Former Medical Marijuana patient - for Epilepsy

[Robin Spake]

I used to live in IA. My neurologists had told me that they had nothing to treat me, not even ativan They had said go home and die. I was desperate. I tried marijuana. It worked. It had stopped all of my seizures, ended any postictal misery, cured any headaches, stopped pain for bruises, and treated my depression. It has a problem. THC makes you high. High levels of THC trigger seizures. You have to use a controlled dose. I don't want to be high anyway. It is like a side effect of an AED. You can not function normally, can't think clearly, and it messes up your memory. Anyone taking high doses of a few AEDs at the same time has the same problem. I put up with it because it was saving my life. I have since learned a lot about it. People will tell you that it is harmless. That is not true. People will say that it is only a way to get stoned. That is also false. Some people want to get stoned make the claim that they have a medical use. No. They want to become stoned. Medical Marijuana is used to treat many medical conditions. Some people claim that it treats acne. No. Medical Marijuana is not like stoners weed. There are over 1500 strains of marijuana that they grow to make people stoned. Some Medical Marijuana patients do become stoned as a part of their therapy. Most of those are terminally ill, and some patients who's quality of life is nearly as miserable. Marijuana smoke contains thousands of metabolites. The most common are 9 delta THC acid, 9 delta THCV acid, CBD, CBG, and a metabolite of THC, CBN. CBD is a natural metabolite. It is a neuroprotectant, an anticonvulsant, is anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and an anti psychotic. Because it is an anti-psychotic, it lowers the high from THC, THCV, and CBN. THC and THCV both cause euphoria. The two togeather cause a better high. CBN is a metabolite of THC. It cause a still greater high. Because CBD will lower the high, growers have bred it out, and have increased THC. THC, THCV occur as THC acid. You can not metabolize THC acid. Heating or burning converts it to THC. THC/THCV dissolve in fats, in oils, and and in solvents, such as alcohol. If you eat the plant, you will not metabolize it. If you were to put the plant in alcohol the THC will dissolve out. If you put the plant in butter, sesame seed oil or in peanut butter, it will dissolve. When THC gets in your body, it is absorbed in to the fat. The brain has a lot of fat, so THC resides in the brain. Marijuana treats different conditions, including pain, cancer, MS, and, many others. THC does cause psychosis and panic attacks in stoners weed. It does not cause these problems in medical marijuana strains because medical marijuana contains CBD. CBD is an antipsychotic THC causes tachycardia (rapid heart beat) The CBG lowers blood pressure. A rapid heart beat may become fatal in someone who has a pre-existing heart condition, and may also be a problem in epilepsy, as well as sleep disorders. Medical Marijuana (there are about 40 - 100 medical strains) have levels of the metabolites for each condition and have no CBN. Pain control and cancer need very high levels of THC and CBD.
Epilepsy needs high levels of CBD, and low levels of THC. Medical marijuana also uses stabilized strains. - The levels of the metabolites in the plant do not greatly vary from one gram to the next or from one plant to the next. Medical marijuana should also be grown differently. Marijuana is highly subject to insects, as well as spiders who eat the other insects. Marijuana is also full of mites. And marijuana is HIGHLY prone to mold and yeast. All of these, insects, mites, mold and yeast, kill the plant. Growers spray the marijuana with insecticide, miticide, and fungicide. Anyone smoking smokes these poisons (imagine smoking Raid insect spray, and the stuff that you put on the bathroom wall to kill fungus). Marijuana that is grown out doors is subject to bird feces.
Medical Marijuana is grown in controlled environments. It is grown without chemical poisons. It is not grown in soil (marijuana uptakes lead and other heavy metals. It also forms compounds that are toxic to the plant. Medical marijuana is grown in growth media). Many people who use medical marijuana have a compromised immune system. Bird feces, insects, insect parts, larvae, all have deadly pathogens. Mold and fungi are also lethal. Medical Marijuana is grown free of bird droppings, insects, and mold.
Many patients can not obtain medical marijuana. I was living in IA. Marijuana was and is illegal. I had to buy stoners weed. The marijuana that I bought was high in THC. I had to control the THC problem. I had discovered that if you use marijuana to stop seizures, and use only enough to arrest them, you do not not get high. I was speaking to another Medical Marijuana patient, a lady who has MS. Marijuana is the only drug on the planet that treats her. She is the mother of 2 small children. She can not be impaired by THC, and be a mom. She is able to obtain a strain of medical marijuana which does not make you high.

I no longer have to use marijuana. Today I take Rx drugs that work.
I am not suggesting that you run out and use marijuana. It does work, and it does have problems. Most it is full of junk, and full of poisons.

The penalty for possession of marijuana is 10 years in Federal prison
The penalty for murder is 4 1/2 years in Federal prison.
The penalty for rape is 4 1/2 years in Federal prison.
You can not say medical marijuana in a court.

I was living in a small town in IA. IA is in the mid-west. Mid-westerners live by common sense. There are many people there who use marijuana as a medication. People with cancer, MS. People who need a pain medication but are allergic to all Rx pain meds. I had lived in a town where everyone knows everyone else's business. Everyone knows who uses marijuana. Using marijuana for medical use makes sense. If you have no other drug, and marijuana works, you use it. If it makes common sense, the local police officers treat it that way. The police have a lot of problems to solve. The police there are decent folk. When I had walked in to the local supermarket obviously on marijuana, and my clothes smelling like the inside of a bong, the police would wave me a hello.

We don't need a medical marijuana law. We need common sense.

When scientists were trying to learn how marijuana works, the discovered something, the Endocannabinoid System. The ECS is a system of the body. The ECS is a system just as the lymph system is a system of the body. The ECS regulates energy utilization in the body. It regulates how body fat is stored, and burnt. It regulates how cells burn energy, it regulates hunger, and satiation, it regulates pleasure and it regulates pain. It is a part of your reproductive system, spermatogenesis, and uterine oocyte implantation.

It regulates apoptosis, cellular death. All cells have a normal life. They live and must die. Normal cellular death is called apoptosis. When cells do not normally die, they grow wild (this is cancer). Marijuana causes apoptosis, it causes wild cell lines to die. Marijuana can treat cancer. There are many patents on the metabolites of marijuana. CBD has six claims on it.

Does marijuana cause a drug seeking personality? It does in medical marijuana patients. I need to clarify. It is not addictive, that is, you can stop taking marijuana. Marijuana does not cause you to use other drugs. It is not a 'gateway drug'. In conversation with another medical marijuana patient, a vet who is taking it for PTSD,
we both noticed that because THC causes euphoria, you have a chemical motive to use marijuana. I needed marijuana to treat seizures. I also must keep the level of THC low, because too high a level of THC will trigger seizures. When I had used marijuana, the THC made me want to smoke more drug, causing the THC level to rise to a level that triggered seizures. I was having THC induced seizures. To treat this, I smoked more marijuana. When a drug that is therapeutic also causes bliss, your condition will worsen because you will take more medicine to treat the condition. I was able to solve this problem by having a friend dose me.

Marijuana is not addictive, but Oxycontin, an opiate, and a euphoric pain medication, is. Pain patients easily become Oxycontin abuse addicts. Oxycontin is highly addictive.
Marijuana treats pain. It does not treat all pain. In the Netherlands, marijuana is a prescribed drug. It is prescribed to pain patients with Oxycontin. By giving some marijuana, they have been able to cut the dose of Oxycontin in 1/2, and improve the pain control in those patients. Marijuana treats types of pain that Oxycontin does not treat, and alleviates some of the side effects of Oxycontin. When marijuana had been tested with AEDs (they had studied dilantin and Tegretol), it increased the effectiveness of both.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Robin, welcome to CWE!

It is interesting to have your perspective on marijuana-as-antiepileptic. [Just a heads-up: The topic can provoke strong opinions on all sides; if things overheat, occasionally we need to change the subject here at CWE.]

There is ongoing research on endocannabinoids and their role as the body's own natural built-in anti-epileptic. Perhaps one day the research will bear fruit and lead to more effective treatments.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[survivor]

Well it appears Robin, u really know lots and lots about marijuana. May be ur post can help some patients who have no options left but.................................................... ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL. Many patients out here think their drugs are of no use and having such a post can provoke them to use it and get into problems. So my request to all the readers is look before u leap!!!

 

[Robin Spake]

Medical Marijuana

Well it appears Robin, u really know lots and lots about marijuana. May be ur post can help some patients who have no options left but.................................................... ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL. Many patients out here think their drugs are of no use and having such a post can provoke them to use it and get into problems. So my request to all the readers is look before u leap!!!

I agree. I do NOT endorse that anyone use marijuana. I had no options, because I had no medications. I am glad that today I can take Rx meds, and that they work very well.

Sometimes when I was using marijuana I got terribly stoned. I have had a few people (stoners) claim how lucky I was. There had been people who damned me as being an old no-good hippy, I had been attacked by religious leaders. I never wanted to be stoned. It was awful. I was unable to function. It's a drug, and all drugs have nasty side effects.
The only time that I would ever use marijuana again would be if I ever I had no medications.

There are six patents on CBD, including neurological ones. What I would like to see would be that an Rx drug be developed from it. Very high levels of CBD cause headaches and will put you asleep. There are some high CBD medical strains out there. I had never taken them, but I have read what people had posted.
Since THC occurs as THC acid, and the body can not metabolize THC acid, when people 'juice' marijuana (drink the juice) they never get high. Most of the THC is in the flower (the bud). People who want THC buy the BUD. The leaves of the plant do not contain that much THC, but they do contain CBD. CBD can be metabolized without smoking it. Patients juice the leaves, extracting the juices. The principle is the same as juicing a carrot, but the equipment and the process is a bit different. It is time consuming. The results are a concentrated and filtered marijuana juice. It is a very bitter juice, so carrot juice and other non-sugary juices are added to mask the taste. The juice is extremely high in THC acid, because it takes a lot of marijuana to make this med. The patient drinks the juice (it is usually sipped over the course of a day). The THC acid is excreted unchanged in the urine. You could not use stoners weed, because there is only a trace of CBD in most marijuana. The juicers buy the leaves from suppliers. Because the leaves have little THC, they otherwise unwanted. This Medical Marijuana must come from higher CBD medical marijuana.

The rest of the plant, the roots and the hurds (fibers of the stems), can not be taken internally. Marijuana and hemp hurds and roots are are used. Extracts are made (like juicing). From this, salves and ointments are made. They are applied as a balm/salve for sore muscles. This stuff works, reports say. In Australia these is legal (when make from hemp), and is sold in drug stores.

Pro-marijuana groups claim that marijuana has been used as a drug for centuries (therefor it implies) Marijuana should be legal as a drug today. That is not a valid argument. People used to believe that illness were caused by demons.

The course of all of the marijuana's use today is illegal, but is often ignored. The big open secret is that Marijuana laws are largely never enforced in a large population. According to the American Association for Retired People, (AARP), the largest demographic for marijuana use is in people age 40 and up. Marijuana is now a folk medicine. Parents and seniors are using it as a medication - their Rx drugs may not work very well, may cause side effects. They have a lot of problems that the Rx drugs don't treat, and for some, they can not afford the cost of Rx drugs. They use marijuana instead. These people do not have parties. If hundreds of federal agents swept in and arrested 1000's of seniors, it would be political suicide. I am 59, I was in my early 50's when I was using marijuana as a medication. In the small town where I had been living, most of the medical marijuana patients are 40 and up, (except for some cancer patients). The police have more important things to do than arrest us. We don't do anything except stay alive. We also strongly support the police. No one wants meth heads or oxy users near our kids.

Because I am a former Medical Marijuana pateint, I answer a lot of questions about marijuana (on Yahoo Answers). I have no idea why the world is blinking nuts. I read ten million posts about getting high, "I am going to get high and don't try to stop me". Pills, powders, huffing, it's crazy. I had read one post, in it, a girl had asked, "My bf almost died using Mr. Nice [a synthetic THC narcotic]. Can I take it? How much should I use?" Ten million people ask me how can I take a drug test (clear). I had read a news item that makes me really sick. We have been sending AIDS drugs to Africa. People are stealing the patients drugs because when they smoke them, they hallucinate. What the h--- ?

I am very much against drug use. I also feel that the current marijuana laws are worse than stupid. People are put in federal prison for 10 years for possessing marijuana. We have to pay their bills. The laws haven't slowed marijuana use. I could solve it. First stop spending 50 billion dollars a year putting people in prison. Then stop keeping records for life on people arrested (because it is so very expensive and yields nothing). Instead, make it expensive. Anyone caught with marijuana pays a fine of $200 1/8 gram

 

[Robin Spake]

Hi Robin, welcome to CWE!

It is interesting to have your perspective on marijuana-as-antiepileptic. [Just a heads-up: The topic can provoke strong opinions on all sides; if things overheat, occasionally we need to change the subject here at CWE.]

There is ongoing research on endocannabinoids and their role as the body's own natural built-in anti-epileptic. Perhaps one day the research will bear fruit and lead to more effective treatments.

Best,
Nakamova

CBD, a metabolite found in marijuana, has been found to be

an anticonvulsant
a neuroprotectant
an anti-inflammatory
anti-psychotic
anti-pain
anticancer

CBD has been patented.

CBD and THC, made as a tincture of the plant, is sold as an Rx drug for treating pain in MS. It is currently available in Canada, England, Australia, and few other countries. It is in the process of being approved for use in the US. There are about six (last time that I had heard) other NDA's for marijuana's THC and CBD pending from many nations.

I have not heard of any NDA's for an anticonvulsant based on a metabolite of marijuana. There had been some investigational studies in Israel, but I have no idea what, if anything, became of it.

People had asked me questions on the medical uses of marijuana. I have had people tell me that marijuana had caused seizures, some claim that it had helped, and everything in between. The THC in marijuana will, in high doses, trigger seizures. Most of the marijuana that is smoked today is stoners weed, and stoners weed is high in THC. Expect to have a lot of seizures if you smoke a lot of THC. Some THC, it appears, is needed. I had read that THC has some anticonvulsant properties (it would seem only if CBD was also present).

 

[davidmc]

I had never tried nor been tempted to try any illegal drugs. But for over a decade, I was getting nowhere with neurologists, and eventually, this is after 10 years of no treatment from the medical profession, tried marijuana. It didn't help me. The only reason I ever tried it was because I was recieving no treatment and nobody was willing to treat me (I waited around 7 years just for an EEG test!!! Then they lost the details of that appointment and denied I had an appointment. A word of advice, don't go to salford Royal if you can help it!).
I wish I hadn't tried it, and never would have if I had recieved the necessary treatment from the neurologists. That is the only illegal drug I have ever had, and if I hadn't have been desperate for something to treat the seizures, I would never have even considered trying it.

 

[Robin Spake]

I had never tried nor been tempted to try any illegal drugs. But for over a decade, I was getting nowhere with neurologists, and eventually, this is after 10 years of no treatment from the medical profession, tried marijuana. It didn't help me. The only reason I ever tried it was because I was receiving no treatment and nobody was willing to treat me (I waited around 7 years just for an EEG test!!! Then they lost the details of that appointment and denied I had an appointment. A word of advice, don't go to salford Royal if you can help it!).
I wish I hadn't tried it, and never would have if I had received the necessary treatment from the neurologists. That is the only illegal drug I have ever had, and if I hadn't have been desperate for something to treat the seizures, I would never have even considered trying it.

I had heard from many other people who have epilepsy. Several people had said the same thing as you. Some of what you and others have reported may have been to the poisons that are on most marijuana (the insecticides, miticides, fungicides, and other poisons that are sprayed on the plant).

 

[Robin Spake]

There is something to laugh at. During WWII, the farmers in IA were required to set aside a certain percent of their land to grow hemp (not marijuana, hemp). The Navy used hemp rope. Seeds blow in the wind. There a billions of feral hemp plants all over IA. There are millions of plants lining the highways. They grow in public parks, near the basketball field, next to the schools. My dogs used to pee on them. They are all over the plants. Sometimes a stranger would come in, and upon seeing all of these hemp plants had that they had stumbled on someones stash. They filled bags and bags full of hemp. They rented trucks. They were arrested for having over 100 pounds of 'marijuana', and a life sentence.

 

[MakeMyEyesSparkleAgain]

I've tried it before, and it actually helped me a lot. I only smoked for two days, though, and in those two days, I didn't feel shaky or dizzy or like I was going to have a seizure. It felt good. Yeah, I got high, and yeah, it felt awesome. Even though I'm only sixteen, I wouldn't it use it recreationally. I'd only use it along with my regular meds to help with my epilepsy. I think it really works. I've seen some of my friends use it and they haven't had any seizures since they started smoking. So, yeah, in my opinion, it works.

 

[CathyAnn31]

Stoners weed, haha. As a smoker of 25 yrs, I object and take offense to about 1/2 of what you say. As far as the scientific aspects, you've got some of it right, but as far as the growing and strain aspects, you've really missed the mark. I'm too tired and not really in the mood to get into it.

With that said, I'm an advocate too, obviously. It truly could put the pharma companies out of business!!

Overgrow the government!

 

[Robin Spake]

Stoners Weed

There are over 1,500 strains of marijuana all of which are intended to get you high. These strains are 'stoners weed'. Medical Marijuana is NOT intended to make people high. If it does, it does. Stoners weed has a lot of THC, THCV, and CBN (all make you high) and no CBD (which lowers any high).
Medical Marijuana always has the therapeutic metabolite CBD, has little CBN, has known levels of CBG, CBD, and THC. THC and CBD are both therapeutic metabolites of marijuana. Medical conditions require exact levels of CBD and THC. There are about 40 strains of medical marijuana, these have different permutations of CBD and THC. Cancer and Pain control both require high levels of both THC and CBD. These patients must use concentrates. THC dissolves in solvents, such alcohol. Pain and Cancer patients soak marijuana in alcohol (repeatedly) until the THC levels is 85 or more percent. The CBD level also rises. They also make concentrates in foodstuffs. THC dissolves in fats, such as butter. They make cannabutter. THC dissolves in oils, such as sesame seed oil (hemp oil). It dissolves in peanut oil (making hemp peanut butter). At extreemely high levels of THC, it would be fatal to try to get stoned. THC causes tachycardia (racing heart). 80 or more percent THC would be lethal. Pain and Cancer patients use only minute doses, but take them frequently (to maintain a high serum level). Medical marijuana strains have been stabilized. In stoners weed, the levels of the metabolites vary from one gram to another, and from one plant to another. They don't have to be exact, the plant has to get you high, nothing else.
Medical Marijuana is used because it's metabolites are therapeutic. Patients with epilepsy and certain auto-immune disorders must use only low THC and high CBD strains. There are stains of medical marijuana which match these patients. There are many medical indications for marijuana, and they all have their own specific need for levels of the many metabolites. CBN causes THC to metabolize faster. CBN is unwanted in Medical Marijuana. If you are lucky you can access medical marijuana strains. Stoners weed is full of sprays.
Medical grade marijuana has no sprays, no insects, no mold, no fungus, no bird feces, no chemical nor organic junk.

The largest demographic for new marijuana use is in people age 40 and up.
According to the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), people use marijuana because their Rx drugs have side effects, do not work, or work poorly, for medical uses that their Rx drugs do not treat, or in some cases,
marijuana is used as the sole drug because they can not afford the expense of Rx drugs. Marijuana is a folk medicine. About one million people age 40 up do not party and don't have parties. They are not arrested.

 

[BigWill]

Im sorry but you are still ill informed

 

[funky chicken]

Wow what a subject to get into. I could type for hours but my typing sucks.
Just to start: I didn't know a lot about marijuana till now.
My opinion about the legal aspects are different.
Have you ever asked your self why it is that you can be busted for smoking pot and get 10 years? How about. alcohol. Tobacco. Caffeine and hundreds of other accepted drugs that are hundreds of times worse than marijuana. In my opinion it's amazing how a group of people can control the thoughts and actions of other people. If we accepted every law you would still living under British rule.
Just an example of difference between alcohol and marijuana: A partner comes home from a night out of drinking, then after crashing his car gets home in a terrible mood. He then because of the alcohol begins to beat his wife kids etc. Now another person who smoked some pot goes home driving at 10 mph under the speed limit. Come in the house terrifies his wife by asking if she has some food in the fridge. If none he crashes down on the couch and goes to sleep or goes the the store down the street. Who knows, but it's probably not violent. It can be different depending on the person. but I hope you get my point. Which drug is worse? Crashed car beaten wife or the crash on the couch. That's alcohol an accepted drug.
Legal pot would bring in millions of dollars in taxes, keep honest people from getting involved with organized crime putting pushers out of business.
Please tell me why you think the reason for this concern over marijuana is so much worse than the reason for accepted drugs? I guess this has been hashed over many times here. Bare with me I'm just new here and it's a subject that has caught my attention in the past few weeks.

 

[cazzy]

i tried it but made me feel terrible and e was bad thought i needed hospital had get dr out had tell him what i did and you can imagine what my very self rightous son say who anti...i was smoking skunk and it bad stuff.....i think if use medicinal canniboloids be different i would give that a try

 

[Abynorml]

First off, it is impossible to overdose from marijuana, I know I've tried for years.
Second the effects of marijuana effect everyone differently.
Third there are two main strains of usable marijuana, cannabis saptiva, and cannabis indica, they have different effects, and there are many different cross strains of the two. My personally experience is cannabis saptiva strains tend to aggravate my condition and make me anxious, cannabis indica tends to relax my brain and stress levels and gives me a good night sleep, the biggest side effect is memory loss issues, which I suffer from anyways with epilepsy.
I strongly advise not driving while under the influence and care when using any drug, and I advise against smoking the plant, there are many vaporizers on the market and ways of putting in butter and making it edible, however ingestion can be to much for some people specially people with no tolerance to the drug.
As with any AED it might help some people and may aggravate others.

 

[PhoenixAngel429]

I always wondered about epilepsy and medical marijuana. If I move to a state that allows it, I want to talk to someone about it.

 

[stevicoyefish]

I smoke daily. It helps...a lot...but yes if I smoke too much I do get seizures too. I should probably have a friend dose me as well bc I will smoke too much with no problem! Being high makes me feel great, and smoking can help my seizures. Right now I can not get the medical attention that I need and marijuana is the only source of medicine that I have. I wish it was "medical marijuana" at least, but I guess I take what I can get! Ive been on anti seizure medications in the past and they make me very shakey, memory loss is worse than when Im not on them, and my creativity is zero. Being that I am an artist I really cant handle the side effects. Im hoping that I can be medicated with out those side effects, but for now I just smoke on by "crazy" days, as I like to call them! Robin, I found your information very informative! I say keep up the informing!

 

[rodriguezsmith]

No doubt medical-grade marijuana purchased from a licensed dispensary in San Jose can definitely help to cope up with epilepsy. Few years back, my husband used to suffer with the same and one of my friends, who is a medical practitioner, suggested him some cannabis products that completely changed my husband’s life.
Vist @ Buddy’s Cannabis

 

[Heavy Kevy]

This is a gem of a post.

I enjoyed smoking weed for years before my epilepsy started. It affects everyone differently. Now a no-good hippy can buy it legally, tax free, and occasionally a clearance section!

Overgrow the government!