View Full Version : Members of Congress ask VA to allow medical Marijuana
mojaveman
01-27-2016, 19:49
Seems kind if ironic, spend your entire military career sober and drug free and then use medical marijuana later if your suffering.
http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/31071379/senators-representatives-ask-va-to-allow-medical-marijuana
Oldrotorhead
01-28-2016, 08:02
Why does Congress ask any government agency to do something? Don't they remember that Congress makes laws and can just legislate what and how government agencies do business? :D
Ret10Echo
01-28-2016, 08:04
Why does Congress ask any government agency to do something? Don't they remember that Congress makes laws and can just legislate what and how government agencies do business? :D
Such outdated thinking
Agencies do business based upon prezidential decree.
rubberneck
01-28-2016, 08:21
Seems kind if ironic, spend your entire military career sober and drug free and then use medical marijuana later if your suffering.
http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/31071379/senators-representatives-ask-va-to-allow-medical-marijuana
There is a study that was done that shows that THC speeds up the brains recovery from a TBI in mice. If it's effective in helping service members trying to recover from the effects of IED's why not? As a society we have no problems with doctors giving patients highly addictive opiates to deal with pain but we get weak knee'd about using marijuana.
miclo18d
01-29-2016, 05:51
Sooooo..... magnetic resonance treatment (MRT) that helps with PTSD and TBI/CTE isn't to be used or paid for by the VA, but metric ass tons of pot is okay.
Also, ironic is how we are in Afghanistan, fighting manufacturers of opium/heroin and hashish, and then giving it to our wounded vets for treatment. Would that be considered a conflict of interest?
Perhaps we should turn Afghanistan into a huge VA treatment facility. What could go wrong?
Sooooo..... magnetic resonance treatment (MRT) that helps with PTSD and TBI/CTE isn't to be used or paid for by the VA, but metric ass tons of pot is okay.
Also, ironic is how we are in Afghanistan, fighting manufacturers of opium/heroin and hashish, and then giving it to our wounded vets for treatment. Would that be considered a conflict of interest?
Perhaps we should turn Afghanistan into a huge VA treatment facility. What could go wrong?
No. Grow it in the US. No conflict of interest. There is some evidence that it helps. As rubberneck pointed out Opiates are prescribed as it is.
Sure we all know what will happen as we all know that there are freeloaders/frauds within the VA system. Including WWII era vets and everything inbetween. But if it helps those who truly need it. Why not?
Badger52
01-30-2016, 18:21
Perhaps we should turn Afghanistan into a huge VA treatment facility. What could go wrong? And how, at this point, would we recognize the difference?
:cool:
DJ Urbanovsky
01-30-2016, 22:41
Opiates have tremendous addictive potential and are legal. Marijuana has zero addictive potential and is illegal. If it alleviates suffering, has healing potential, and enhances quality of life, I fail to see the problem with legalization.
The difference is that legal opiates aren't derived from home grown poppies in someone's back yard, and are prescribed by folks that have spent a few years getting a formal education in their use. You want widespread acceptance of THC for medical relief, then also call for standardized production by approved manufacturers and regulated dosing guidelines.
Colorado is still struggling to deal with many of the potentially harmful details connected to legalizing recreational use of MJ, not the least of which is a surge in adolescent use, which can have lasting developmental effects.
As for THC having "zero addictive potential", it seems many folks with actual medical or psychology degrees disagree with you, but what do they know?
The difference is that legal opiates aren't derived from home grown poppies in someone's back yard, and are prescribed by folks that have spent a few years getting a formal education in their use. You want widespread acceptance of THC for medical relief, then also call for standardized production by approved manufacturers and regulated dosing guidelines.
Colorado is still struggling to deal with many of the potentially harmful details connected to legalizing recreational use of MJ, not the least of which is a surge in adolescent use, which can have lasting developmental effects.
As for THC having "zero addictive potential", it seems many folks with actual medical or psychology degrees disagree with you, but what do they know?
Oh Hell yeah..... It Is a Gateway drug no matter what the Pro Pot smokers. There are a shitload of studies that prove it and prove it is addictive......
As far as it having good effects on a few illnesses ... it does but the problem is the abuse of that system. The cartels are growing legal weed and shipping it for a huge profit from CO and WA to other states...... They are happy with the new situation as it cuts down on the shipment process and they get better weed.
Eagle5US
02-01-2016, 01:18
Medical marijuana is not the same as "pot" / "weed" etc... It is a vaporized dose that does not provide the same high as a toke on a bong or a dune.
There are multiple studies supporting its use in treatment of chronic pain, PTSD, TBI, anxiety disorders etc. further its addictive properties have been shown to be nearly nil compared to the handful,s of opiates that service members take daily (if not multiple times a day)...
We are WAY behind in the use of "natural/holistic/eastern" medicine. Chi manipulation, spooning, cupping, acupuncture, smudging...call it voodoo-but I have had each and every one of these modalities work on me despite my doubts and lack of provided info as to what was wrong with
We can have transgendered lesbian males with Zhiv And anal warts on the front lines with female "RenGers" and "Sf"...but are stuck in the 60's when it comes to Marijuana.
Stupid in my opinion
Ret10Echo
02-01-2016, 05:52
We are WAY behind in the use of "natural/holistic/eastern" medicine. Chi manipulation, spooning, cupping, acupuncture, smudging...call it voodoo-but I have had each and every one of these modalities work on me despite my doubts and lack of provided info as to what was wrong with
Agree 100%
"modern" pharmaceutical medicine just wanted to turn my liver into a piece of coral. Dry needling, chiropractic and naturopathic / homeopathic treatments have done more for me to manage issues than anything else.
And yes, all those treatments that produce results require me to pay 100% of the cost out-of-pocket.
DJ Urbanovsky
02-01-2016, 15:52
"As for THC having "zero addictive potential", it seems many folks with actual medical or psychology degrees disagree with you, but what do they know? "
I have met more individuals with advanced degrees who couldn't find their asses with both hands, a map, a compass, and eight digit grid coordinates than I would care to think about. And to be perfectly honest, I find that more than a little disturbing. A lot of those are the same folks that are in bed with big pharma, and who practice allopathic medicine. Treat the symptoms and not the disease, right? As long as it keeps the customer or the insurance company paying. Because that's what we are to people like that. A revenue stream. But come on, it's not as if Ranger candy won't burn up your liver or anything, right?
When I ETSed, I went to art school and have been in rock bands and involved in the art community for the past 23 years. As far as controlled substances are concerned, I have seen it all. Legal or not, people are going to do what they are going to do. And it's been my experience that cigarettes and alcohol are far more dangerous than marijuana. If you're seeking the true gateway drugs, those are the droids you're looking for. Alcohol and cigarettes were and are illegal to purchase by minors, but that never ever stopped us from getting our hands on them when we were kids.
Ask any police officer who he would rather deal with: The stoner or the drunk.
If we're talking about eradicating production south of the border and in the middle east, I say excellent, because those endeavors are funding terrorist and criminal organizations, and we're talking about a product of dubious (or doobious ;) ) quality. The end user doesn't know what they are getting. Legalize it. Tax and regulate it. And let American growers and labs produce it. If you walk into a dispensary in CO, if they are a legitimate operation, all of their product will be lab tested. The THC/CBD levels are listed right on the label.
Yes, I have an agenda. Last year, my MIL died of ovarian cancer. From diagnosis to death, six months. One minute she was how she always was, the next, boom. Gone. This woman was my biggest fan. She thought she conjured me out of thin air for my wife (in my family we call that Jewdoo), and she believed in me and the work. As the disease progressed, the only things that alleviated her suffering and gave her an appetite and quality of life were CBD and marijuana. All of the other drugs and the morphine? None of it helped, and it made her a zombie. If you've never had to watch someone you love go through this, let me tell you, it is absolutely crushing. But smoking a J was like flipping on a switch, and there was the Betty we all knew and loved. That, more than anything else I've ever experienced in my entire life, is all the proof I need.
I've got cancer all up in my bones, but there's no way I'll use ganja to treat it; I'd weigh 500 pounds in a month. I've got the munchies all the time without reefer.
DJ Urbanovsky
02-02-2016, 01:14
That is a personal choice. We all have to make them. And that's what America is all about - choices. In the end, the amount of morphine that it took to manage Betty's pain was the same amount that would render her unconscious. So, be awake, and be in excruciating pain, or be unconscious. What kind of life is that? Is it one that you'd want for yourself or a loved one? Those were our legal alternatives in the state of FL. And I think that's deplorable.
I've got cancer all up in my bones, but there's no way I'll use ganja to treat it; I'd weigh 500 pounds in a month. I've got the munchies all the time without reefer.
PedOncoDoc
02-02-2016, 09:08
That is a personal choice. We all have to make them. And that's what America is all about - choices. In the end, the amount of morphine that it took to manage Betty's pain was the same amount that would render her unconscious. So, be awake, and be in excruciating pain, or be unconscious. What kind of life is that? Is it one that you'd want for yourself or a loved one? Those were our legal alternatives in the state of FL. And I think that's deplorable.
I take care than more than my fair share of terminal patients - patients anywhere from infancy into their early 20's. Not everyone has the response you observed to marijuana (and here in Utah, alternative medicine - including marijuana - is popular with the populace) - some get very anxious and it worsens their symptoms. Some get no effect whatsoever, and some benefit greatly.
What is more concerning is when families are lacing food/drink/etc for patients with marijuana (at times against the wishes of the patient) , or when they are smoking the marijuana in addition to cancer treatment, especially when they do not inform me that this is going on as it can affect/impair my treatments.
It has been my experience that when a patient gets to where they need high level of opiates, and the sedation cannot be counteracted with stimulants without causing further suffering, that it is my obligation to make sure the family as aware of that reality, and I strongly encourage increasing the comfort measures (adding benzodiazepines, etc.) to avoid suffering - patients typically do not survive much longer when at this point.
I've also learned that it's not my job to define/determine what constitutes good quality of life - that bar is set by the individual and his/her family and it is my job to help attain that quality of life and, if unattainable, help the family decide on comfort measures through recommendations. Some are willing to live with excruciating pain so long as they can be awake and with family. Others would rather have comfort at all costs, even if it does not prolong their lives.
DJ Urbanovsky
02-02-2016, 14:02
Doctors like you are a blessing, buddy. Believe that. And becoming rarer, I fear.
I agree completely. Everybody has their own individual chemistry, and so everybody is going to react in different ways to a particular compound. And that chemistry is constantly changing as we age. Maybe it's not for everybody, but my stance is that it is ridiculous to not offer a benign, non-habit forming medicinal plant as an potential alternative to opiates and benzos. Or as a potential alternative for psychiatric conditions.
We were fortunate that by the time we had reached the first hospice stay, we had a pretty excellent group of caregivers assembled, plus all of her daughters and us guys. The docs were all for doing whatever could be done for mami to be comfortable.
Yep, that's exactly what we experienced there near the end when opiate levels were maxed out. She knew it. We knew it. But she was a stupendous badass, and she fought right to the end. She lasted a month longer than docs predicted.
I take care than more than my fair share of terminal patients - patients anywhere from infancy into their early 20's. Not everyone has the response you observed to marijuana (and here in Utah, alternative medicine - including marijuana - is popular with the populace) - some get very anxious and it worsens their symptoms. Some get no effect whatsoever, and some benefit greatly.
What is more concerning is when families are lacing food/drink/etc for patients with marijuana (at times against the wishes of the patient) , or when they are smoking the marijuana in addition to cancer treatment, especially when they do not inform me that this is going on as it can affect/impair my treatments.
It has been my experience that when a patient gets to where they need high level of opiates, and the sedation cannot be counteracted with stimulants without causing further suffering, that it is my obligation to make sure the family as aware of that reality, and I strongly encourage increasing the comfort measures (adding benzodiazepines, etc.) to avoid suffering - patients typically do not survive much longer when at this point.
I've also learned that it's not my job to define/determine what constitutes good quality of life - that bar is set by the individual and his/her family and it is my job to help attain that quality of life and, if unattainable, help the family decide on comfort measures through recommendations. Some are willing to live with excruciating pain so long as they can be awake and with family. Others would rather have comfort at all costs, even if it does not prolong their lives.