Faces at rally reveal tragic truth of medical marijuana patients

Sacramento Bee ^ | 22 September 2002 | Diana Griego Erwin

[JediGirl]

Tess Williams of Elk Grove wept when she saw her sister holding a sign in the crowd of protesters standing outside Santa Cruz's City Hall last week.

"It just is so unlike her," Williams said. Her sister, a soccer mom, PTA secretary "and always the more quiet and elegant of us two," isn't the sign-waving type.

[07055]

http://www.hivdent.org/drugs/DRONABINOL.htm

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

Bingo. You two have hit it spot on. Several medical studies (not that you'll ever see THEM quoted by the "medical marijuanna" crowd) have shown that smoked pot is less efficient in getting the THC and other "active" ingredients to the patients. Both pill and injectible forms of marijuanna-based pain-killers exist now, and once again have shown more effectiveness than smoked marijuanna.

But that doesn't matter. Because it's about the high, not the "help"...

[07055]

You'd deprive a sick and dying person a small bit of painless tranquility in their life. For what?

I certainly wouldn't do that. They can ask their doctor to prescribe Dronabinol.

Dronabinol was approved by the government in 1985 for treating the nausea produced by chemotherapy in cancer patients.

In 1992 it was approved for prescription to people with AIDS to stimulate appetite and combat weight loss. The company that makes Marinol has set up an assistance program for those who have no insurance.

[07055]

But that doesn't matter. Because it's about the high, not the "help"...

And its about the people who grow and sell the marijuana, not the cancer or AIDS patients that they hide behind.

[07055]

Drug Interactions: Dronabinol is highly protein bound and may displace other protein-bound drugs. Additive hypertension might occur with amphetamines, cocaine, and other sympathomimetic agents; additive tachycardia with atropine, antihistamines and other anticholinergic agents; additive drowsiness and CNS depression with benzodiazepines, barbiturates, antihistamines, muscle relaxants and other CNS depressants.

It's strange that marijuana in the smoked form is said to be completely harmless, yet marijuana in pill form has all of these side effects. The FDA studies on this medication must have been "spiked" by the WOD crowd.

[Northpaw]

crackdown on medicinal-marijuana clubs

I hope they don't start raiding the antibiotic and asthma-inhaler clubs that I frequent.

[Northpaw]

Your statistical chart is Bovine feces. You think that someone high on pot has never been involved in a fatal automobile accident? Pleeeeeeeze!

[Houmatt]

ping

If you'd like to be added or taken off of this ping list FReepmail me

So, have actually have a pro-drug ping list?

I guess it will only end when you forget to ping people, huh?

[Houmatt]

And how long do you think it would be before you got this?

[JediGirl]

I can't forget to ping people when there's someone as funny as you hanging around. ha. ha. ha.

[Houmatt]

And, if California voters want to, they can legalize it for any purpose they chose - whether it be for the sick, or for the purposes of breaking up a black market to allow for the state to profit legally from it via taxes as it does now with tobacco, alcohol, and any other perscription or over-the-counter drug that causes far worse side effects than marijuana.

Correct. As sensible, reasonable people have a right to challenge it in court on grounds it is unconstitutional.

[Houmatt]

I have a comment: What is your point?

[Houmatt]

No. But, I still think the vast majority of the people who want the medical marijuana are the ingrown toenail crowd.

Have you noticed the most vocal of the pro-pot crowd are the ones that have nothing wrong with them?

That should tell you everything you need to know right there.

[Lokibob]

"Number of American deaths per year that result directly or primarily from the following selected causes nationwide, according to World Almanacs, Life Insurance Actuarial (death) Rates, and the last 20 years of U.S. Surgeon Generals' reports."

The chart is talking about DIRECT deaths, not "deaths as a result of".

That isn't enough, on the bottom of the chart it says:

"(Marijuana users also have the same or lower incidence of murders and highway deaths and accidents than the general non-marijuana using population as a whole. Crancer Study, UCLA; U.S. Funded ($6 million),"

Look, I'm not defending illegal use of pot.  Never have and never will. All I'm saying is a comprehensive review of the pot laws in this country needs to be done with an unbiased eye.  In my humble opinion, the laws have ruined more lives than the use of the material.

And getting back to the thread, depriving the sick of relief is still WRONG.

[07055]

And getting back to the thread, depriving the sick of relief is still WRONG.

Current Federal law does NOT deprive them of any relief that THC may supply. Dronabinol (and I believe other THC derived medications) is available in every state.

[Red Jones]

bump

[Northpaw]

You're right, I didn't look at the chart closely enough. I still think that the chart is custom-tailored to produce a specific result. The data is supposedly deaths that are "directly or primarily" from these substances. How many 'direct' deaths from caffeine do you know of? More people have probably died from electrolyte depletion from too much water than have died even indirectly from caffeine.

[Zon]

I certainly wouldn't do that. They can ask their doctor to prescribe Dronabinol.

That's good to know. As I said in the only post I made to you:

07055: I wouldn't have a problem with prescribed marijuana---treated as any other drug with restricted access to people who actually needed it (based on clinical studies, not hearsay) 31

Zon: That's odd, most people only have a problem when another person harms them by initiating of force, threat of force or fraud against them. You seem to have a problem with yourself, not other people.71

[chance33_98]

And how long do you think it would be before you got this?

Honestly, no idea - but if it was San Fran I would say yesterday ;)

[Lokibob]

Of course the chart is skewed to get the desired results.

I only posted it to see what Illbays' reaction to it would be. Of course, he dismissed the statistics.

Which makes the point, no intelligent discussion can be made on this subject. It polarizes everybody. It is like the creationism/evolution issue. Everybody has a stand and will defend it to death.

Somebody a couple of posts ago said that the pot substitutes are legal in every state. Thats wrong on many levels.

If you work in an industry where drug testing is mandatory, you had better not be taking the substitutes.

As I said, I have glaucoma, and I use the V.A. as my medical insuror. I talked to my doctor (not because I wanted the drug, but to collect information on it) about the pills, and she told me 2 things. There is no reliable studies on the effects of THC on galucoma because the federal government will not allow studies to be done. And 2nd, the V.A. will never, ever, allow perscriptions for THC.

Oh, well, nuff said on the subject. I have wasted enough time today on it.