July 23, 2004

Parkinsons, access and health

Lalo asks if medical marijuana can help Parkinson's Disease.

Many people with Parkinson's have resorted to marijuana for treatment of their disease's symptoms -- pain and spasticity.

Marijuana can help ease the painful feelings, help you relax and sleep, and relax your muscles to decrease the spasticity.

Getting medical marijuana is not as easy as some may think. First, you must discuss it with your physician, and if he/she is willing, they must put it in writing, either in a letter, or in your medical chart.

Next, one must get access to the drug. Your physician can not help you. Although he/she can legally discuss it with you and recommend or approve it for your use, they are not permitted, but law, to help you get it.

Some states that have approved medical marijuana have clubs or organizations for patients, such as Buyers' Clubs or patient co-ops. They will often put the patient through a qualifying process, and it may sometimes be a week or more before one gets approved as a member.

Even then, all may not be rosey. Marijuana is not cheap. In fact, the price of marijuana and the price of gold is about identical! Clubs and co-ops may offer you a slight discount, but not much, it often costs them quite a bit to obtain it, and maintain their facilities.

The trick for survival is often Spartan moderation. Smoke very little, and not very often, and it will certainly last a lot longer than if you roll huge fatties (big joints) to smoke. Also, the more you smoke, and the more often you smoke, the more of a resistance you will create. What may begin as a bowl full a day can easily grow into four or five pipes a day.

When I first started using marijuana medically, I had very little money to spend on it. I conserved my medicine, and an eighth of an ounce (3.5 grams) would last several weeks. Within a short time, I was up to an eighth of an ounce a week, and at one point, when I had the money, I could use sometimes as much as an ounce a week. This would include material for cooking as well as smoking, but $400 a week is really a lot of money.

I was smoking this much because, in part, I needed it. I was on some medications that were really making me sick a lot. The worst was one called Crixovan, which really upset my stomach. Eventually, my doctor and I decided to cut out my meds and let my body re-adjust itself. I was worried that I would not be able to quit or cut back on the marijuana, as I've heard all these horror stories about how addictive it could be.

I was ready to brace myself for some really difficult times, but I was pleased and surprised to discover that I had virtually not difficulties cutting out all marijuana use.

Now I'm back on the drug cocktails, and take about 20 pills a day. These are a better class of pills that before, and I have very little vomiting and nausea from it. The major problem is a loss of appetite. I'm rarely hungry, especially at night. This is when I smoke just a couple bowls of a pipe