Main » August 2004

August 30, 2004

Heave Ho

Yesterday afternoon I took a nap, and woke up to hear that most-dreaded question "what do you want for dinner?" I really hate that question, and rarely have an answer. When you have no appetite it's like asking a drowning man what color suit he wants to wear.

Well, thanks to my partner, he told me to go smoke a bit, and that seemed to help. Yet every five minutes I'd hear the "I'm hungry" chant. It takes more time to smoke up an appetite, usually it takes me at least half an hour after smoking before I really feel hunger.

Well, that's at least better than Marinol, which takes about 90-minutes for me to feel hunger.

This morning, while walking my dog at 5 am, I suddenly, and without warning or nausea, had dry heaves. This is generally a bit embarrassing in public, but at 5 am there wasn't much public to notice, so that part wasn't a problem. I really have no idea why I started dry heaving. If there was something in my stomach, it wouldn't have been dry, so no mess, no fuss. Just very uncomfortable, and it made me a bit dizzy, and then my dog looked up at me with his "what the heck are you doing?" look.

If it continued, as it sometimes does for several hours, I would have smoked, and might have missed work because of it. However, it ceased before I returned home, and I was able to have my breakfast of coffee and oatmeal without a problem.

I generally will do everything I can to avoid smoking in the morning before work. I don't want to drive to work high. I don't want to be high at 5 am. I don't want to be at work high. But, it's certainly better than some of the alternatives.

Posted by Kroeme at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2004

Parental Support

A friend at work began asking me questions this week about medical marijuana for her friend's 19-year-old son, who was diagnosed with Leukemia.

Leukemia, for those who don't know, is a cancerous blood condition that is treated with chemotherapy. Because of some recently FDA-approved anti-emetics, he had very little vomiting and nausea during his initial treatments. His nausea is now increasing, with his appetite being non-existent.

This is a fairly common experience for some of the other cancer patients I've known. The initial treatments cause very little nausea, but this increases over time. His parents are now concerned enough to consider medical marijuana.

As he's young, and has already experimented with marijuana to the extent that he enjoys it, he's an excellent patient for marijuana therapy. For the elderly who have never experimented with marijuana, the effects can be frightening at first, and this treatment is therefore not always recommended.

I printed some articles out for him and his parents from the website www.MedicalMarijuanaProCon.org, and gave him the phone number for the local medical marijuana club. Now it's up to him and his doctor to decide if this is a treatment they should attempt. As he's 19, his parents do not legally have a say, but many patients of that age do still want their parents to be involved, and physicians and marijuana clubs should permit the parents to be included in such a situation.

For patients of any age, having one's parents involved and supportive of the marijuana treatment makes a big difference. Parental and/or spousal support for any serious illness can make the difference between success and failure.

Posted by Kroeme at 11:46 AM | Comments (2)

August 23, 2004

The Genie is Out

Law enforcement claims that the medical marijuana laws "muddle" the waters, making their jobs confusing and complicated. This is true, but it is not the fault of the patients. The original patients, tired of years of court battles and being told by judges to "change the laws," did so. The U.S. government and the state governments have dropped the ball, and allowed the genie to escape from the bottle. Can it ever be put back?

In California, approximately 100,000 people have obtained letters from physicians giving them permission to use medical marijuana. Approximately 40,000 of those letters were written by about six physicians.

If you do the numbers, and know that each of these physicians charge about $200 for a letter, then you can see that signing medical marijuana letters can be a very lucrative practice. These physicians do not need to wait for medicare or any insurance reimbursements as none of these visits are covered by insurance or medicare. The patients bare the cost.

What does this mean? Does this mean that a few doctors are getting rich off medical marijuana, and the patients pay through the nose for physician letters, and for the cannabis? Some say so.

Thanks to both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the genie is now out of the bottle. It's doubtful that it will ever be put back in.

In the mid-1990's when medical marijuana was first approved in just a few states, the government had a small window of opportunity to keep it small and organized. This would have entailed either legalizing it for a small class of patients, or re-opening the Compassionate IND Program that still, and has since the 1970's, sent out about 300 marijuana cigarettes to a handful of qualified patients. The criteria was very narrow, permitting only the very seriously ill to apply. The program was closed during the Bush Sr. administration, and no new patients may apply. Approximately eight patients are still receiving the monthly allotments.

When Prop. 215 first passed in California, everyone was on pins and needles waiting to see what the federal government would do. Many surmised a huge crackdown, and still others felt that the feds would go after those clubs that were issuing membership cards to anyone with a letter, no matter the condition. As no large crackdowns materialized, medical marijuana advocates became emboldened, and the letter-writing mills kept on rolling.

Just last week nearly 20,000 marijuana plants were seized by the DEA from an outdoor grow purported to be for medical marijuana patients. The DEA estimated the crop at about $80 million, which is fairly accurate. The main grower, a "minister" with no real church, and about a dozen others, were arrested.

The grower, Eddie Lepp, claims that for a $500 donation to his ministry, he will grow six plants for a patient. Normally, six plants, if they generate a pound each, will be worth approximately $24,000. Most people do not need six pounds of pot a year. At $500 for six plants, a patient could easily use what they need, and sell the rest on the black market, making upwards of $10,000 annually. That's a pretty good deal, if you can get it.

One of his farms was raided by the DEA two years ago, and he has filed a $67 million lawsuit against that organization. Some surmise that this is the reason they raided his farm this year. Perhaps it is, but without any real government guidelines or oversight, all one needs to do now is produce a letter from any doctor willing to charge you $200 (or more!), and poof, you're a legal medical marijuana patient.

Does the government prefers the muddied waters? It's beginning to seem so.

Posted by Kroeme at 1:32 PM | Comments (1)

August 17, 2004

Breaking it down

After resorting to Marinol for several days, I finally broke down and shelled out $200 for half an ounce of high quality marijuana. I was tired of the Marinol headaches. They're not terribly bad, just mild annoyances that last for much of the following day, and feel akin to a light hangover.

Getting marijuana after not using it for several days gave me the opportunity to observe it from a clearer perspective. What does it do, and how it does it are a mystery to many.

The smell is the first thing one notices. How does one describe a smell? Good marijuana can smell similar to a skunk, yet it generates a feel-good sense that one receives from smelling a luscious chocolate cake, fresh-baked bread or a juicy steak hot off the grill. The smell dissipates with time, so a strong smell lets you know that what you're smelling is fresh.

The feel of the cannabis is also telling. Fresh cannabis is soft, and cannot be easily broken apart. Some are also sticky to the touch, but only the freshest are still sticky, and extreme stickiness can often hinder the use of cannabis by making the rolling of joints difficult. Since I don't usually use a joint, this isn't a concern of mine. I use a pipe as I feel that joints waste more cannabis than pipes.

Everyone has different preferences for preparation. For me, I go the quick and simple way. I drop a bit into a coffee grinder, one or two quick bursts of the grinder, and the cannabis is chopped sufficiently to put into my pipe, but not small enough to fall into the hole and be sucked into my lungs. Since I use a glass pipe, no screen is used. For those who use other pipes with screens, grinding the cannabis down to a finer grain may be preferred.

I use the incremental method of smoking cannabis. With a lighter, I briefly touch one far side of the pipe with the flame, and inhale a small amount. I hold this briefly in my lungs (contrary to opinion, long holds in the lungs are not necessary). As I smoke the bowl, with each touch of the flame I move it periodically across the bowl. This helps conserve some of the pot.

After two hits, I start feeling a relaxation in body. Of course, this may be psychological, but nevertheless, it occurs. As I smoke, I feel more and more of my body relax, and similar to a good glass of wine after work, the cares of the day tend to slip away. Eventually, as this continues, the relaxation spreads to my stomach, and I begin to feel my stomach relax and unwind. If I'm in the midst of severe nausea, this is the point at which my vomiting will cease. After about one bowl of cannabis, the nausea soon concludes, and I feel -- normal.

By the time I finish my first bowl of cannabis, I'm feeling relaxed, joyous and calm. The tension of the day is gone, the nausea is at bay, and I'm ready to begin thinking about food. I'm not hungry yet, but by now I'm confident that I will be able to eat soon. It's at this point that I'll either begin fixing dinner, or venture out to acquire it. This is the nexus between being pleasantly "buzzed" and darnright high.

After I return from the hunt, or have started dinner cooking, I'll begin my second bowl. By the time I'm about half done with this, I'm hungry and will gobble down my dinner with gusto. The remaining half bowl is retained for after supper, and it somehow helps me further relax and digest my food without stomach pains. It's at this point that I can take the 20 or so pills for dessert. Yummmm.

Posted by Kroeme at 10:38 AM | Comments (2)

August 13, 2004

Options

This weekend was, again, a bit difficult. Trying to eat dinner at a time that my friends eat, so we may eat together, as well as scheduling my pills 12-hours apart on a full stomach, is always a challenge.

I've gotten into the habit on weekends on eating a second supper, usually around 9 or 10 pm. This is much smaller than my original supper, as I'm generally not hungry, but still must eat enough to cushion the 20 or so pills jumping down my stomach. Luckily, the medical marijuana allows me some breathing room, and helps to calm my stomach enough that I can eat a small supper and take my pills.

In fact, here's a poem I wrote about my little pills a few years ago:

Pills

Plagued by the plague-
Eating me up,
Devouring me whole.
Where did it start?
Where will it end?
Probably with ...

Pills, pills, pills, pills
Pills, pills, pills, pills

Vitamins, abstinence,
food, sustenance,
sex, dating,
honesty confused.
Stand me up or
lay me down,
work that bod,
pump that iron -
immune depletion?
Lose weight, look trim -
    Kill me fast!
Deep tan, bright smile -
Death mask!
STOP!

Can't live in fear,
can't live in despair,
or I"m dead already.
Patience, trust,
faith and

Pills, pills, pills, pills
Pills, pills, pills, pills

Take a pill, then 20 more,
then take two more again,
find your toilet,
dance the heaves,
then smoke a joint to relieve
the effects of ....

The Pills, pills, pills, pills
Pills, pills, pills, pills

Posted by Kroeme at 2:14 PM | Comments (4)

August 4, 2004

Weights and Balances

When taking any medication, it is important to weigh the benefits against the risks. The negative side-effects from any medicine are part of the risks, and what it does to help you are part of the benefits.

The risks of marijuana, except for the smoke, is exactly the same as Marinol, the synthetic marijuana often prescribed today. The 1999 U.S. Institute of Medicine report on the Medical Use of Marijuana reported that "Marijuana is not a completely benign substance. It is a powerful drug with a variety of effects. However, except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range of effects tolerated for other medications."

While some patients prefer to use marijuana by smoking, there are numerous other methods of delivery, including edible cannabis, vaporization, tinctures, oils and teas. In addition, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has, since 1978, produced "a contamination-free source of cannabis material with consistent and predictable potency," pre-rolled into cigarettes prior to distribution to patients.

The side-effects of marijuana, for me, are very mild. Some, especially those who have never used marijuana before, will have a difficult time beginning marijuana treatment. It can cause fear, anxiety, dizzyness, and euphoria.

Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, M.D remarked in 2002 that "...tobacco, through its direct physical effects, kills many thousands of people every year. So does alcohol. And it is easy to fatally overdose on alcohol, just as you can fatally overdose on prescription drugs, or even over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin or acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol). I don't believe that anyone has ever died from a marijuana overdose."

Some government officials disagree with that, and use statistics that they claim prove otherwise. However, a close look at the statistics reveal that they are misleading the American public, and that marijuana is not the harmful narcotic they would like one to believe.

Marijuana has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years, going back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, India and Africa. In all that time, up to and including the present day, there has never been a report of a fatality directly due to the consumption of marijuana. In contrast, over 1,000 people die annually in the U.S. from an overdose of our most common non-prescription drug, aspirin. In addition, many thousands of deaths result from legal prescription drugs.

Denis Petro, M.D., in his 1997 paper "Pharmacology and Toxicity of Cannabis," wrote that "...the amount of smoked marijuana required to reach lethality is on the order of one to two thousand cigarettes. The physical impossibility of a fatal overdose using smoked cannabis is obvious."

Kate Scannell, M.D., wrote on 2/16/03 in the San Francisco Chronicle that "From working with AIDS and cancer patients, I repeatedly saw how marijuana could ameliorate a patient's debilitating fatigue, restore appetite, diminish pain, remedy nausea, cure vomiting and curtail down-to-the-bone weight loss.... almost every sick and dying patient I've ever known who's tried medical marijuana experienced a kinder death."

In addition, WebMD's July 2003 poll of its physician and nurse members found that "Three out of four doctors -- and nine out of 10 nurses -- said they favored decriminalization of marijuana for medical uses."

When stoppin the daily use of marijuana, there are some short-term side-effects, which vary depending upon the frequency and amount consumed. For some light users, no side-effects are experienced. Others may experience headaches, shakiness, and insomnia for a couple days. This is much milder than some of the medications I take, one of which if stopped suddenly causes anger, frustration, nausea, depression and sometimes violence for weeks at a time. If marijuana is addictive, it is less addictive than tobacco, less addictive than coffee, even less addictive than red meat, which is more difficult for me to stop consuming than marijuana.

Time Magazine, in an 11/4/02 article, reported that "just 9% of those who have used the drug [marijuana] develop dependence. By comparison, 15% of drinkers become dependent on alcohol, 23% of heroin users get hooked, and a third of tobacco smokers [33 1/3%] become slaves to cigarettes."

All in all, when taking any medication, you and your doctor must weigh the risks against the benefits. For me, the choice is clear. The risks are mild and the benefits great.

Posted by Kroeme at 11:58 AM | Comments (4)

August 2, 2004

Making the Grade

I had a pretty bad weekend, medication-wise.

First, I starting running out of marijuana. I could have gone to buy some more, but it's rather pricey, and I thought I might be able to curtail my use. I was feeling better than ever, and thought I could handle the side-effects on my own.

Luckily, I use a kif box, and was able to accumulate enough kif to last through the weekend -- or so I thought. I also had some low grade barn pot, and figured I could mix the two for ample usage. Then, while rummaging through a drawer I hadn't rummaged through in years, I found some hashish from 1998.

None of this variety, together or separate, was as potent as the high-quality medical grade I was use to. Saturday night I started getting a massive headache, and then, couple with vivid dreams, I kept waking during the night. I took some tylenol for the headache (marijuana does not work for regular headaches, only migraines), and this, on my empty stomach, caused some nausea. I almost threw up the tylenol, so tried smoking a bit, and that did not work. Perhaps it was the low quality stuff I had, I'm not sure, but I soon relied on Pepto Bismal to quiet my quarralous stomach. This kept me from barfing, but did nothing to give me an appetite. I was supposed to eat some breakfast so I could take my morning pills.

Eventually, still with stomach rumbling, I remembered I had a pipefull of high grade cannabis in my knapsack. One pipe of this, and I was able to relax and have a nice mid-day breakfast.

Having the right grade is often important to medical marijuana users. There are a variety of different types and grades, but many of the lesser-potent ones just do not work properly for medical patients.

Here are some of the varieties in use today:

High Grade: This is fresh, sticky and potent sensimilla (seedless). The seedless quality is created by removing all male plants from a grow, and through creative lighting, forcing the females into plump readiness.

Medium High Grade: This is similar to the High Grade, but a bit older, less fresh, and usually not sticky. Still very potent.

Medium Grade: This is similar to the High Grade, but not as well cultivated, it may contain a few seeds, and may be a bit wild and less potent. May contain more leaves than necessary, and will not be as sticky as the High Grade.

Medium Low Grade: This is usually grown in the off season, sometimes indoors with poor lighting. The buds are sparse, and crumbles easily. Not too potent, but adequate.

Low Grade: Sometimes called Barn Pot, this is usually grown in a mass project, and the harvested pot is tossed onto a barn floor to dry. The pile of pot, through weight and gravity, flattens the buds. The pot is not too potent, has some seeds and leaves, but is inexpensive compared to the High Grade.

Very Low Grade: Sometimes called Brick Weed or Mexican. Take Low Grade pot, compact it tightly into a brick. Not very potent, and this is usually what is available from the illegal street vendors.

Other forms:

Hash or Hashish: This is made only from the sticky stuff on the buds. In the old days in places like Afghanistan, people or young children would run through the pot fields naked, and the stuff that stuck to their skins would be scraped off and made into hash. Top quality hash is dark brown, or mahogany, in color. The lighter the color of the hash, the less potent it may be. The effects of hash as more "mellow" than regular pot. Some people will use it for baking, or mix with tobacco to smoke in a cigarette.

Kif: This is similar in texture to hash, but the final product is more powdery, and breaks easily into powder. If one has a box with a thin screen over it, they break up and/or roll their pot over the screen. Little bits fall through the screen, and this powder is Kif. It can be used for cooking, smoking, or added to pot or tobacco for smoking. It is mostly used in Europe,
especially Great Britain.

Leaves: Don't smoke the leaves, they are the weakest of the weak, but they are often used for baking.

I do this several times a year. I don't like relying on marijuana, so try to do without, then realize that I cannot do without, and break down and buy some more. I wish it was something that was covered by medical insurance, but at this time it is not.

Posted by Kroeme at 2:22 PM | Comments (4)