Medical Marijuana~ from stigma to solution
After living with my spouse who is chronically ill, suffering from a bone disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis, I have seen the effects of traditional prescription drugs (opioids) and marijuana. Full transparency, when my husband and I started dating, he was a recreational pot smoker. We had many disagreements about it in our early years together because I was raising young children. I didn’t want it in our home and I didn’t want him being stoned around them. We came to a compromise, after some time, he didn’t partake in it unless we were without the kids and away from home.
Years later my husband got diagnosed with A.S. and was forced to stop working due to the chronic pain when his bones were actively fusing. A.S. was not very well known to doctors and he was basically a guinea pig. The doctors prescribed him opioids upon opioids, OxyContin, Oxycodone, morphine to name a few, as well as biologics. All of the prescribed medications resulted in addiction as well as several side effects such as “ticks”, a misdiagnosis of Lupus, Edema, and a suppressed immune system, many of these are still an issue for him.
Presently, Mike’s body seems to be done or at least in remission to fusing. The pain is less than the early years but is still quite bothersome and still chronic. He has weaned off almost all pain medication and now uses medical marijuana. For a long time while under his contract with the pain clinic, he was honest about his marijuana use and his doctor dragged her feet on giving him a medical marijuana card. I truly believe the pharmaceutical companies didn’t want to lose money and I’m sure these pain clinics and the doctors get their cut.
Since he has weaned off these meds, I can see a big difference. When on the opioids, the addiction was obvious. He often slept, had short term memory loss and would sometimes fall asleep mid sentence. My personal opinion is that medical marijuana is much safer than factory made opioids.
After some research, I see that medical marijuana has more benefits than I thought. It has been proven to help with anxiety, epilepsy, glaucoma, pain, nausea, insomnia and muscle spasms to name a few.
Many patients report having a better quality of life, improvements in their medical conditions and significant pain reduction.
Medical marijuana, especially with high strains of CBD may reduce seizure activity in epileptics and it also reduces inflammation. It’s been said to lessen feelings of anxiety and help with bi-polar disorder as well as other mental health conditions.
The risks of smoking marijuana is it can cause chronic bronchitis, coughing and wheezing. It can cause an increase in heart rate which can lead to arrhythmia or heart attack. It can affect thinking and memory loss and may increase the risk of cancer.
Medical Marijuana has fewer medical related side effects than opioids and some other prescription drugs. It has lower effects of withdrawal than opioids and it may eliminate the risk of fatal overdose compared to opioids. Medical Marijuana typically has a higher potency than recreational marijuana.
After my research and observing my husband’s use of opioids and his use of marijuana without opioids, I would recommend medical marijuana. In my husband’s case, he truly uses M.M. (medical marijuana) responsibly. He never really appears to be high or stoned. He typically only takes a few hits a day or every few days, depending on his pain level. He says it puts his mind in a “better place”.
It helps him to relax, sleep better and it helps him often with nausea.
Knowing he doesn’t use it to get high like in his younger years makes me feel more at ease. When he was on several opioids I often saw negative side effects including several falls, resulting in serious injuries. Yes, my love has a knack for tripping over air, but being on less medications and responsibly using medical marijuana, I’ve seen a big decrease in his stumbles.
In closing, as previously stated, I don’t use M.M. myself, but I do think there are more benefits than not for those with certain medical conditions. I am glad it is starting to lose the stigma of being a gateway drug. Of course anything we consume in excess isn’t good for us, but when used responsibly, I believe the benefits of medical marijuana, especially compared to prescription drugs, are worth it.
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