Does anyone suffer from chronic pain or serious illness?

I was trying to ignore all of this in an effort to not derail this thread further, but I cannot hold it anymore. Looks like someone needs a little reality check.
I agree with HEX1GON here above, your whole attitude about portraying weed as completely harmless is no less than propaganda. I myself know plenty of people who are or used to be heavy or regular smokers.

Of all those who used to smoke regularly and stopped, pretty much everyone agrees it was for the better. Myself included. Yes, I used it on a regular basis for almost 10 years, starting in my teens. I went cold turkey off it nearly 4 years ago. I was using it daily in small amount (1-2 grams/week) and toward the end I was growing increasingly anxious and neurotic for no reason at all. Stopping MJ completely removed those symptoms and they never came back. So unlike what you seem to think, my experience with it is very first hand.

However I have still to this day what I feel is some damage to my short term memory that I attribute to my past Mj use. Knowing several people who used to be regular users during their teens and young adult years and then stopped, I know they also feel the same about it. And contrary to what you claim, I know people who experienced withdrawal effects.

Some people will smoke their whole life and wont feel anything being wrong but that in itself proves nothing.

You say that no serious studies prove that Mj is harmful. Yet there are even less serious studies that prove it is harmless. You tell us to go check our facts, it appears you might need to do just that yourself. Plenty of studies, even in the last 5 years shows it to be potentially harmful.

Do they prove it? Maybe not in a definitive sense because they are statistical studies, and those are intrinsically hard to extract hard conclusions out of. However if you look at the studies that gathered the strongest evidences of it being bad, Those are usually about the impact of use during growth. And the impact on memory.

This is not really surprising when you think about it. This is a mind altering substance, it connects to receptors on your neurons and activates neuronal pathways that will change your perception of reality. Those same neuronal receptors are also used for normal brain functions so drowning them in an exogenous agent on a regular basis will obviously disrupt the normal functioning of the brain. Happens that various studies have found that the type of receptors that react to the Cannabinoids are related to memory and emotions.. duh

Also, modifying the working of your brain during its growth years is undoubtedly more impactful than doing it later in life. Because the brain is like a muscle, it will grow more cell networks in the areas that are being worked. Having some areas drowned in THC while this growth process takes place cannot be a good thing. For this reason I would not recommend anyone to use this as a recreational substance during youth to early adulthood. It is definitely a bad idea. Using it as a medicinal substance to treat some specific symptoms, especially later in year or with serious chronic condition is defensible but I would definitely not advocate its use in most other circumstances.

Now this being said, It is still surprisingly mild as far as drugs go. Even alcohol is shown to be more harmful than it and is legal. So do I think it should be legal? Honestly, probably.. At least governments could stop wasting resources on controlling it would get tax money out of its trade, which could be used to educate people about it instead of putting them in prison.

Sry for the wall of text. Also, if a mod considers it better to completely delete those off-topic posts including this one, I wont be sorry. This should have had its dedicated thread.

 

I'm actually on the line about whether the benefits of cannabis outweigh the negatives. Ever since I did it my short term memory seems to be screwed up. Was it the weed or my diabetes? I don't know. I will say this much though. Where I live we have something that we call Inkweed. It's all natural but fatal if eaten. So playing the "all natural" trump card with pot doesn't really make sense. There are artificial things that are harmless to health and natural things that are deadly. So saying something is good because it's "all natural" becomes a moot point now. If you need a good example of something artificial that doesn't harm health then think of a product called Gulf Wax. It's used for many thing eaten like polishing fruit and making chocolate stiff for shaping. Never heard of anyone having any bad things happen from it.

So would everyone PLEASE shut up about how good or bad pot is? Focus back on topic.

 

I've gone this long without smoking no reason to start now. For all the "Benifits" It provides...prolonged use most defiantly leads to decreased motivation. I already stopped giving a shit.

Legalize it I'm fine with that and endorse it. But you won't see me smoking.

 

It's funny, through experience I could say the exact opposite is true. Most of my friends smoked weed, none of them report any memory impairment after having stopped... we're talking about a bank manager, a couple of accountants, and at least one psychologist... all mentally taxing jobs... and just a few examples.

The results for the longest study into cannabis use were actually posted a year or two back - it spanned over 20 years. It concluded that there wasn't even a risk of cancer if you smoked one joint a week.

Wouldn't it be fair to say that all the million other things going on in your life may also have had an impact on your memory? Work, stress, relationships, family, births, deaths, daily routine... diet...

 

So is cyanide. "It's natural" is just a terrible argument for whatever it's used to support.

 

Not getting involved with all the drama, but just regarding toxicity - you cant actually consume enough weed to for it to be toxic.

While everything has a value that will kill you, its pretty much impossible to reach it with weed.

 

Damn I'm not in so bad shape at all, the only things are my knees and lower back, and the fuck up chronic migraines that take the light out of me.

 

I hear you on that, those two things seem to be the first to go for anyone who has worked hard in their lifetime. Hmmm... I don't think I've met a single person that has never had a terrible migraine, but would be interested to know if there are such people and what their secret is. Mine are under control most of the time, but I have had some so terrible that it felt like the five senses were crossing over. Those types are far beyond the light and sound sensitivity stage and I hate them the most.

 

Inkweed isn't a strain of marijuana. It's a plant from the south western hemisphere that is considered a pest and kills livestock regularly. Remove it before it has an opportunity to spread on your property.

Do you have a link to the study or is it a "pay to read" study? I'm interested in reading an actual sustained study as opposed to studies paid for by opposition of marijuana who ply (already lazy) young adults with overly high amounts and then claim marijuana caused them to be lazy.

I smoked 3 grams a week, then went back to school after 4 months of being in maybe 8 days out of the entire month (if that, I was off because of family stuff) and came in the top 10% of my year in my exams. I don't touch weed anymore but I think the downsides are vastly overstated.

 

You may have come higher if you hadn't taken the mj, it might not have the same effect on you as it would on everyone else or everyone else in your year might have been smoking more than you.

If you survive jumping out of a window it doesn't prove that others may do the same.
Not everyone who smokes tobacco gets cancer, but there is enough of a link there that it's not worth the risk.

Your data is just as useless as the studies that say it is damaging to your health, even though you really believe it's fine because of your experience. It's difficult to get data for a controlled drug though, so don't expect any resolution to the debate.

 

Can't say I have any chronic illnesses. Pretty thankful for that. I am interested though in how everyone goes about handling it.

As far as weed goes can smoking it really be that good for you? I mean I can understand ingesting it for the benefits. I've heard some people swear by it but I also know it's jacked some people up. The other natural drug I've been hearing about is called Kratom. Supposedly it's good for pain but is definitely addictive. I've heard people using it to get off of prescription pain killers and have completely replaced them with it. Still legal in the USA (for now at least)

 

Try living in the UK. If you were unable to work because of illness, you'd previously have been on Incapacity Benefit and would have had a form to fill out and probably a medical examination, which together make up your Personal Capability Assessment, for which you are scored. Anything above 15 points and you're too ill to work.

However, the Government decided to clamp down on benefits cheats (and paying out benefits in general) by penalizing those with chronic conditions that vary. You'd have got a letter saying that you'll be getting a call for another medical sometime in the next two years. So you'd have had up to two years of anxiety, which worsens a lot of conditions, naturally. Then you'd have the medical, and a pretty swift decision that for two-thirds of people would have been a failure to score 15 points. Yes, despite scoring well enough previously... because now all they care about is your ability to WORK, not your personal capability. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they give stupid time limits for returning items, send them out so slowly that they waste a good chunk of that deadline, and then they claim that you sent it in late and only relent if you sent it Recorded Delivery (which they don't suggest, of course - giving you a Second Class pre-paid envelope). You then have to wait up to two years currently for the appeal process, should you decide to proceed with it.... so more stress and anxiety.

And yeah, I know this first hand. I even got told that, whilst they're not disputing that I suffer from pain, I should just grin and bear it and get back to work! Oh, and my friend is nearly deaf (he has a hearing aid, suffers from epilepsy and Barrett's disease) and scored well over 15 points... but they made him go to some sort of meetings looking at what work he could do in order to keep getting payments. They told him at the first meeting that he can't get a job!

What was called Incapacity Benefit is being replaced by Employment and Support Allowance. The testing is being performed on behalf of JobCentre Plus by Atos, a French IT company. They have been widely criticized for the manner in which they conduct these medicals and the length of the appeal process. And they have been paid £754 million to do the tests since 2005. I believe the contract was worth £40 million to them for ESA, in order to save the Government a couple of million.

On top of that, there was Disability Living Allowance, a fund for people who need help doing things or are restricted by disability, basically. This is now called Personal Independence Payment. And again, the form is actually black-and-white (not really geared for "it varies" answers) and you'll most likely have to appeal if you have a variable chronic condition.

So, to answer "how do you cope?" - barely. With fuck all support from the Government and a pittance that they begrudgingly paid (minimum wage is £6.19 an hour, so £247.60 for a 40 hour week. ESA pays £71.70 a week, then you get put in a "Work Related Activity Group" (have to go to regular interviews) or a "Support Group" (no interviews unless you ask for one) and get up to £106.50. If you get PIP on top of that, you could get anything from £21 to £134.40 extra per week. For that, though, you'd have to be pretty badly affected - practically unable to move).

 

I used to think weed was pretty harmless (except for causing paranoia) but researched abit after what happened to Amanda Bynes, the actress who went crazy. Apparently if you already have some issues or may be prone to psychological issues, then weed can enhance it and bring it out full bore. She was relatively normal but decided to get into Hip Hop culture and lifestyle which means tons of weed. Ended up in a mental hospital and shes still there. She probably had issues before but the weed exploded it.

BTW, OCD here with anxiety. Mylanta (or the generic stuff) is best for stomach acid if you suffer from that.

 

I've been known to send stuff like that special delivery because recorded delivery is rubbish. With recorded delivery your letters can go missing and royal mail just aren't interested. I returned something I bought from amazon which still shows as awaiting delivery. Royal mail say that because they have written to the person that I sent the parcel and they didn't respond, that they assume it's been delivered. They are basically saying, "your letter went missing and our letter went missing, therefore both must have been delivered".

If using the pre-paid envelope then you can also hand the letter over at the counter and ask for a certificate of posting, which will at least prove that you posted it. I've had to deal with people claiming they haven't received something when I have a signature, but supposedly that person doesn't work there. With benefits forms they can't penalise you as it's clearly not your fault.

I do think that the government are going after the wrong people, but it's kinda hard to find the right people. If you're going to lie about a disability then you'll make it a good one so there is no argument over whether you can work, while the people who deserve benefits are likely to be borderline on whether they could hold down a job. However with the number of unemployed so high you're unlikely to get a job anyway, unless you're on top of your game. I saw an article the other day that shows that IB/ESA claims always go up when unemployment goes up.

The WCA is a bully tactic, some people just decide it's easier to go to work, others appeal and win (most decisions are overturned). Anyone who is vulnerable is going to suffer anxiety, but there are charities out there that will give help and advice (mind, citizens advice etc).

I actually think that modern life is causing a lot of health problems. They should do something like give farmers money to let you stay on small farms and help out to see if that helps you recuperate.

 

I've got chronic migraines, basically, a shit load of pain killers, some nerve messages are really all I can do. They're pretty incapacitating for me

 

MJ enhanced my anxiety and essentially gave me a panic disorder for a year, it also makes me dumb. It's a great drug though, and I support it being legal. It's not a wonder drug with zero risk though.

 

Well thats actually to the contrary of what a lot of people use it for. Many people feel calmer and able to be comfortable in large social events under the influence on MJ.

 

Only pains I suffer from is an unknown shoulder problem. Been to 3 doctors and no one can seem to figure out whats wrong.

 

A-fucking men. Glad somebody else has noticed this, my brother went from being somebody who had four unsuccessful surgeries and the doctors basically telling him they can't do anything and he has to just deal with it to having a different doctor say his knee is perfectly fit, no trouble and there is nothing stopping him from working. She's now blocked him from getting a second opinion.

 

Wow, It's interesting to see outside the medical forums that there are quite a few people that have real life medical problems.

Me... I have Crohn's disease. Rare/unknown disease, no cure, it comes in on/off phases, and its brutally painful. Some mornings I feel great... others I feel like Muhammad Ali just socked me in stomach. If anyone on here has it feel free to PM me. I've been lucky enough to have help and just talk about it with a friend who also has it. It helps a lot since it's a disease that research wise is in it's infancy and doctors can sometimes you leave you with more questions than answers.