ive lived with TMJ for many year since around 16 after they removed my wisdom teeth for 1 year i had sever lock jaw and slowly subsided a little. i have been smoking marijuana since i was 18 and didnt have vary many episodes with my jaw locking up then around december of this year maybe earlier my jaw started to chrack like your knuckles would. It was at first a real good sensation because it would relieve the pressure that was making my jaw stiff. about six months later it got to the point where any kind of movement would send shooting pain through my whole head. i had to get anti-inflammatory shots in both my jaw joints and soon after that the extreme pain subsided but i get random extreme headaches.

Unfortunately here were i live they just recently banned medical marijuana shops. That's where i bought this cannabis infused sheabutter and other stuff in it. and i started rubbing it on my head ache points and they would go away and when i would rub it near the joint of my jaw i could feel it not having so much pressure and the wanting feeling to crack my jaw which is very bad and probably the reason i have arthritis.

I am a TMJ injury/surgery survivor and I use a 22% cannibus cream on my jaw muscles regularly!!! I also have my license and thankfully dispensarys are still in our area somewhat. I also smoke to ease the pain. I don't think it really KILLS the pain per say, but I think it changes your attitude towards having to endure it.... just my opinion. I also wear an external brace I designed to ease the tension-related pain in our temporal and masseter muscles. See @ temporthotics.com Hope this helps....I hate the mind-boggling drugs they offer at the conventional level.

Oh, and I am 50, a business woman and grandmother of nine....I am NOT a druggie either!!!!!! lol

You are right it doesn't take away the pain completely but it does distract your mind from always thinking about that feeling.

One day i was watching Dr. Oz because because my girl friend loves to watch him and he was talking about acupuncture. When i read that someone on here and had success using it to relax his jaw muscles i started thinking about the technique that he used on the show with this woman where she put this mini cigar looking think on top of the needle and lit it on fire like a cigar. When i remembered what she was saying about it how it transfers the "nutrients" or whatever was in the cigar thing and heat traveled through the needle. Im going to find an acupuncturist near me to find out some more informations on this.

weed tends to increase my pain =/ I would love to smoke if I could.. its great medicine.