Tag Archives: Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana, Testimonies

Epilepsy and Pot — One Epileptic’s Perspective

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Epilepsy is a different disease for many people. Some people are born with it, some develop it from a head or brain injury. There are dozens of different types of seizures and it’s not just one kind of disease with typical symptoms for each sufferer, and the treatment options differ from person to person. What controls your seizures can be so different from another person, just like your seizures might be different than another persons. It’s not an atypical experience for every person.

I have occipital lobe seizures, which means my seizures originate from my occipital lobe, Continue reading Epilepsy and Pot — One Epileptic’s Perspective →

Drug Policy, Reviews

Dr. Hill on The World’s Most Popular Weed

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By Sally Schindel, Treasurer,  Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy

Dr. Kevin P. Hill’s book, Marijuana: The Unbiased Truth About the World’s Most Popular Weed covers a vast amount of ground in 206 pages. The Harvard—McLean Hospital physician sets out to explain three big myths:  that marijuana’s not harmful, that marijuana is not addictive and that quitting marijuana involves no withdrawal.  The book is easy to read. It was published in 2015.

An addictions specialist, Dr. Hill provides an unbiased, honest and factual report.  He makes the complex issues associated with decriminalization and legalization understandable.   Dr. Hill concludes that legalizing “medical” and recreational Continue reading Dr. Hill on The World’s Most Popular Weed →

Medical Marijuana, Mental Health

Ketogenic Diet Treats Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy

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The Ketogenic Diet is a recognized and successful treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases,  but Montel Williams spoke on the floor of the Pennsylvania State Legislature last week to say he uses “medical” marijuana for MS.   Williams became upset when Rep. Matthew Baker spoke up to say the MS Society doesn’t recognize marijuana as treatment for MS.  The billion dollar marijuana industry pretends there are no other solutions to major medical conditions; they frequently play the compassion card to dupe Americans into supporting them.

The Ketogenic Diet is often a successful treatment for children with several types of epilepsy, including Dravet’s Syndrome. Studies show that 65% of children treated with the Ketogenic Diet have a reduction of seizures by more than 50%.  Ketone bodies Continue reading Ketogenic Diet Treats Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy →

Medical Marijuana

The State of the Research: Medical Marijuana

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There is no reason to reschedule marijuana to get more research.  Pharmaceutical companies are working to develop cannabis-based products that could possibly treat medical conditions without giving you the high.   The federal government lists 274 studies exploring the medical applications for THC, and 597 studies investigating medical properties of CBD.

In February 2018, Canadian Family Physicians devoted a monthly periodical to the research on medical marijuana.  The editorial said: “Evidence indicates the most consistent events of medical marijuana are adverse events.  A variety of adverse events have a greater magnitude of effect than the potential benefits for the conditions targeted.”

Epidiolex, a medicine made by GW Pharmaceuticals to treat two types of childhood epilepsy has been approved by the FDA.  However, there are mixed results for the use of cannabidiol in children with intractable seizures, with 30% benefiting somewhat but 47% experiencing important side effects, including some with increased seizures.

Many clinical trials of medical marijuana are not going that well.  GW Pharmaceutical shares fell markedly with the announcement that Sativex performed no better than a sugar pill for cancer pain Sativex has been deemed by the British health care system to be too costly for the modest benefit (18% improvement) it delivers for the spasticity of multiple sclerosis, while showing no benefit for the pain, and as mentioned in the last newsletter, a PTSD study presented at a recent conference reported that marijuana users with this disorder made significantly less progress towards recovery and were more violent than nonusers.

Major pharmaceutical companies have the money to absorb such failures in their projected market, when the failures occur.   Contrary to popular belief, there are many studies into the possible medical properties of the marijuana plant.

For years, there has been talk of smoking cannabis–marijuana–to lower eye pressure for patients with Glaucoma.   The Glaucoma Research Foundation also believes current medications work better than marijuana.  Another problem with cannabis is that its effects don’t last as long as the current medications.