ahhhhhh, that's a well-written and very informative piece Sandy, thanks for posting it!

it's the best explanation I've seen for why orally-administered MARINOL doesn't work.

for me, the oral administration of MJ, (via brownies, with all natural cannabinoids intact), it *IS* the slowness of absorption I want... for overnight usage, and control of severe spasticity.

I really don't want to feel "stoned" all the time, but I just HATE to wake up with my legs in deep spasm.

like Kitty, I only have intermittent spasticity (of the LARGE kind), so my aim is to not wake up frantically clutching my foot or leg, and yelping for God to have mercy.

the minor muscle tightness I can deal with, using careful, gentle stretches, and self-massage... without medication...

when I hold still for a while, or nap, or sleep at night, I tighten up a lot, but it's manageable, and it's not DIRE AGONY, like the major spasticity I experience, often during sleep.

Spasticity is a condition in which a muscle has increased tone and resists being stretched. Although the details of how muscles become spastic are still not completely understood, stretch reflexes are known to be involved. When a muscle is stretched (e.g., when the opposite muscle contracts), specialized receptors in the muscle tendons report the amount of stretch to the nervous system. In turn, the nervous system tells the stretched-out muscle to start contracting. In some neurologic disorders, including cerebral palsy and MS, stretch reflexes can become hypersensitive and initiate muscle contractions inappropriately. The affected muscles feel tight or stiff and are prone to painful spasms.

Normally, nerve signals from the brain and upper spinal cord help control the stretch reflexes, inhibiting them when necessary, to allow appropriate muscle contraction. In MS, lesions in the nervous system interrupt nerve signals, and it is thought that MS-related spasticity probably arises when the lesions block these inhibitory signals from the brain. Spasticity affects up to 60% of people with MS, and adds to existing problems with mobility and muscle weakness.

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/A...icityInMS.html

MJ when orally administered is also helpful with my... um, what's the word, clonus? well, I was close, it's MYOCLONUS:

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/myoclonus.html

hugs and love to all of you experiencing spasticity (be it major or minor)