There are a few (or even several) US states that have medicinal mj laws now, apparently. Here's some information on the efforts to legalize it in the US:

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

Apparently it's a VERY involved process, Laura, to get rx'd medicinal mj in Canada. My friend (RIP, Grassman) tried to get through the paperwork because he otherwise had to pay for it himself . . . but the process was too cumbersome for him. They won't usually prosecute for small quantities in Canada anyway, even if it is not used for "medicinal purposes". However, if you want it paid and supplied by our government you need to get the paperwork done. (Of course, we can alternatively get a rx for Sativex.)

I used marijuana for eating and sleeping after my bad attack in 2003 (for two years). I only used it at night, and only two puffs!!!, because it makes me paranoid and more "aware" of what my body is doing/feeling. I stopped when I got on LDN because that took care of the sleeping/eating/pain issues for me.

Cherie

I a user an an advocate for Med MJ. For me it helps with pain, spasticity and the stress of deling with a lifelong chronic disease.

i checked and there is no Med MJ law in Virginia. normal.orc has a lot of info @ Med MJ including files of studies and findings by Medical professionals. There a lot of info on the web.

I worked to help change the law in Maine and we got it done, it took 9+ years. On the normal .orc site there is a method to contact your elected officials in your state. Also there are two bills pending in the Us Congress that increase the availability for Med Maj and remove the Federal penalities.
Contact your elected officials to get their support on this legislation.

I'm in the VI now and have just begun to form a group to try to change the archaic and oppressive law here. The VI is very conservative ( who would have thought ) so it will be a struggle as the referendum and citizens initiatives are harder to accomplish. But......

A little puff of MJ as Sandy mentioned may be a natural substitute for some RX drug along with the side effects. I only use a DMD, some supplements and when I can't stand it, Vicodan, but rarely.

There are still many people who buy into the reefer madness thing of 40-50 years ago and they will never accept it. My mother used it in the last stages of her terminal brain cancer, my 80 something father in law uses it for his Glaucoma. It is a naturally occurring herb with soothing benefits for a wide range of afflictions.

I use Sativex. It's bottled THC that you spray into your mouth. I had printed off the Health Canada applications for MM and it was about 1 cm thick. Here is the link to the Health Canada site to apply for MM:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marih...mplete-eng.php

I prefer Sativex because I feel like I have more dose control. I don't particularly like MJ (THC) in general because, like Cherie, it makes me anxious and gives me heart palpitations.

I only use it to get me out of extreme pain situations in combination with other drugs.

thanks weeb. i'm going to investigate that too.
my neuro offered me MM some time ago but i turned it down.
didn't want to hassle the legal ramifications.

but i may look into it again.

i would check with your dr and see what he says about any possible effects on the conditions you have.

Always a timely and interesting topic...when will we in the U.S. grow up about this herb? So many patients would be helped by it...

Thankfully, Gov. Richardson is fairly progressive when it comes this and it's been legal here for a while. I got my authorization (not a prescription) last week and I've been watching "Weeds" to see how to grow it . No stores here. So it's either find a drug dealer (no thanks) or grow my own. I'm a decent gardener so I think it won't take me more than a time or two to get it right. The doc asked if I already had been using, which I haven't since college, and then told me "be careful, it's a LOT stronger these days".

Now just to hope the jack booted thugs from the feds don't bother me and more so that our new president takes care of this BS asap.

Wow I didn't even think about where to get it.... it has been a long time since I had to find one of those. So I looked up the VA laws.

Possession
Any amount (first offense) misdemeanor 30 days $500
Any amount (subsequent offense) misdemeanor 1 year $2,500

Cultivation
Any amount felony 5 - 30 years $10,000

Which is total BS! Growing my own would be a felony! Yet I can find a dealer and buy as much as I want and it's a misdemeanor. Makes no sense. I have never understood the stigma attached to MM. It seems like a much kinder alternative to the Oxycodone they had me on for the last 8 weeks.

concur.

alas, I recall when Dan Lundgren's jack-booted thugs broke down the doors of the MM clubs in California, after we worked so hard to get Prop 215 passed.

California, 1996, 56% yes vote on Prop 215 to add 11362.5 to the Health and Safety Code, legalizing medical marijuana for seriously ill patients.

http://www.chrisconrad.com/expert.witness/Prop215.html

ah well, I have my memories, and a couple of empty Rx mini-zip-lock baggies labeled Medical Marijuana, ROMULAN CROSS



the truly interesting thing is... not just the legality or illegality of a substance, but the politics behind it, and the *enforcement* of the existing laws.

here in Belize, all marijuana is illegal, yet it is grown all over, smoked (only somewhat covertly) in public by Rastafarians, and pot is only targeted in LARGE amounts for arrests, and imprisonment.

my Rx card from California is unusable here, but at the same time, I pretty much don't worry about arrest, because I keep such a very small amount on hand, and am certainly not a dealer, or plantation grower,

Your best bet is to contact a pain clinic, usually located at a major hospital, and they will likely assist you in obtaining the proper paperwork to use the MJ. Not all that difficult from what I have heard.

Harry

I can't use it because it makes my sx worse.

Life is so unfair.....