Welcome to Crazy World

Imagine a drug that’s so bad for you that it may kill you. It may even cause you to go deaf. But it has some positive side effects as a pain killer and it’s perfectly legal. It’s called Oxycontin.

Imagine a drug that could cause blood pressure increases (or decreases depending on your body chemistry), may numb your senses, and can weaken your perception of reality into a zombie-like state. It’s legal also, and we give it to our children. It’s called Ritalin.

Finally, imagine a drug that prevents depression. Only it’s so strong that in some people it actually enhances their depression and can make them suicidal. It’s legal, and it’s called Prozac.

So why is it that when we have in our midst a drug that has been proven again and again to provide relief for numerous ailments do we insist on hiding behind some weak morality that keeps us from allowing doctors to prescribe it to patients?

I’m talking about medical marijuana.

It’s about time we stopped the pretentious bullshit. There is not one valid reason to prevent a doctor from prescribing it to a sick patient. Side effects can be worse with drugs we currently allow. People are overdosing on drugs they shouldn’t have access to. Ironically, some of the people overdosing on oxycontin are the same people who think we should throw potheads in jail.

The double standard has to end.

Montel Williams has also been very vocal in his support of medical marijuana. An open letter to the public appears on the MS Foundation’s website, and is quoted below as food for thought.

Taking Action: Montel on Medical Marijuana & MS Treatment

I have always said that I am the person who is solely responsible for my health. So when the excruciating pain in my feet became constant, I tried several commonly prescribed painkillers. The results? Little relief and unbearable side effects. The last alternative left? Medical marijuana. In fact, marijuana has helped my symptoms so much that I have become an advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana for qualified patients like me—those suffering from debilitating and/or devastatingly painful diseases. Unfortunately, at this time in our nation’s history, only 8 states have enacted laws to eliminate criminal penalties for the prescribed use of marijuana. Other states have symbolic legislation that does not fully protect the individual who uses medical marijuana.

Because I do not condone breaking any law, I would like to see all 50 states and the federal government decriminalize medical marijuana. I would also like to see more research into its effects on MS—for the treatment of pain and spasticity.

To support the “Truth in Trials Act” (H.R. 1717), the firs-ever medical marijuana bill in the U.S. House of Representatives designed to help prevent sick people from being labeled as criminals, please log on to www.aclu.org. You might also visit www.drugpolicy.org, the website for the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights.

Those just acquainting themselves with this issue might review the research on medical marijuana as it relates to MS, including an objective look at both the risks and benefits. I recommend that you visit the Rocky Mountain MS Center’s Complimentary and Alternative Medicine website, www.ms-cam.org.

Montel Williams

Terminal patients, very ill patients, or patients in need are not Spicolli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and are deserving of every comfort that could be given to them. It’s time we care for the weakest among us with medication properly prescribed by doctors. Considering the types of drugs we already consider “legal,” it’s only right.

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  • http://justagirlintheworld.com Lisa

    The only reason it’s not legal is because the drug companies cannot control it. The minute you make it legal for medicinal purposes – people can grow their own. Which completely takes the concept of supply and demand out of the hands of the drug company.

    That is why they are pushing some tablet form of cannabis. They are saying that is the preferred treatment, as opposed to lighting up. They can CONTROL the supply of the tablet form – and can adjust the costs according to demand.

    Not so with the leaf.

    Cost. Profit. That is the only reason why dying, terminally ill, patients in pain, etc – cannot have it legally for relief. There is no grand ethical debate over the use of pot for medicinal reasons. There is no concern for addiction. There is no concern for anything except how the money grubbing drug companies are going to control supply and demand.

    Pfft. Thanks for irking me right before bedtime, Vin. Mucho appreciated. :p

  • Kricket

    My father uses medical marijuana for his glaucoma. He’s not addicted to it and sometimes refuses to use it to ease his symptoms because he doesn’t want to be labeled an addict.

    I’m not proud to admit it, but I have smoked marijuana in my youth several times. After my car accident, I have been prescribed Vicodin for the past 5 years. Let me tell you – Vicodin gives me more of a ‘high’ and affects my good (and sometimes not so good) judgement more than the pot ever did.

    People can overdose and become addicted to any prescription drug. Oxy was having some very serious overdose problems when it first became popular, so much so that it was in the news every day for weeks. Matthew Perry of Friends became heavily addicted to Vicodin after dental work. Personally, I think those two drugs are a lot worse than the marijuana would be prescribed.

    Anyway, that’s just my nickle. I agree it should be legal for medical purposes, especially if it helps ease pain and suffering and makes you enjoy life just a bit more when you have a hard time doing so normally because of your constant pain.

  • http://nonannystate.blogspot.com The Other Mike S.

    I thoroughly agree. In fact, I believe pot should be legal, for adults, period. There is little difference between pot and alcohol, other than the way it’s ingested. If I’m an adult, and wish to alter my reality, I should be able to do so, as long as I don’t infringe on the rights of others.

  • http://http:/www.robertkbrown.com/ RKB

    Well said, Vinny.

    Lisa, I understand and agree with your point about drug companies wanting to control supply and demand. Maybe there are different forms of marijuana for different maladies; I was prescribed marijuana pills in 1990 to deal with side effects of chemotherapy. So I know that it DOES come in formats other than the leaf.

    By the end of my treatments, I was addicted to demoral, not marijuana, yet you won’t see after school specials about demoral addicts.

    Again: well said, Vinny.

  • pete from astoria

    I always thought that the “health care” debate in this country is mis-directed.
    Instead of our government and all candidates for office trying to figure out how the population can get their hands on free prescription drugs, I believe that the question we should be asking is why do so many people need to be taking them to begin with. I know a lot of it has to do with creating dependency (on the drugs and on government) but why is it assumed that we all need drugs? I believe that most prescription drugs are over prescribed due to greedy and ignorant doctors who take kick-backs from the drug companies. We have become such a lazy society that we want instant gratification in all areas of life. We want the “magic” pill that will do all the work for us. This is fantasy. Like all aspects of life, We are responsible for our health and the way we live our lives. The old saying really rings true about an once of prevention being worth a pound of cure.

    P.S.
    I always found it odd that liberals love prescription drugs and want everyone to have them, but they hate the corporations who produce them. It’s a strange world we live in.

  • balbulican

    To add a note in defense of our much-maligned health care system up here…medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001.

  • http://www.insignificantthoughts.com Vinny

    It’s been available since 2001, but it takes 4 years to get some just like the rest of Canadian health care system :-)

    Sorry, couldn’t resist.

  • balbulican

    Just so you know, according to the Fraser Institute (a right wing think tank), average waits are:

    - for non life threatening cancer surgery, 6.1 weeks
    - for cancer radiation 8.1 weeks
    - ultrasound 3.6 weeks
    - CT scan 5.5 weeks
    - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 12.7 weeks.

    Note that these are “average” waiting times, which include statistics on patients who, for instance, have to be flown from the high arctic to a southern centre, as well as statistics on the large majority of patients for whom these procedures are not urgent.

    When my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, she had her CT scan within four days. I waited about a month for mine, for a less serious problem.

    All systems have flaws, I guess. But ours works pretty well. I frankly can’t conceive of living in a country where you wonder whether you can afford to get sick. But to each his own.

  • http://www.insignificantthoughts.com Vinny

    12 Weeks for an MRI? Wow…

    Truthfully, I’d almost rather have a country where I can barely afford coverage as long as I know I can get it right away.

    I had an MRI a few years ago. 4 days.

    My dad had one two years ago and got an appointment a week later.

    It just seems odd to have healthcare wait times determined in terms of weeks, but as you said, to each his own…

  • balbulican

    “Truthfully, Iíd almost rather have a country where I can barely afford coverage as long as I know I can get it right away.”

    I guess you’ve got that, so we’re both happy.

    Now, about all the folks who don’t have your income, or mine…the ones on the other side of the “can barely afford it”…I wonder how they feel about it all.

  • http://justagirlintheworld.com Lisa

    There was a time, about 15 years ago, when my stupid ex husband let his medical insurance lapse about a month before giving birth to my first child. It was a 5 day hospital stay following a C-Section procedure. Expensive stuff!

    My insurance wasn’t valid, however. Was I turned away at the door? Nope. I was treated, billed and spent the next 6 years paying off the bill to the hospital according to the payment plan I had set up with them.

    Not exactly optimal to spend 6 years paying off a medical bill. but, I was treated, my son was treated – I recieved excellent health care and then spent the next 6 years living up to my end of the bargain and paid for it.

    I wasn’t denied. Nor did I have to wait. But man, I woulda loved a reefer after that 26 hour labor and delivery!! ;)

  • Joyce

    You mean that “Reefer Madness” was only a movie? Percodan is so much harder to come off than smoke! I’ve only had pescriptions after child birth and back surgery but it was not a good time once the pills!

  • jenn

    wow u can like some weed if your sick? i like need to go to canada when im sick man thats awesome i was just looking stuff up on some zanex and i like found this thing man im bugged :mrgreen:

  • http://justagirlintheworld.com/ Lisa

    The only reason it’s not legal is because the drug companies cannot control it. The minute you make it legal for medicinal purposes – people can grow their own. Which completely takes the concept of supply and demand out of the hands of the drug company.

    That is why they are pushing some tablet form of cannabis. They are saying that is the preferred treatment, as opposed to lighting up. They can CONTROL the supply of the tablet form – and can adjust the costs according to demand.

    Not so with the leaf.

    Cost. Profit. That is the only reason why dying, terminally ill, patients in pain, etc – cannot have it legally for relief. There is no grand ethical debate over the use of pot for medicinal reasons. There is no concern for addiction. There is no concern for anything except how the money grubbing drug companies are going to control supply and demand.

    Pfft. Thanks for irking me right before bedtime, Vin. Mucho appreciated. :p

  • Kricket

    My father uses medical marijuana for his glaucoma. He’s not addicted to it and sometimes refuses to use it to ease his symptoms because he doesn’t want to be labeled an addict.

    I’m not proud to admit it, but I have smoked marijuana in my youth several times. After my car accident, I have been prescribed Vicodin for the past 5 years. Let me tell you – Vicodin gives me more of a ‘high’ and affects my good (and sometimes not so good) judgement more than the pot ever did.

    People can overdose and become addicted to any prescription drug. Oxy was having some very serious overdose problems when it first became popular, so much so that it was in the news every day for weeks. Matthew Perry of Friends became heavily addicted to Vicodin after dental work. Personally, I think those two drugs are a lot worse than the marijuana would be prescribed.

    Anyway, that’s just my nickle. I agree it should be legal for medical purposes, especially if it helps ease pain and suffering and makes you enjoy life just a bit more when you have a hard time doing so normally because of your constant pain.

  • http://nonannystate.blogspot.com/ The Other Mike S.

    I thoroughly agree. In fact, I believe pot should be legal, for adults, period. There is little difference between pot and alcohol, other than the way it’s ingested. If I’m an adult, and wish to alter my reality, I should be able to do so, as long as I don’t infringe on the rights of others.

  • RKB

    Well said, Vinny.

    Lisa, I understand and agree with your point about drug companies wanting to control supply and demand. Maybe there are different forms of marijuana for different maladies; I was prescribed marijuana pills in 1990 to deal with side effects of chemotherapy. So I know that it DOES come in formats other than the leaf.

    By the end of my treatments, I was addicted to demoral, not marijuana, yet you won’t see after school specials about demoral addicts.

    Again: well said, Vinny.

  • pete from astoria

    I always thought that the “health care” debate in this country is mis-directed.
    Instead of our government and all candidates for office trying to figure out how the population can get their hands on free prescription drugs, I believe that the question we should be asking is why do so many people need to be taking them to begin with. I know a lot of it has to do with creating dependency (on the drugs and on government) but why is it assumed that we all need drugs? I believe that most prescription drugs are over prescribed due to greedy and ignorant doctors who take kick-backs from the drug companies. We have become such a lazy society that we want instant gratification in all areas of life. We want the “magic” pill that will do all the work for us. This is fantasy. Like all aspects of life, We are responsible for our health and the way we live our lives. The old saying really rings true about an once of prevention being worth a pound of cure.

    P.S.
    I always found it odd that liberals love prescription drugs and want everyone to have them, but they hate the corporations who produce them. It’s a strange world we live in.

  • balbulican

    To add a note in defense of our much-maligned health care system up here…medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001.

  • http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/ Vinny

    It’s been available since 2001, but it takes 4 years to get some just like the rest of Canadian health care system :-)

    Sorry, couldn’t resist.

  • balbulican

    Just so you know, according to the Fraser Institute (a right wing think tank), average waits are:

    - for non life threatening cancer surgery, 6.1 weeks
    - for cancer radiation 8.1 weeks
    - ultrasound 3.6 weeks
    - CT scan 5.5 weeks
    - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 12.7 weeks.

    Note that these are “average” waiting times, which include statistics on patients who, for instance, have to be flown from the high arctic to a southern centre, as well as statistics on the large majority of patients for whom these procedures are not urgent.

    When my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, she had her CT scan within four days. I waited about a month for mine, for a less serious problem.

    All systems have flaws, I guess. But ours works pretty well. I frankly can’t conceive of living in a country where you wonder whether you can afford to get sick. But to each his own.

  • http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/ Vinny

    12 Weeks for an MRI? Wow…

    Truthfully, I’d almost rather have a country where I can barely afford coverage as long as I know I can get it right away.

    I had an MRI a few years ago. 4 days.

    My dad had one two years ago and got an appointment a week later.

    It just seems odd to have healthcare wait times determined in terms of weeks, but as you said, to each his own…

  • balbulican

    “Truthfully, Iíd almost rather have a country where I can barely afford coverage as long as I know I can get it right away.”

    I guess you’ve got that, so we’re both happy.

    Now, about all the folks who don’t have your income, or mine…the ones on the other side of the “can barely afford it”…I wonder how they feel about it all.

  • http://justagirlintheworld.com/ Lisa

    There was a time, about 15 years ago, when my stupid ex husband let his medical insurance lapse about a month before giving birth to my first child. It was a 5 day hospital stay following a C-Section procedure. Expensive stuff!

    My insurance wasn’t valid, however. Was I turned away at the door? Nope. I was treated, billed and spent the next 6 years paying off the bill to the hospital according to the payment plan I had set up with them.

    Not exactly optimal to spend 6 years paying off a medical bill. but, I was treated, my son was treated – I recieved excellent health care and then spent the next 6 years living up to my end of the bargain and paid for it.

    I wasn’t denied. Nor did I have to wait. But man, I woulda loved a reefer after that 26 hour labor and delivery!! ;)

  • Joyce

    You mean that “Reefer Madness” was only a movie? Percodan is so much harder to come off than smoke! I’ve only had pescriptions after child birth and back surgery but it was not a good time once the pills!

  • jenn

    wow u can like some weed if your sick? i like need to go to canada when im sick man thats awesome i was just looking stuff up on some zanex and i like found this thing man im bugged :mrgreen: