I would like to pass on my limited experiences. I am 63 with PN for the last 2 years. Previous to that, I hadn't had marijuana in 30+ years. I was never a heavy or regular user.

On a trip thru Colorado, I decided to pick up some (actually quite a bit). I also bought a small pocket sized vaporizer. Marijuana, especially recreational, is very expensive. But so are some prescription drugs. In CO, recreational mj may cost twice as much as medical mj for the same stuff. And that is before CO tacks on an extra 29% for recreational or 7% or so on medical. Based on my readings, both THC and CBD cannabinoids provide some pain relief for some people, both only THC gives you the high.

Smoking the marijuana is the best way to get relief if you want relief NOW. By vaporizing instead, you get a reduced amount of inhaled smoke, but I still get some using my low end pocket vaporizer. It takes about 1/4 teaspoon of weed in the vaporizer for me to get a buzz. But it doesn't last very long. It is hard to avoid getting high if you smoke or vaporize the weed. At first you don't feel anything, but all of a sudden you are at least "one toke over the line".

Will smoking marijuana increase your change of getting cancer? Well, unlike cigarettes, you are not going to find anyone who smokes 2 packs a day. There is still some debate as to whether or not smoking marijuana increases or decreases your chance of cancer. Below is what the National Cancer Institute says about cannabis.


"cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4"

Most strains of marijuana have high levels of THC and low levels of other cannabinoids. Hey, that is why people smoked marijuana in the first place. They wanted to get high. You can buy oils and other forms that have higher levels of CBD. To do this, I think there is a process used to separate the various cannabinoids. You can vaporize that. Oils, waxes, etc. are usually a very high potency. A little goes a long way. So be very careful.

I only rarely vaporize it now. Instead I simmer it in oil for about an hour. Then I strain out the weed as it will only contain very little, if any, remaining cannabinoids. It really is just grass at that point.

At first I was using the oil to make brownies. I wanted to go slowly, but my sweet tooth got in the way and I would consume it too quickly. As a result, I would get too drugged to do anything that required my brain. So now I just save the oil in a jar and take a 1/4 teaspoon every hour or two. That seems to give me quite a deal of pain relief without getting high from the THC. It doesn't taste very great, so sometimes I will put in a cup tea.

Do I now use marijuana every day. No, primarily because of the high. I limit it to days where I no longer will be driving anywhere. I also can't use much if I need my brain. Low levels are fine, but if I am high, my speech is slurred and my short term memory goes. That is similar to what used to happen when took too much gabapentin.


Whatever you do, start slowly. During my first high in over 30 years, I ate too much of a brownie too fast. I just ate more of it when I realized I was already pretty high. I am a little anxious at times, so at first I started to freak. But within a few minutes I calmed down and went along for the ride. Since then I usually try to avoid getting. When I do get high, I actually feel more pain for a while (may 15 minutes) but then it calmed down and the relief lasted for several hours. If I vaporized it rather than eating it, the same cycle occurred but over a much smaller time frame.

I am moving to AZ in October. This was something my wife and I have been planning to do for several years. In fact we bought our new home in AZ just a few months before I first got PN. Now I plan to get a medical mj permit so I can legally buy it. Also, places that sell medical mj are more likely to have some edibles with high CBD and little or no THC.