Posted on 12/16/2016 9:39:59 AM PST by rhett october
When my mother struggled with cancer, her appetite dropped to nothing. In my state, medical marijuana is legal, so the doctor prescribed it to help her appetite.
To say it worked would be an understatement. Within a couple of days she was eating normal amounts and felt hunger for the first time in a week. With the drug, she was able to maintain her weight and strength.
She stayed with me during her treatment but went home to dad some as well. On one of her trips home to dad, she ran out of the medical marijuana and went to a local pharmacy to have the prescription refilled. She said the pharmacist had an odd look on his face and asked if her local doctor prescribed this for her. She explained to him that she was seeing an oncologist in my state.
The pharmacist told her that medical marijuana wasn’t legal in her state and that she’d need to go back to my state to get the prescription refilled.
What struck me as so silly about that was that there are legal forms of drugs that are much more extreme and addictive such as morphine and OxyContin which are medicinal heroin. Marijuana is not even considered to be an addictive drug and the results of using it, even recreationally, are really pretty mild compared to other drugs. So why would my mom’s state allow medical heroin but not medical marijuana?
There are conspiracy theories told by wide-eyed potheads that aren’t worth spreading, but there is one conspiracy-sounding story that seems to be reasonable.
The story says that marijuana can be made into paper more efficiently than trees. And this was discovered back in the early days of big-logging. For the owners of logging companies, this was terrible news because it meant that companies who developed paper would buy from marijuana growers instead of buying logged trees.
So the wealthy loggers went to politicians and convinced them that marijuana was a drug that was worse than alcohol and made people crazy. Therefore, growing the plant should be illegal. They might have also bribed the politicians. Either way, the story says that the logging companies convinced lawmakers to outlaw their competition.
Then there’s the theory that says it’s because of THC, the mind-altering ingredient in the marijuana plant. It’s what creates the buzz. According to some, the THC is used to expand your mind to levels of enlightenment – spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Government elites don’t want us peasants to expand our minds, or so goes the theory. I can’t say it makes sense to me.
As best I can tell, the conventional reason is that it’s a mind altering substance that is viewed as a gateway drug. And because it’s been illegal for so long, it seems like it’s chiseled in stone. But in terms of having medicinal value, I can tell you from what I witnessed with my mom, it most certainly is helpful. The United States has other drugs that are legal for medicinal uses and I think marijuana should make that list.
There are currently 28 states that have legalized medical marijuana and more will follow because it just makes sense.
Marinol contains only one of marijuana's active ingredients so is not always a substitute.
Freedom allows adults to hurt themselves by misusing all sorts of things: alcohol, power tools, cars, ... Either government is our nanny or it's the defender of our freedom.
Marijuana is not addictive. It may be habitual to some but it is not physically addictive like hard drugs or alcohol or nicotine. There are no cravings or withdrawals like these drugs have when someone tries to stop. If you smoke pot, you can just stop with no affects.
Get your facts straight. Try more "scientific" observations....
Thanks for the info, not that I’m concerned with using it.
You're welcome. I'm not sure how the "Marinol doesn't get you high" myth started - maybe people are confusing it with cannabis oil, which contains the non-psychoactive marijuana component CBD.
Where'd you read that? High Times?
My nephew was a victim of the "pot isn't harmful, causes no long term problems and pot is no more harmful than alcohol," mantra.
In the 1970s, Jeff began smoking pot at 14. He was math and physical sciences super star until his appetite for pot grew to daily use at 16-17.
By graduation from high school, his straight A record had fallen to lower Cs and Ds, with a few failing grades due to skipping exams.
He ultimately enrolled in junior college with the intent to transfer to the state university after passing a few courses, while on the university's probation program for him, thanks to his engineer dad's influence.
Unfortunately, Jeff failed to complete some very simple courses due to skipped classes and no shows on exams and either dropped or failed all classes yet pretended he would be enrolled "at a real university next fall."
Jeff continued pretending he was "continuing his education" while he was fired from even the most menial jobs, because they "failed to appreciate his high IQ."
I'll cut this sad story short here but after the sudden heart attack of his father, he continued from one job to another when his mom finally asked him to move.
He was arrested for "borrowing the car without permission of his employer" and served 30 - 60 days shock time to get his attention.
Jeff later died from lung cancer due to his constant smoking of pot exclusively, never tobacco.
No child should ever be allowed to take recreational drugs, whether it be alcohol, tobacco, weed, pharmaceuticals, or anything else.
All such substances obviously carry health risks, especially with chronic use.
Notwithstanding that, adults, however, as free individuals, have the right to choose whether to recreate or not, as long as doing so doesn't infringe on the rights of others.
I'm very sorry to hear about your negative experience with your nephew. It makes me wonder exactly what the situation was with respect to parental oversight and control?
It does seem, however like you're conflating several different issues, and trying to make some kind of blanket conclusion, which might be every bit as inaccurate as the "mantra" you mentioned at the beginning of your anecdote.
In any event, I can state from personal, anecdotal, and statistical knowledge my firm belief that alcohol is, by orders of magnitude, far worse than all other drugs combined. The horrible consequences that flow from its abuse are truly breathtaking when considered in all their varied manifestations.
Having said that, I remain convinced that Prohibition is an even greater evil. Substituting the Tyranny of the State for the Tyranny of substance abuse is not a solution to anything, and that applies to all drugs...
I linked to the article in a response above. It was an interview with someone from a government department.
Well said!
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