Thousands of people parish each year to mistakenly overdosing on opiate based pain killers and other legal narcotics? Would marijuana be the optimal alternative to this national epidemic?
I suppose we should pursue all avenues in the pursuit of pain relief, but it shouldn't be an open door for people who just want to get high.
Marijuana is not primarily an analgesic. It is used more in an anti-nausea application.
Any problem with people wanting to get high from marijuana?
I don't see any problem with it. It is not like it can kill anyone.
It can kill me. I'm allergic to it.
I'd like to see warning labels on it to alert the public to possible allergic reactions.
It impairs driving, impairs good judgement, affects educational performance and influences the sperm in a way that may affect offspring.
Every drug has negative effects and side effects. I am not anti-marijuana but it would be wrong to say it is completely safe.
It should be weighed by the doctor and patient alongside any other options and be given with does instructions. And IMHO medical use is a separate issue from recreational use.
I always have a problem with illegal drug use, i would rather see it legalized and the laws and rules of usage and strengths be regulated.
We have a law passed in my state for medical use of Marijuana. The biggest problem is to find a doctor who will prescribe it and not charge an arm and 2 kidneys. Not to mention the follow up visits, which are a good idea, unless it's expensive, not covered by insurance, and far away.
I have chronic pain and take a boat load of medicines that are slowly destroying my liver. So I'm trying to figure out how that is better than marijuana!
Many people with my condition, Elhers - Danlos Syndrome, have used it - one way or another - and find it's highly effective for the pain and the insomnia that often goes along with our condition.
I would more seriously pursue it for myself except that I have kids in the house and for developing brains, there is no drug - legal or illegal - that do not interfere with the process. Of course, I talk in circles because I have my other pain meds in the house which wouldn't be any better!
In general, we need to move beyond vilification of treating pain and treat addiction instead. While controlling "pill mills" is a good thing, the laws have restricted access to those who need it, in some cases so they can not get anyone to prescribe it.
Imagine if we vilified insulin this way. A diabetic is dependent on insulin, but we do not call them addicts. But someone with chronic pain using medicine - including marijuana - is instantly looked at with suspicion. With chronic pain, we ARE dependent on the medication too. Untreated pain leads to changes in brain chemistry, loss of quality of life, as well as depression.
If you take insulin away from a diabetic they will die, if you take Marijuana away from addict they will not.
I have empathy with you over your condition but medical Marijuana is not the miracle cure for pain, it may help and therefor be available (which you have intimated in your post) but my point was that it should be for medical use and not for just getting high.
I agree, just like opiates or barbiturates that are highly effective but vilified for pain. Just because you take something away from someone who is dependent on it and they don't die, doesn't mean the concept is not the same. Perhaps another analogy is if we take meds away from the mentally ill, they would not die either, yet it would be highly immoral. So, to let someone with chronic pain suffer because they are dependent on pain meds for quality of life is equally immoral.
My analogy is merely to address the double standard we have for medication - of which marijuana should be considered.
Alcohol and tobacco are highly addictive, legal drugs. We've become a society that encourages and supports people to get help when they need it but otherwise, we leave them alone to consume these drugs in peace (less so tobacco.) But look for a doctor who can help you manage your pain (hopefully using a combination of natural and pharmaceutical methods) and you become a drug seeker and shunned. I know a fellow EDSer who became shunned by her community for having to take these medications to treat her chronic pain.
There just is no consistency in the whole way we look at this. Rather than encourage addicts to seek treatment, we just take away the substance that helps more people than become addicted to it. Kind of like throwing the bathwater out despite the baby!
According to the FDA (statistics are not available for recent years yet):
- From 1998 to 2003, acetaminophen was the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, with 48% of acetaminophen-related cases (131 of 275) associated with accidental overdose.1
- A 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) population-based report estimates that, nationally, there are 1600 cases of acute liver failure (ALF) each year (all causes). Acetaminophen-related ALF was the most common etiology.2
- Summarizing data from three different surveillance systems, there were an estimated 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 458 deaths related to acetaminophen-associated overdoses per year during the 1990-1998 period.
Several sources cite 0 deaths per year due to cannabis overdoses. That is not to say that driving while high will not kill, just like with the legal drug alcohol, but you can die from drinking too much in your living room.
Again, my point is that we, as a society, are not consistent in our thinking of what is harmful and should be illegal and what is not.
There are no figures related to deaths from the use of the drug because they haven't done any and when they do research it's called rubbish by the drug using fraternity.
As I have said I have no opposition to it used for medical purposes but until it is legalised for general use with laws and regulations surrounding that use then I am against it.
Accidental overdose isn't a drug problem it's a people problem.
Again I am not even against the legalisation of certain drugs I am however against the use of illegal unrestricted unmonitored supply of substandard crime promoting drugs that kill people, families and society.
I didn't see this before I answered your reply to my comment, mbwalz. I agree 100%. Most of the drugs in America that are legal and openly advertised are known killers: alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical drugs, aspartame, and much of our food brings about an early death. But smoking an herb (that might cause one to think about how absurd our political/economic system is) can land you in jail.
Did you see the AP article that appeared in the news on July 3rd about the enormous increase in deaths of women by accidental overdoses due to opioid painkillers? OxyContin is legal; marijuana is not -- That tells the whole story. They want us stupified.
As long as Big Pharma can patent it and own the revenue stream, preventing competition, anything goes. Speed for toddlers? -- get an ADHD diagnosis. Obese and want to lose weight fast -- get some Desoxyn(methadrine). It's all legal if you have a prescription. And it's all quite toxic to the body.
I'm not advocating any of these things. I could just do with a lot less hypocrisy on the part of lawmakers and MDs.
Medicinal marijuana, yes, IF there was a way to control whether a person operates a motor vehicle while on it, and behaves in a responsible manner, because no matter how good the effects of marijuana are, the fact is that it makes a person high, causes decreased inhibitions, and slows down their reflexes. It is a mind-altering, mood-altering drug. Plus, I heard years ago that the effects on a person's lungs of one marijuana joint is equal to 100 or so cigarettes. Dunno if that's true or not, but it's a consideration. I know that the side effects of most meds are also a consideration, believe me! And this is a relevant and timely subject; I wish there were a good solution! I just don't know if medical marijuana is a good solution.
You really should not share information that is not proven nor true- it makes you look like a liar.
Medical marijuana is one option for pain. Another that may be more effective and less addictive than the opioids and barbituates is an herb called kratom. Read the Wikipedia on it to learn about centuries of use as a replacement for opium and as a way to break the addiction that comes with opiates. The botanical name of the tree kratom comes from is Mitragyna speciosa. It is an herb of many uses that has never caused an overdose death. Unfortunately, its abuse by thrill-seekers has brought DEA attention to it and it could become, like marijuana, a controlled substance.
Interesting Paul, I was just reading about it, specifically from Forbes and a follow-up on The Daily Brain. I have take opiates for pain as well as what I take now (which are better for the headaches and not so good for the overall pain). I take lots of supplements - some help and others are not effective for me. But I will keep this Kratom in mind and maybe try it after I talk to my doctors. Thanks Paul!
Thanks for your comment, mbwalz. The only thing I find negative about kratom are the facts that it constipates one slightly, it is not conducive to my best physical performance climbing steep hills, and it makes me less sharp when writing. But, if you're in severe pain or even moderate pain or anxiety, I would reach for it quickly. But opioids, opiates like Tylenol w/ Codeine and even aspirin do those things to me.
From reading the medical research, I find no longterm toxicity. Tylenol and aspirin can be fatal, on the other hand.
I'd be very interested to hear what your doctor has to say about it.
For people with Ehlers - Danlos Syndrome, constipation is a constant battle. For me, magnesium takes care of that and is good for the muscles that stiffen up around the dislocations. So, I'm not sure I'd notice the change any way. Do you know of a source which is premeasured?
by Mahsa S 8 years ago
Should we make Marijuana Illegal completely? Or use it ONLY for Medical purposes? Or make it legal?Cannabis, aka marijuana and by numerous other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. It's a Schedule I controlled Substance. Its use is...
by Riece 13 years ago
I personally think it is ridiculous that it's not allowed. But according to polls the majority disagree with me! Surely there must be somebody on here that favors the outlawing of marijuana. Tell me why!
by John Marshall 9 years ago
Do you think marijuana should be legal? Explain your answer.Marijuana is currently a schedule 1 drug, and is illegal on the Federal level. The DEA has posted a report on their website called ‘The Dangers & Consequences of Marijuana Abuse’. After reading this report I am surprised at how...
by kirstenblog 13 years ago
I just stumbled on this story and am really impressed. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/2 … 09102.htmlThe story is about Ron Paul's stance that the fed should take a hands off approach to medical marijuana, that it should be down to the states. My only worry is that Obama campaigned...
by Tonja Petrella 12 years ago
Would you allow your teen to get a medical marijuana card if they had a chronic medical condition?
by Beata Stasak 12 years ago
Pro or against medical marijuana.14 U.S. states have voted to allow medical marijuana since...California first legalized it in 1996. Many apperas to sincerely believe that every customer is truly ill and will benefit from cannabis' medicinal properties. Yet the encounter puts into focus what many...
Copyright © 2024 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2024 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |