Day: 05/27/2015

Begging For Mercy

My post on a local cannabis forum:

http://forum.nmcannabisreview.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=234

Re: Effects of Discontinuing the Use of Cannabis
Postby Painkills2 » Wed May 27, 2015 10:31 pm

It’s been a year since I was unable to renew in the Medical Cannabis Program, and although I found a few underground connections during that time, they’re all gone now. At this moment in time, I’m in the middle of a pain storm, with nothing but aspirin and chocolate to manage the pain.

What’s a pain storm? Well, my pain is always constant, but there are times when the pain is like a hurricane, producing uncontrollable wind, rain, thunder and lightning. There are no words to describe the level of pain I’m experiencing; no pain scale that can measure this kind of pain.

And so I’m here to beg and plead for some help — a port in the storm. A little bit of mercy. I have no expectations that I will find any help, but trying is better than sitting here thinking about swallowing my huge bottle of generic aspirin.

I could go to the emergency room, be treated like a drug seeker and criminal, pay an enormous amount of money, only to be sent home with nothing. I could cry and scream, but that would only increase my pain. Really, I have no other options.

If anyone reading this post is willing to sell me some bud, I will meet you anytime, anywhere, here in Albuquerque. Under threat of torture, I will never reveal that you sold it to me — seriously, there’s nothing anyone can do to me that would be worse than suffering through yet another pain storm without any bud. And I hope, after all this time, I’ve earned some trust.

If there’s anyone out there willing to help, just email me at painkills2@aol.com.

Cannabis and the medical industry

The medical industry is going to great lengths to make cannabis look bad, like the recent article published by MedPage Today about use by kids and subsequent stunted growth:

“Boys who smoked marijuana heavily were significantly smaller than their peers by the end of their adolescent growth phase, according to a study conducted in Pakistan.”

For one thing, only a very small percentage of cannabis use by kids would be considered “heavy.”  And what doctors in Pakistan consider heavy use is undoubtedly up for debate.

This article was published as “a collaboration between MedPage Today® and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.”  This group has been trying to link cannabis to a number of different medical conditions, including one single case of hypopituitarism:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/803588

PHOENIX — Chronic marijuana use was found to be the cause of hypopituitarism in a 37-year-old man, a case that highlights a potentially growing problem, say physicians…

So based on this one case, they’ve made this astounding statement:

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, can suppress multiple hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis pathways, with subsequent effects on multiple organ systems, they explained. “Any gland can be affected, including the whole pituitary,” Dr. Pinsker told Medscape Medical News…

No doubt based on a 2002 study that concluded:

Click to access EndocrineEffects.pdf

“Despite these findings in animals, the effects in humans have been inconsistent, and discrepancies are likely due in part to the development of tolerance. The long-term consequences of marijuana use in humans on endocrine systems remain unclear… Long-term effects on the various endocrine systems have not been clearly demonstrated, and clinical consequences, if present, are likely to be subtle.”

Back to the stunted growth article, when was the last time you saw medical research from Pakistan of all places?  You know, Pakistan, the country where females are treated like dirt (and not included in this “study”).  I think it’s interesting to note that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry has grown by leaps and bounds:

http://medimoon.com/2014/04/list-of-pharmaceutical-industries-in-lahore-pakistan/

In Pakistan there is huge development in pharma industrial sector after its independence in 1947. According to the National Drug Policy of Pakistan, there are 338 national and 30 multinational pharma industries which are working in Pakistan…

Wikipedia:  The Pakistan pharma industry is relatively unknown in the international markets with an export turnover of US$0.5 Billion as of 2013 as compared to US$23.7 Billion from neighboring India. Pakistan Pharma Industry has only a few quality producers approved by global regulatory authorities. Like the domestic market, sales in the international market has doubled during last five years. The pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan lacks basic research or development skills and no innovative discoveries are reported… The pharmaceutical sector in Pakistan is one of the still developing sectors within the country’s fragile economy & counterfeit medicines are a major problem…

I haven’t posted the article about this junk science because I don’t believe it, just like I don’t believe that bud can cause schizophrenia.  But anti-drug advocates everywhere use this type of research to support their ignorant views, including this recent survey question at MedPage Today:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Surveys/?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-05-26&eun=g875301d0r&userid=875301&mu_id=7051790

A recent study found a link between marijuana use by kids and subsequent stunted growth — the latest of many to find associations without proving cause-and-effect. Do you believe pot-smoking poses a true health risk?

Funny, the fact that this association didn’t prove cause-and-effect was not mentioned in the article.  In fact, it said:  Study adds to evidence for developmental abnormalities with teen marijuana use.

There are a lot of products that kids shouldn’t consume, like energy drinks, soda, and cheese puffs.  And I won’t even get into the fact that pollution and all the chemicals that are approved for use are not good for kids either.  But I will say that if kids are going to try drugs — and many of them will, including alcohol — marijuana is the safest choice.

Out of the 28 comments currently posted under this survey, these about sum it up:

DeeDee
May 23, 2015
More “Statistical Crap”. There are also strong relationships between baldness and TV viewing, motor vehicle travel and deafness, and doubtless erectile dysfunction and swimming! Given even a small determination, “links” can be claimed between just about anything and everything but fortunately for mankind it remains simple BS…

Dr Dave (H+N Surgical Oncology)
May 26, 2015
It simply amazes me how a statistical association can be assumed to be causal. To my knowledge albeit small but on point since Oncology patient have used pot for decades I know of NO such health concerns. It reminds of the issue of the weather in Houston being bad and at the same time the suicide rate in LA went up by 8% so the inference was that bad weather in the middle of the country make California’s more depressed. Actually written up in a journal! …

edward vytlacil sr.
May 26, 2015
Whatever happened to evidenced based medicine? Much evidence here that it is uncommonly practiced. Dr. Dave — right on! A reasonable response is to consider risk versus benefit. And with recreational use by young people, the comparison must be between marijuana and alcohol, as abstinence is not much of an answer for most of humankind. Data shows DUI is a major cause of highway death, young people certainly not an exception, while numbers for marijuana are in the noise level. “May cause health issues . . .” and of course, may not, in fact may relieve health issues.

Life with CHRONIC PAIN

https://ahairdressersdiaries.wordpress.com/life-with-chronic-pain/

After my first back surgery and many tries to return to work which were unsuccessful. I decided to apply for CCP disability pension. After visiting my specialist and completing the many medical tortures. I received copy a letter from the pension board that my specialist sent them concerning my disability – who I might add was the doctor who told me I could never work again (hairdressing was my profession). He wrote the pension board that in the foreseeable future I might be able to go back to work a couple of hours a week and that I showed no facial signs of pain. What the heck was that statement all about? So with that information my application was denied…

Another Awesome Woman

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/27/westboro-baptist-church-jk-rowling_n_7448722.html

The perennially angry and oh-so homophobic Westboro Baptist Church attempted to troll JK Rowling on Tuesday evening and failed on a multitude of levels.  It all started with this story…

JK Rowling wants Dumbledore & Gandalf to marry in Ireland!

Things immediately got a bit weird when the WBC threatened to picket the imagined event between two fictional fantasy characters.

JK Rowling:  @WBCsigns Alas, the sheer awesomeness of such a union in such a place would blow your tiny bigoted minds out of your thick sloping skulls.

Lara:  @jk_rowling while i am in total agreement with you, giving them attention is counterproductive. that’s what they want.

JK Rowling:  I don’t care about WBC. I think it’s important that scared gay kids who aren’t out yet see hate speech challenged.

Why?

After a fitful period of sleep earlier today, I awoke with the beginnings of a pain storm. What did I do yesterday to cause it?  Seriously, I don’t know.

I made triple chocolate brownies, which is a lot of work but well worth it. They are scrumptious! But I didn’t overextend myself physically. There were no abrupt changes in weather yesterday. And there were no episodes of crying or talking, which can also exacerbate my jaw pain.

The only thing I can think of is that I did more smiling than usual yesterday, which also increases my facial pain. And it really sucks that feeling happy can cause additional pain.

Bud, wherefore art thou?  I really need you.

Why Washington state is extinguishing medical marijuana

http://mashable.com/2015/05/06/medical-marijuana-washington/

Garza guesses the recreational stores have so far only captured 3-5% of the total marketplace... Pricing at medical dispensaries has remained cheaper than that of recreational stores because they aren’t subject to the same high taxes. A gram of weed at a dispensary generally costs around $10-12 versus $12-16 on average at recreational stores. Weed on the street, however, remains at a pretty steady $8-10…

A report from Canada about legalization in Colorado

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-colorado-is-dealing-with-legalized-marijuana/article24457303/?fb_action_ids=10152917753972756&fb_action_types=og.shares

What a great place to get stoned. Which I intend to do, as soon as possible. In Colorado, recreational marijuana was legalized on Jan. 1, 2014. Denver now has more pot stores than it has Starbucks. Anyone over the age of 21 can walk into a store and choose from hundreds of varieties of flowers, nibbles, marijuana-infused drinks, oils, ointments and pain patches, as well as a growing array of wax and other supercharged hard-core products. There’s even a sex lube for women, which promises to deliver the most mind-blowing experience of your life…

Meanwhile, in Canada, prohibition is a bust. Pot is available everywhere, and we are among the biggest consumers in the world: According to Health Canada’s 2012 Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey, 41.5 per cent of Canadians 15 years and older have used marijuana at some point during their lifetime…

I know nothing about modern cannabis. My personal experiences with weed are around 40 years out of date. I need a quick lesson to get me au courant. So the first thing I do is drop in on Jake Browne, the amiable pot critic for The Cannabist, an online newspaper that’s owned by The Denver Post…

On the way out, he introduces me to his mother, who’s visiting for a while from Iowa. His line of work doesn’t bother her at all. She’s thrilled that he’s a writer…

In Canada, the gap between the law and reality is getting wider every day. In Vancouver, anyone can get a medical licence on the spot, which allows them to shop in dozens of unregulated dispensaries to their heart’s content. You can even buy weed from vending machines. Law enforcement across the country has become so uneven that whether you’re arrested for smoking on the street pretty much depends on where you live. It also depends on your socio-economic status. Middle-class citizens tend to get a pass, while those in bad neighbourhoods do not.

Around 60,000 people are arrested every year in Canada for possession, according to a report from Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). First-time offenders can get a maximum sentence of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. At least half a million Canadians have a criminal record for possession. Enforcing the cannabis laws costs more than a billion dollars a year. Yet there’s no evidence that these penalties act as a deterrent…

My budtender is Halley, a cheery young woman with a braid. All the budtenders are cheery. Halley says she pretty much uses pot all day long. She moved to Colorado from Illinois, where, she says, “I was constantly being prosecuted.” She loves living here. She has turned her dad on to marijuana cookies.

Halley takes me through the indicas and sativas, and I settle on an eighth of Master Kush ($30, plus 29 per cent tax)…

My normal mood state is somewhere between wound up and tightly wound up. (Ask anyone.) But after a little weed, I feel benign good will toward the entire world. My encrusted layers of inhibition and anxiety are gently dissolving. I am serene, yet focused. It strikes me that this is the state one hopes to achieve through meditation.

“I feel like a much nicer person,” I blurt. “Thank you so, so much.” It’s probably the most intimate confession I have ever made to a total stranger…

Hunches and sniff tests are no reason to intercept mail

http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/05/26/oregon-mailing-marijuana/35295/

An Oregon Court of Appeals panel has ruled that a U.S. postal inspector and Portland police had no legal authority to intercept a man’s package based on their contraband hunches and a police dog’s reaction after sniffing the item…

The Oregonian reports Wednesday’s ruling is expected to affect a long-standing practice of having a postal inspector and two police officers pulling aside and examining express-mail packages at a Portland International Airport postal cargo center without first obtaining search warrants…

All APD All The Time

http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com/

APD, under the legal gun, finally releases a video of possible APD and State Police abuse… of an already dead suspect after denying it existed:

Albuquerque Police body camera video shows an APD SWAT officer firing three beanbag rounds at an unresponsive suspect’s face, followed by a State Police sergeant flicking the suspect’s eyeball before stomping on his groin. Lusian was dead. The lapel video, which APD denied existed after KRQE News 13 first requested it, shows the end of a March 2014 SWAT call out at a tow yard in the Heights. Police said 56-year-old Dale Lusian had been seen rummaging through cars in the fenced-in lot before hiding in a metal container. When a police service dog went in, Lusian shot the dog three times. Medical investigators ruled Lusian’s death a suicide from a gunshot wound to the chest…