Dear Hannah -

Very sorry for not responding earlier. I concur with katcam831, with the qualification that the literature (primarily around MS) stands for the proposition that marijuana /cannabis is something of a wonder drug for spasms, while working perfectly well for pain. The only problem is that, well, you're stoned, something that may very well not happen at a dose equivalent level of opioids and Baclofen, although both may initially make you sleepy.

Here are three freely available articles that I recommend:

Cannabis use as described by people with multiple sclerosis, Page SA, Verhoef MJ, Stebbins RA et al, Can J Neurol Sci. 2003 Aug;30(3):201-5, FULL TEXT @ http://cjns.metapress.com/media/9e27...xvtpjrwf1.pdf;

Smoked cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain: a randomized controlled trial, Ware MA, Wang T, Shapiro S, CMAJ 2010 Oct 5;182(14):E694-701, Epub 2010 Aug 30, FULL TEXT @ http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/182/14/E694.pdf AND

Smoked medicinal cannabis for neuropathic pain in HIV: a randomized, crossover clinical trial, Ellis RJ, Toperoff W, Vaida F, Neuropsychopharmacology 2009 Feb;34(3):672-80, Epub 2008 Aug 6, FULL TEXT @ http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v3...pp2008120a.pdf

The funny thing is that I live in California where medical marijuana is supposed to be legal, but my pain mngt. physician is uncomfortable with me using marijuana - even if prescribed by someone else - where he and his university pain clinic write a lot of prescriptions for Schedule II medications, and is sufficiently concerned about the watchful eyes of the DEA that all patients being treated there are subject to random drug screens, although I have never been required to enter into a "treatment contract" as such. Instead, he's willing to prescribe a perfectly legal drug, Marinol, which is a synthetic but exact copy of one of the nine naturally occurring THC molecules [Delta-9] in marijuana. The only problem is that the Delta-9 molecule is apparently not the sharpest knife in the cannabis drawer: while it does a great job of resolving spasms, it takes roughly 30 - 40 minutes to become effective and then leaves me somewhat delusional for hours thereafter. Sort of like the brown Mexican pot I remember from 40 years ago. (And in stark contrast to the sensimilla buds a close friend of mine in San Francisco - who was dying of cancer - used to have delivered to her door from the marijuana dispensary of the most established AIDS clinic in the city.)

And as to Marinol, I've found that my need for it dropped dramatically after I went through an altogether new course of physical therapy, which focused solely on stretching and "nerve gliding" exercises, which I would recommend to anyone.

Finally, by way of an aside, my psychiatrist wanted me to talk to a former colleague of his, who is now running a medical marijuana practice exclusively, in which he primarily prescribes concentrated droplets know as "tincture of cannabis." I spoke to the gentleman briefly, before determining that he wasn't for me. Then ran tincture of cannabis on PubMed, and was surprised to come up with only 3 hits, and only one of them was a free article, dating to 1847! A Case of Dysmenorrhoea [painful menstruation] in Which the Tincture of Cannabis Indica Was Employed, with Some Observations upon That Drug, Barrow B, Prov Med Surg J 1847 Mar 10;11(5):122-4, FULL TEXT @ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...00388-0010.pdf (Check it out.)

I hope some of this at least is helpful.

Mike

fmichael -

"Instead, he's willing to prescribe a perfectly legal drug, Marinol, which is a synthetic but exact copy of one of the nine naturally occurring THC molecules [Delta-9] in marijuana."

Boy, this caught my eye. The dr. is willing to give you a synthetic copy of something that already exists in a better form. Ok doc, that's logical.

I'm in California and smoke mj nightly. I have a routine with the wifey.... After dinner and before we sit down to vegitate in front of the tv, I'll go out back and medicate. When I come in, we both go on the couch and she rubs my feet and legs and in return I rub her feet. She has no pain, but likes her feet rubbed. By the time this is over, I have NO pain and when bedtime rolls around, I sleep like a baby til morning.

I have a good relationship with my g.p. and I can talk to him about anything. He once told me he didn't like me 'self-medicating' with mj. I told him, fine, prescribe me something I can grow for free in the backyard, eliminates my pain for a few hours, lets me sleep all night and awake refreshed. He just gave me a dirty look, lol.

I have a good gp, but I think drs. have a God complex or something. If they didnt learn it in med school, it can't be good for you.

They have the DEA and FDA glaring at them.

Yeah, I guess your right. Makes me wonder why we bother to vote on something if the feds are just going to play nanny.

My wife has RSD and smokes marijuana...

She tells me different things at different times. Most of the time is that it helps her muscle spasms and appetite and not her pain. Other times she tells me that if I could keep her in an unlimited supply of medical marijuana she wouldn't have to take any narcotics.

Our biggest issue the cost involved. Marijuana is not covered by insurance and marinol is just not the same. Marijuana is prescribed by a doctor, but not restricted to a certain amount over a certain time period. I try to limit my wife to about an ounce a month ($300 or $10/day). But she always exceeds that by about double...which usually means we have to borrow money from family so my wife can stay medicated.

We could try growing it, but I can already hear my wife saying "this isn't as strong as the marijuana we buy". Which means we would spend a bunch of money on a garden and still having to buy Grade A stuff at the dispensary.

Kind of a vicious circle.

Thanks!