertake another study.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Claire's story\" href=\"http:\/\/rxmarijuana.com\/Hodges.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Claire Hodges<\/a> is one patient who has MS and opted to try marijuana, despite the legal and medical uncertainties.\u00a0 Claire had no symptoms until her late 20&#8217;s.\u00a0 At this point, stress from her job mounted and her symptoms started to manifest slowly and steadily.\u00a0 This was in the early 1980&#8217;s and detection techniques were not as advanced as they are now.\u00a0 So, Claire was unaware of her disease because of several misdiagnoses.\u00a0 Having traveled through Bangladesh, doctors initially thought she suffered from a rare form of malaria.\u00a0 But it took them over another year to isolate the disease. It was not until after she started showing classic brain tumor symptoms (and had a brain scan) that neurologists were able to diagnose her with Multiple Sclerosis.<\/p>\n<p>There is no cure for MS, only treatments. Some of those are more effective than others, all with varying side effects. Claire&#8217;s doctors first steered her to steroid therapy <a title=\"ACTH\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalmssociety.org\/about-multiple-sclerosis\/what-we-know-about-ms\/treatments\/medications\/acth\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">ACTH<\/a>, Acthar (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone) which stimulates the adrenal cortex gland to secrete cortisol, corticosterone and aldosterone.\u00a0 She was suffering heavily at this point, unable to walk, and still believes that the effects of ACTH were far worse than the disease.\u00a0 It caused acute acne breakouts, weight gain, and irrationality and paranoia (steroid psychosis).\u00a0 She discontinued the ACTH regimen, and after having two children the disease progressed and her symptoms continued to grow worse. As the disease effected her more heavily she began suffering even more. She experienced muscle <a title=\"spacticity\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spasticity\" target=\"_blank\">spasticity<\/a> and pain, incontinence and other bladder issues followed, as well as vision degradation, poor balance, fatigue and more. As she succumbed to more troubles, doctors could only treat the symptoms by offering more prescriptions.\u00a0 She tried <a title=\"Valilum\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmedhealth\/PMH0000556\/\" target=\"_blank\">Valium<\/a> and <a title=\"Temazepam\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmedhealth\/PMH0000808\/\" target=\"_blank\">Temazepam<\/a> for sleeping and muscle pains. Also, as her body became susceptible to infection she was on numerous courses of antibiotics treatment.\u00a0 She found the narcotics to be less than effective and their side effects only served to increase her gloom and depression.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, after exhausting orthodox treatments, Claire looked in to other ways of medicating.\u00a0 Other <a title=\"ASA, MS and marijuana\" href=\"http:\/\/americansforsafeaccess.org\/article.php?id=4558\" target=\"_blank\">friends<\/a> with <a title=\"National MS society + cannabis\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalmssociety.org\/about-multiple-sclerosis\/what-we-know-about-ms\/treatments\/complementary--alternative-medicine\/marijuana\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">MS<\/a> recommended she try cannabis to help with her discomfort.\u00a0 Initially she was uncomfortable with trying it out, so she asked her doctors.\u00a0 None of them were able to give her any promises to its effectiveness, but did calm her fears and said moderate use would most likely not be dangerous.\u00a0 That had to be better than all the dangerous pharmaceuticals she had tried before.\u00a0 Using her network of friends, Claire was forced to illegally obtain marijuana and tried it out.\u00a0 &#8220;The physical effects were almost immediate and extremely liberating.\u00a0 I felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from me.\u00a0 The tension and discomfort in my spine and bladder melted away.\u00a0 I was comfortable with my body for the first time in years, and I slept soundly that night.\u00a0 The next day I was happy, knowing that there was something that would help me with my MS.&#8221;\u00a0 Since then, Claire has been medicating with cannabis regularly, and has been able to rely much less on pharmaceuticals.\u00a0 She grew her own medicine for some time, but stopped because of the fear of being caught with it.\u00a0 So she must continue to purchase her medication illegally unless she moves to a state with a compassionate use laws and proper dispensary system.<\/p>\n<p>Claire&#8217;s testimony, and others like her, help to open the minds of otherwise skeptical people.\u00a0 If it can help her, than it can help other people. These stories are what we need to change the minds of politicians.\u00a0 They need to be convinced that there is strength in compassion, not found in zero tolerance laws.\u00a0 Claire is a strong human being. In spite of her affliction, she has not given up on life; she fights to stay active and productive for herself and her family.\u00a0 Her cause is the cause against superstition and old prejudices, the cause for progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"193\" height=\"192\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/ms.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"ms\" title=\"ms\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-15981\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/marijuana-and-ms-a-true-story\/attachment\/ms\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15981\" title=\"ms\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/ms.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"192\" \/><\/a>This past week has been an exciting one for medical news on the marijuana front.\u00a0 The Canadian Medical Association Journal published the results of a <a title=\"MS and marijuana study\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/new-study-confirms-benefits-of-marijuana-in-treating-ms-symptoms\/\" target=\"_blank\">small study<\/a> on the effects of marijuana for people who suffer from <a title=\"Multiple Sclerosis defined\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmedhealth\/PMH0001747\/\" target=\"_blank\">Multiple Sclerosis<\/a>.\u00a0 Overall, the study shows that there is some benefit for patients. However, there are several drawbacks to the study. Its small sample size, 30 patients, as well as the inability to fully &#8220;blind&#8221; the patients.\u00a0 A blind study relies on patients not knowing if they are getting actual treatment or a placebo.\u00a0 Because of the &#8220;high&#8221; gained from cannabis use, most patients correctly guessed when they were given the real thing.\u00a0 Drawbacks aside, this is a very important study because it moves forward the idea that cannabis has legitimate medical use.\u00a0 For the most part, evidence in favor of marijuana use has been strictly anecdotal.\u00a0 While those stories can help sway public opinion, it does little to change the minds of the medical and political community. They want incontrovertible evidence, methodically gathered and rigorously tested. This is understandable, but it does nobody any good when these studies have difficulty obtaining funding and patients because Federal laws prohibiting its (schedule 1 substances have no medical value, and that is cannabis&#8217; official classification) use and study are hard to overcome.\u00a0 Despite this, the anecdotes abound, especially in our networked era. As the <a title=\"Testimonials from ASA\" href=\"http:\/\/americansforsafeaccess.org\/article.php?id=4558#testimonial\" target=\"_blank\">stories<\/a> spread, people who suffer will hear them and try marijuana for themselves.\u00a0 Hopefully it helps them and then they become one more reason to change a law and undertake another study.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Claire's story\" href=\"http:\/\/rxmarijuana.com\/Hodges.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Claire Hodges<\/a> is one patient who has MS and opted to try marijuana, despite the legal and medical uncertainties.\u00a0 Claire had no symptoms until her late 20&#8217;s.\u00a0 At this point, stress from her job mounted and her symptoms started to manifest slowly and steadily.\u00a0 This was in the early 1980&#8217;s and detection techniques were not as advanced as they are now.\u00a0 So, Claire was unaware of her disease because of several misdiagnoses.\u00a0 Having traveled through Bangladesh, doctors initially thought she suffered from a rare form of malaria.\u00a0 But it took them over another year to isolate the disease. It was not until after she started showing classic brain tumor symptoms (and had a brain scan) that neurologists were able to diagnose her with Multiple Sclerosis.<\/p>\n<p>There is no cure for MS, only treatments. Some of those are more effective than others, all with varying side effects. Claire&#8217;s doctors first steered her to steroid therapy <a title=\"ACTH\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalmssociety.org\/about-multiple-sclerosis\/what-we-know-about-ms\/treatments\/medications\/acth\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">ACTH<\/a>, Acthar (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone) which stimulates the adrenal cortex gland to secrete cortisol, corticosterone and aldosterone.\u00a0 She was suffering heavily at this point, unable to walk, and still believes that the effects of ACTH were far worse than the disease.\u00a0 It caused acute acne breakouts, weight gain, and irrationality and paranoia (steroid psychosis).\u00a0 She discontinued the ACTH regimen, and after having two children the disease progressed and her symptoms continued to grow worse. As the disease effected her more heavily she began suffering even more. She experienced muscle <a title=\"spacticity\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spasticity\" target=\"_blank\">spasticity<\/a> and pain, incontinence and other bladder issues followed, as well as vision degradation, poor balance, fatigue and more. As she succumbed to more troubles, doctors could only treat the symptoms by offering more prescriptions.\u00a0 She tried <a title=\"Valilum\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmedhealth\/PMH0000556\/\" target=\"_blank\">Valium<\/a> and <a title=\"Temazepam\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmedhealth\/PMH0000808\/\" target=\"_blank\">Temazepam<\/a> for sleeping and muscle pains. Also, as her body became susceptible to infection she was on numerous courses of antibiotics treatment.\u00a0 She found the narcotics to be less than effective and their side effects only served to increase her gloom and depression.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, after exhausting orthodox treatments, Claire looked in to other ways of medicating.\u00a0 Other <a title=\"ASA, MS and marijuana\" href=\"http:\/\/americansforsafeaccess.org\/article.php?id=4558\" target=\"_blank\">friends<\/a> with <a title=\"National MS society + cannabis\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalmssociety.org\/about-multiple-sclerosis\/what-we-know-about-ms\/treatments\/complementary--alternative-medicine\/marijuana\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">MS<\/a> recommended she try cannabis to help with her discomfort.\u00a0 Initially she was uncomfortable with trying it out, so she asked her doctors.\u00a0 None of them were able to give her any promises to its effectiveness, but did calm her fears and said moderate use would most likely not be dangerous.\u00a0 That had to be better than all the dangerous pharmaceuticals she had tried before.\u00a0 Using her network of friends, Claire was forced to illegally obtain marijuana and tried it out.\u00a0 &#8220;The physical effects were almost immediate and extremely liberating.\u00a0 I felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from me.\u00a0 The tension and discomfort in my spine and bladder melted away.\u00a0 I was comfortable with my body for the first time in years, and I slept soundly that night.\u00a0 The next day I was happy, knowing that there was something that would help me with my MS.&#8221;\u00a0 Since then, Claire has been medicating with cannabis regularly, and has been able to rely much less on pharmaceuticals.\u00a0 She grew her own medicine for some time, but stopped because of the fear of being caught with it.\u00a0 So she must continue to purchase her medication illegally unless she moves to a state with a compassionate use laws and proper dispensary system.<\/p>\n<p>Claire&#8217;s testimony, and others like her, help to open the minds of otherwise skeptical people.\u00a0 If it can help her, than it can help other people. These stories are what we need to change the minds of politicians.\u00a0 They need to be convinced that there is strength in compassion, not found in zero tolerance laws.\u00a0 Claire is a strong human being. In spite of her affliction, she has not given up on life; she fights to stay active and productive for herself and her family.\u00a0 Her cause is the cause against superstition and old prejudices, the cause for progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1071,1072,1073,1074,52,1036,77,56,9,315,386,51,1,3,1075,1076],"tags":[3641,3642,3643,3644,2632,7,2655,2636,2893,2964,2631,3645,3646],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}