No, not yet.

I was wondering the same thing.

I saw a show on tv where a man with chronic pain got no relief from traditional painkillers but seemed to do well with marijuana. He said he still had pain but did not care as much after smoking the marijuana.

I am open to anything if it helps to relieve chronic pain. If it lifts your spirits that's a bonus

Nipper, my feeling exactly!

51percent, $325.00 per ounce!!! :thud:

Sally, there is something in marijuana that can be measured (I don't remember the acronym, but it's something like CBD) that determines if it will make you feel paranoid or not. Apparently, the dispensaries are very knowledgeable and can help with this. Also, that's what I was talking about the two major strains, one can make you feel depressed. I would NOT want that one, rather the one that lifts spirits. I'm going to go dig up the thread (on another board I belong to - just a social board, not about RA) where they discussed this. I wasn't paying attention because I wasn't interested at the time. I know from doing oncology transcription for 10 years that Fentanyl is very strong and often used in end-stage cancer.

Wow. Here's a video from that thread that I hadn't watched when it was posted because I wasn't interested. Some of it is quite scientific, but stick with it. A very cool thing is that there is a component in marijuana that is anti-inflammatory, and another component that kills cancer cells. Amazing stuff in here, and I'll keep looking...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31SrjjgPbhU

Post #3... this gentleman smokes medical marijuana. He says, "...CBD content (which counteracts the paranoid effects of the THC)..."

Also, the two main strains are sativa (which lifts spirits) and indica (which is more of a depressant or gives you a "sleepy buzz"). Interestingly, they can now make it so you don't get high at all, it just works as an anti-inflammatory or anti-convulsant or whatever you're looking for. They can also make it so you don't get the munchies, very important to me because I wouldn't want to start gaining weight!

They also posted a link to find medical dispensaries near you (search by zip code) http://www.leafly.com/

The last interesting thing is that dispensaries also carry edible marijuana so you don't have to smoke it. Reminds me of my old college days when someone would bring "heavy" brownies to a party... :)

That's all I got from that thread. Personally, I'm going to keep it in mind if my pain gets much worse... except for the $$ factor... but maybe for flares.

Well, the gentleman I quoted pays $240/oz at his dispensary and only buys 1/8 oz at a time. It lasts him a while. For a flare, I could afford that. But I'm far from jumping on this train.

I thought I heard that you can't buy it in Michigan. It's by donation only. My niece has RA also. She was diagnosed with JRA when she was about 10, maybe 11 (she's 31 now). She uses it. Says it helps her quite a bit although that's along with the biologic she is on. She told me that the licensed growers couldn't charge, only accept donations. She's been trying to convince me to try it. So far I'm a bit skeptical.

Interesting Lynne. I went to that link you posted on locations. They have a dispensary just a few miles from where I live. It said donations then under that had the suggested dollar amount. LOL

i'm very on the fence with medical marijuana. if smoking pot helps pain, or other medical conditions, it's the THC that does it. i don't see why we can't just have that in a form like pill or liquid that is easy to prescribe. different strains are developed and grown to have different amounts of THC and are used to treat different things.

i am pretty much on board with medical marijuana. i have seen PET scans and other medical stuff showing what marijuana use can do to your brain long term - i don't like it. but i know that chronic pain and other illnesses can have just as devastating an effect. i just don't think that smoking it is the healthiest option because of the lung involvement.

i am of two minds on the dispensary versus mail order. the dispensary does make a good meeting place to meet others with similar issues and to have in person consultations. the mail order may make it easier and/or more accessible to disabled people or those who can't travel to a dispensary.

Sheri, I didn't know that about donations in Michigan. I went to that link just now and looked up my zip code. It appears to be mostly delivery. While I didn't find any actual prices quoted, one dispensary said $60 minimum donation. ?? There was also "Affordability" quoted on the Home page, almost like a restaurant review, with $, $$, and $$$, so it seems like they have prices of some kind... or maybe that means range of suggested donation. ?

Steph, I know cancer patients can be Rx'd THC to increase appetite. I'm with you and Sally about smoking it. I would not want to smoke it, but might consider a vaporizer or edible form.

Sally, how sad and surprising that Canada is taking away nonsmoking options. So, will this be the end of the Compassion Club? Again, how sad if so.

I saw a documentary shortly after the recent passage in Colorado of recreational use from state certified dispensaries. They had all forms available, but the prices were crazy - likely because it was proposed so the state could tax it in the first place. Hello?! There are people whose chronic pain might be able to benefit from it - so they have to compete with recreational users now? I don't know.

I'd have to be really convinced it could address my pain and my spirits with no smoke, no paranoia, no depression. And affordable. Probably never happen.

There is a rx pill called Marinol..its synthetic THC I believe. Also not cheap. 30days is about $600. Created in a lab somewhere by big pharma not natural of the earth. My sister is a pharmacy tech in OH & she has customers that use it. A few with RA & other issues but mostly for nausea from chemo tx. Sanjay Gupta recently did a great documentary on medical marijuana if anyone's interested; its online. Very informative. He's a convert since doing the research for this project. He was anti MMJ a few yrs ago when he was up for surgeon general.

I live in Washington state, where we have both medical marijuana and now legal pot for recreational uses too. I never bothered to sign up for a medical marijuana license, although it would have been easy to do so. I was nervous about it because the federal government still occasionally busts dispensaries that are doing something sketchy, and I just didn't want my name connected in any way. That being said, I do use marijuana occasionally. For me, the best thing it does is to allow me to fall asleep on a bad pain night. I have a small vaporizor, which is somewhat easier on the lungs than regular smoking. Lack of sleep magnifies pain, so I consider this a pretty great benefit. It's definitely possible that a different strain would help in a different way.

Hi - I read through this string this morning then happened across the following article...
Food (brownies?? lol) for thought...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/medical-marijuana-not-people-rheumatic-conditions-study-090748707.html

as for marijuana being more natural than synthetically created thc, i don't believe that for a second. the types of crap that people put marijuana plants through for bigger crops, different thc levels, and other more 'desirable' traits are not always very natural. can you find nice, natural, organically grown pot to smoke? i bet you could if you're willing to pay for it. but still, there are additional risks being taking if you're smoking it. taking synthesized thc in pill form cuts out any smoking-related risks.