Pot Addicts Are Okay But Legitimate Chronic Pain Sufferers In Need of Opioids? Not So Much.

Townhall.com ^ | December 17, 2018 | Rachel Alexander

[steve86]

Your wife is fortunate to have discovered Cannabis for pain relief and I am happy for her. I am one of those people for whom Cannabis actually increases perceived pain, even feeling pain where I don’t normally, so it doesn’t work for everyone! However, I have not recently had major, chronic pain like your wife does — maybe it would work then.

[Mister Da]

Once the pain becomes bad enough, I suspect every FReeper will choose opioid addiction over incapacitation.

If that disturbs you, consider that there are millions of functional opioid addicts who are not curled up in a corner babbling incoherently, but lead happy, productive lives.

[Jumper]

Army paratrooper with a jump injury in 1987.... hung there on active duty until I had my 20-years then got out. The VA started me on pain meds which helped me to actually start getting around in 1994 to present. I have had to educate a few of the pain management folks along the way the past two years. First the FDA (Govt) stated in their guidance to the medical community that 1) people taking pain meds over 10-years were to basically be left alone; 2) between 5-10 years consideration for lowering or reducing or taking away the meds in concert with medical reviews, counseling, pain management programs; and 3) under 5 years were to be removed if possible and no new pain medication patients were to be created unless they met specific requirements.

So if you smoke weed and you come up hot on a random urinalysis you lose your pain meds for 3-months; or you test positive for anything controlled you lose your pain meds.... three straight months of urinalysis before a new prescription. Places like VA just refuse to issue you any future meds if you come up positive once.

I hope the VA stops the State-by-State Medical Pot stuff and just it to everyone - if you can take in DC, California or Colorado and the VA is ok with it there, they should be fine with it Nation-wide - I understand the difference between Federal and State laws, but if the VA recognizes any State's laws as legal for Weed but the controlling law is the Federal Govt, then they can't allow it -but they do where it is legal by the State but not the Feds.

[Jumper]

If Vicodin it is Hydrocodine, and if it is Percocet it is Oxycodone. Opium variants both, but lumped together with the pain pills.

[Bonemaker]

I thought she nailed it...but that’s just me.

[razorback-bert]

Ditto

[morphing libertarian]

LOL

I worked for 28 years prisons. Almost everyone of the u mates smoked pot. NONE of them were psychotic because of it. I would include a significant percentage of the employees. Lastly, myself and close friends and neighbors. Odd tat this effect didn’t;t show up in my sample pf over 15,000.

[precisionshootist]

" Opioid overdose deaths have gone up while opioid prescriptions have gone down since they peaked around 2013. Heroin, fentanyl prices have declined significantly. But, it’s easier to bust a doctor or pharmacist than a drug dealer; it’s the paper trail of course. When raided, doctors and pharmacists don’t shoot back (at least for now). "

You are hitting on it. This "crisis" is not real. The government wants you to believe it's doctors treating patients and writing scripts when they shouldn't. That is a lie and is not happening to anywhere near the level we are being led to believe with the governments fake numbers.

Why would the government want to lie about drug overdoses and blame it on doctors? Many reasons. One being to cover for their intentional open border that is providing a pipeline for illegal drugs. Second is "control" of doctors down to the treatment level. Why do they want that? The government wants control of what treatments doctors prescribe so they can control the costs of healthcare. If government can keep doctors from effectively treating costly patients with chronic pain those people will die sooner and thus save money. Down the road when chronic pain and other conditions treated by opioids that make life livable for many the evil leftists will be there to provide the solution, assisted death.

This may sound far fetched but it's not, it's already happening.

[antidisestablishment]

You and me both, brother!

I’ve always found it strange how conservatives profess to want “limited government” and “government out of healthcare,” and yet fall in line slavering like Pavlov’s dogs whenever the War on Drugs is mentioned.

This is not only bad policy; it is the equivalent of torture in many cases. I’d like to see every politician and bureaucrat who pushes this contract a painful chronic illness and be denied pain medication.

[dragnet2]

That pretty much slams the hood down on his head.☺

Btw, I once heard the Immanis parasite worm can grow up to 5 feet inside the human body. One way doctors remove it is to place the patient on his stomach, prop open his mouth, and place a piece of raw meat in front of the mouth. When the parasite starts to exit the mouth, the physician grabs it and literally pulls it out of the patients.

[Noamie]

That database predates Trump.

[KC_Lion]

Thank You for sharing snowtigger.

[jmacusa]

AA has no opinion on outside issues. It neither endorses or opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.

[mountainlion]

I worked for 28 years....

I suppose THC is like alcohol in that you build up a tolerance. When it became legal in Colorado lots of new users tried it and got some huge doses with edibles. I think these are the ones with the biggest problems. A lot of people get in trouble driving high and get involved in a wreck. I suppose the ones that are in denial whether pot or alcohol are the most dangerous ones.

[Waverunner]

About every 4 months for my drug testing. So no lemon muffins with poppy seeds for me.

[Chickensoup]

Opioids include heroin a drug that has been implicated in accidentally OD since the beginning.

Opioid deaths include suicides. At least half if gun deaths are any guide.

As sad as these deaths are, my response is : So what?

[morphing libertarian]

Some people are more prone to psychosis if there drink or do drugs.

[GailA]

70% of OD’s are from Heroin/Fenatayl laced.

3.9% of recent Suicides are from Intractable Pain Patients, this figure is UP.

Meth is the #1 OD drug.

This Marine Col committed suicide in the VA parking lot sitting on his medical records. DENIED adequate pain medication.
https://www.usmclife.com/2018/12/marine-colonel-pilot-takes-his-own-life-in-va-parking-lot-while-sitting-on-his-military-records/?fbclid=IwAR1moPWTA3V_aq-XWhNnNU5F7sUqoL73krsnKdf-cgMBeqVHt_OwatOBhLc

IF you use the words CHRONIC PAIN you use the WRONG word. It is INTRACTABLE PAIN IP IS A MEDICAL DISEASE! GOOGLE the meaning. OPIOIDS are Prescriptions meds authorized by Doctors at the right level. ILLICIT DRUGS IS the CORRECT WORD for ILLEGAL DRUGS.

I’m a INTRACTABLE PAIN PATIENT. I’m 70 my health was DESTROYED by FDA APPROVED Drugs for Osteoarthritis, Spine destroyed by the Cortisone, Predisone, and Steroid shots. Those OA drugs Destroyed my Gastro Tract, it paralyzed my colon. Damaged my teeth, Vision, and 2 botched surgeries damaged my Dominate hand, and took half my hearing so I now have to wear hearing aids. I’ve had more trips to the ER for A-Fib due to the damage to my heart that these CRAP FDA APPROVED drugs caused to boot. I’m now having the remaining 11 lower teeth removed for a denture, damaged by FDA approved drugs. The Dentist won’t do the uppers as I have no teeth missing but Wisdom. They hurt, burn, the gums are receded, they are shifted in the jaw and need braces after the grafts, cost to fix over $200,000. And that does NOT include the 4 Molar implants I’d need. I opted for a lower denture which has cost about $5,000 now as they had to be pulled in stages and bone spurs removed. Been a 4 month process. Will be Feb before I see the lower denture as gums have to heal.

[GailA]

The CDC Quietly Admits It Screwed Up Counting Opioid Pills

https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/03/19/cdc-quietly-admits-it-screwed-dishonestly-counting-pills-12717?fbclid=IwAR0NjS8ZsrUtqVwBnL-uSeopt3_9dfjnTggQLri5qhd-osGLKJITktPa-FU

CATO CDC Researchers State Overdose Death Rates From Prescription Opioids Are Inaccurately High
https://www.cato.org/blog/cdc-researchers-state-overdose-death-rates-prescription-opioids-are-inaccurately-high

[primrose]

You have remember even that does not work for every one,,My Sister has four rods in her back and she tried it and guess what it did not work for her,Every one is not the same,I am so glad that it worked for wife that is a real blessing, I was hoping it would have worked for my sister...