medical marijuana

[blueberrybon]

Anyone want to put in their two cents worth on the pro's and con's of medical marijuana?

Have you ever been in the position to "help" with administration? Do you think it helps?

What do you think of the 2nd hand smoke factor?

Is it being used where you live?

I REALLY would love some feedback please. I need to gather information for a project. I've checked with several doctors in my area, hospice, pharmacies, waiting for a call back from the oncology dept. at our local hospital. I find it interesting that people use it, but don't want to talk about it.

[BSNtobe2009]

Would you believe I did a term paper on this in college?

I got into an argument with a professor that marijuana was safer than alcohol, and he told me I was wrong, and told me (as a joke) if I could support my claim in a paper, he would grade it and replace one of my exam grades with it. I took the challenge.

I concluded that if you were to legalize one of the two, alcohol should be illegal and pot should be legalized, as it did far less damage.

The trouble with the majority of the research, is that it is very, very difficult to find enough subjects that are ONLY smoking marijuana and not doing any other drug, and it narrows down further, those that can actually afford it in it's purest form. Drug dealers put some nasty things in it.

So when you hear things like it causes lung cancer, causes birth defects, etc....this is where your probability and statistics class kicks in...."Did they test the right population? How truthful was the population?"

I have never smoked pot, but I can't for the life of me, understand why the government is fighting so hard against the medical use of it. It's just silly....just tax it and control it like you do any other controlled substance. How hard can it be?

I had a great aunt that died of brain cancer..very God fearing woman, but refused to eat for days after Chemo....she was terminal...and only buying time, it was never going to cure her. She died 10 months from diagnosis. Some of her relatives got ahold of the "green stuff" and baked it in cookies and cakes for her to increase her appetite, and it always worked like a charm.

[sming]

As for second had smoke, the science for second had smoke from any source is poor science to begin with. There are far to many variables to be able to make a decisive interpretation. At best one can only say that it may be a contributing cause. There are many people who have not been around second hand smoke but have problems associated with second had smoke, and then you have people because of where they work, bar, and they live to be very old with no symptoms. If the science was not so full of politically correct bull, we might be able to come up with what is actually going on. Cancer is on the increase, and I dare say it is not all from smoking or being around second hand smoke. By 2050 if all stays the way it is now, nobody will be able to eat anything from our oceans, and you cannot blame that on cig, or pot. We are polluting this small world for all of our wants and so called needs. So if you smoke cigs, or pot, it won't matter much in a very short while. Mother earth will show her ungly head soon a be rid of most of us.

[Works2xs]

Why would you want to approve the use of a drug that can be grown for free when you can force suffering people to pay thousands of dollars a year for an alternative? It certainly would be a shame to reduce a cost burden for someone already coping with the considerable expense of drugs to treat little things like AIDS or cancer. It really is more humane and sensible to insist that they choose more expensive, albeit legal, alternatives.

[sming]

I hear you!

[rach_nc_03]

As for second had smoke, the science for second had smoke from any source is poor science to begin with. There are far to many variables to be able to make a decisive interpretation. At best one can only say that it may be a contributing cause. There are many people who have not been around second hand smoke but have problems associated with second had smoke, and then you have people because of where they work, bar, and they live to be very old with no symptoms. If the science was not so full of politically correct bull, we might be able to come up with what is actually going on. Cancer is on the increase, and I dare say it is not all from smoking or being around second hand smoke. By 2050 if all stays the way it is now, nobody will be able to eat anything from our oceans, and you cannot blame that on cig, or pot. We are polluting this small world for all of our wants and so called needs. So if you smoke cigs, or pot, it won't matter much in a very short while. Mother earth will show her ungly head soon a be rid of most of us.

AMEN. You hit the nail on the head.

[lynzy]

HI. I too have a personal opinion, although I am a nurse as well.

My husband has had cancer twice in his lifetime, and became immobilized by the side effects of chemo. Both times, he used marijauna to calm his nausea, and it was quite effective. He always smoked outside as to not expose me or our young son. It was a godsend for him.

lynzy

[control]

legalize it.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

This has been a long-standing discussion on allnurses, which may be why this thread is a bit slow. See other ongoing threads below:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f118/do-you-think-patients-should-have-right-use-medical-marijuana-136561.html?highlight=marijuana

https://allnurses.com/forums/f195/cannabis-nurse-gives-up-license-albany-democrat-herald-192174.html?highlight=marijuana

steph

[marilynmom, LPN, NP]

I am a very big supporter of medical marijuana. My own mothers smokes about 1 joint a week to help with pain. She has diabetic neuropathy and is now in a wheelchair because of it and in extreme pain virtually all day that wakes her up at night as well. She takes numerous painkiller drugs and sleeping pills that hardly touch it. She can now take a couple hits off a joint and she has much less pain, can sleep most of the night, and all with less sides effects that a lot of the prescription painkillers and sleeping pills can cause.

I am all for it.

[clee1]

I'll touch the topic.....

Marijuana has an unfair reputation, brought about by a greedy chemical and paper company (Dupont) in the early 1900's - aided and abetted by their bought-and-paid-for political lackeys in Washington DC. Today, its demonization is continued by a pharmaceutical industry that sees its potential to reduce their outrageous revenues.

The Indian Hemp plant has a multitude of legitimate uses, as well as one bad side effect (well, bad to our moralistic, puritanical-rooted society) of getting people high. The seeds of this plant are so high in oil content (according to one study I've seen) that use of them in biodiesel fuels could result in our COMPLETE freedom from OPEC.

Many of our Founding Fathers grew the stuff for paper and cloth uses.

It is not nearly as dangerous as cigarettes or ETOH; both legal products for consenting adults.

As to "medical" uses of marijuana - if ONE person finds legitimate benefit from it; I say "go for it".

For the record, I have not used marijuana for over two decades: the recreational use of the drug is not nearly as pleasurable as the legal and professional consequences are dire.

[SaderNurse05, BSN, RN]

I have had several patients who are immunosupressed and lost a lot of weight that were prescribed Marinol and they were able to gain weight. I am in Texas and have not seen medical maijuana used here. As far as the second hand smoke issues, THC is stored in adipose tissue. That is why someone can smoke dope one day and have a positive drug screen the following week. I don't know about second hand issues, but it is something to think about.

[SCRN1]

I've given Marinol to cancer patients with good results too. No worry there about 2nd hand smoke.

I will never forget what one or our pharmacology instructors told us...

"One of the biggest reasons for not legalizing it is because they don't want someone to become addicted to it. If they already in the end stages of their disease, who cares if they become addicted? Why not worry more about them not being able to eat and wasting away even faster?"

However, she did tell us that the nicotine in marijuana is stronger than in cigarettes. I've never researched that and just took her word for it, so I don't really know.