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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMy Dinner With Marijuana (boing boing)
http://boingboing.net/2012/04/23/my-dinner-with-marijuana-chem.htmlThis is a photo essay, for the most part - you have to follow the link for this one.
My feelings about marijuana have changed a lot since I was diagnosed with cancer. And specifically, since I started chemotherapy in January. For me, medical cannabis has been an important part of getting through chemo. My oncologist wrote a recommendation letter for me, and I have a card that makes it legal for me to purchase pot.
It helps me more than many of the pharmaceuticals my cancer docs prescribe for chemo side effects. It eases nausea and stops vomiting, it helps me sleep when the steroids accompanying chemo keep me up, it acts as a gentle analgesic against the excruciating bone pain that certain chemo drugs bring, and it stimulates appetite in those awful days after infusions when food is repulsive.
These things are important. If you can't eat or sleep, your body can't heal in time to be strong enough for the next infusion.
Earlier on the same day of the cannabis dinner, I'd gone in for an MRI to see how the chemo had progressed in shrinking my tumor. Medical imaging is a stressful thing when you have cancer, because of the ever-present fear that a scan may reveal very bad news. MRIs in particular are loud and claustrophobia-triggering for many people, including me.
I prepared an by taking a nice big bite of a chocolate-chip pot cookie hour before the scan. So I wouldn't panic inside, and so the technician could capture a good image of my insides.
MagickMuffin
(15,985 posts)which of course is NOT the case.
Mr Tran's dishes look MARVELOUS
again
Thanks for the post and Rec.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)yes - the meal does look delish.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Not like it's gonna take over the world, or anything like that. Don't worry, it's gonna be all right.
spanone
(135,958 posts)I remember when she was first dx'd with cancer.
People at boingboing were encouraging her to make sure she had cannabis for her chemo and she was very concerned about interactions and issues with her immune system.
I'm glad to see that she has been able to live a better life because she has access to medical marijuana.
Too bad that so many states don't offer this for their residents. If you have cancer, better to have it in certain states, iow.
MagickMuffin
(15,985 posts)We always smoked recreationally. When he was diagnosed he informed his doctor. After living with HIV for several years, his doc told him Cannabis is probably what was keeping him alive. Unfortunately, we were unable to give him anything when he finally was admitted to the hospital. He couldn't keep anything down food or medication. He was given Marinol, however, since he couldn't keep anything down it was worthless to him.
If only we could have provided him with a joint it would have been helpful. He would not have survived his meningitis-encephalitis that finally killed him, but it could have helped relieve his pain.
Our medical system is so f'd up and we can all thank our congresscriters for playing doctors by passing these insane laws, and providing us with the propaganda that comes with it.
........ and .........
edit: typos
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)every evening before bed. Sometimes I also smoke just a little because it's quicker to kick in than the edibles. I sleep like a baby now and my back/neck pain never bothers me anymore.
It's criminal that people in some places cannot avail themselves of this MEDICINE.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)Still looking for the best word or phrase that adequately describes the inhumanity withholding relief from a suffering person.
ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)in the leaves.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)since there are so many hybrid stains now - I would imagine that the leaves of some of them are more potent than others. it all depends on the genetics of the plant, as far as the properties of one hybrid vs. another.
this is important for ppl using mmj because some want more CBD and less THC, for instance. CBD doesn't make someone feel high, from what I have read in studies - it is a "buffer" for THC in naturally-produced cannabis.
what the link talked about, btw, was that the leaves and stems are used to create a butter, called ghee, that's used in cooking for mmj. this person with cancer is eating cannabis, not smoking it, for medical benefits.
this is a link about the non-cannabis version:
http://www.food-india.com/ingredients/i001_i025/i007.htm
I think the leaves included in dishes shown in the pictures are mostly for garnish, but I could be wrong. In order for cannabis to become psychoactive when it's eaten, from what I've read, its molecules are suspended in some sort of fat... like ghee.
felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)Those recipes look so delicious!
RainDog
(28,784 posts)I don't care if cannabis is involved or not!
WinstonSmith4740
(3,060 posts)I'm sending good vibes your way. Unfortunately, my husband's cancer was not curable, but I know for a fact that his marijauna use is the only thing that made the chemo bearable. I made sure he toked up on the way to his treatments, and always had joints rolled for the trip home. Hang in there...treatment is getting better every day. As his oncologist once told us, it's an every expanding field and researchers are learning more and more literally every day.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)She is a longstanding member of the blog, "boing boing." She found out she had cancer and has been blogging about her experience as a cancer patient.
She has a wonderful spirit about her as a person - open, optimistic, interested in the wide world. I wish her the best, too.
WinstonSmith4740
(3,060 posts)The best of luck to her! It's excellent that she has a caring friend like you to help her through this time.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)when I compare this to the experience one of my relatives had... it makes me want to cry to know how many people suffer when they don't need to.
Some people have such prejudice against cannabis as part of chemo treatment - it's sad.
Uncle Joe
(58,596 posts)Thanks for the thread, RainDog.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)hope you're doing well!
Uncle Joe
(58,596 posts)you're doing well as well, Raindog.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)Actually, I was supposed to start this past week, but I'm holding off till I get back from family vacation because I really dont want to feel like complete shit while traveling. I'm also working on locating a channel through which to start treating the side effects. I'm sick of the oxy, xanax, muscle relaxers......and I still have stomach and anxiety problems.
I found this story a few days ago during my research into alternatives..
RainDog
(28,784 posts)sadly, so many of us don't.
then there's the added anxiety of worrying about breaking the law - of course, some people in mmj legal states have also been jailed for using mmj for cancer side effects, so, until this nation decides to stop hurting those who are already hurting - that's the nation we live in. It's immoral, imo.
Here's a link to a science-based medical marijuana advocacy group's forum.
http://www.medicalcannabis.com/
The Drug Policy Forum group here has a lot of links - some include different articles about people who have come out in support of medical mj after their own successful use for side effects. There are two pages with a lot of earlier links about various studies.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1170
Let us know how you are faring. Best wishes to you.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)To treat the side effects from the nasty harmaceuticals I'll have to break the law. It's a shame really that in this day and age this us what it has come to.
So there's something else to worry about. Ill have to sneak around and be careful if I decide that's the route I want to take to improve my quality of life.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)fortunately for me, I live in a place with a large college student population - so it's not scarce if I were ever in a situation in which I needed it.
one of the pioneers of medical marijuana, Lester Grinspoon, came to his pov because of his son's dx of leukemia as a teenager.
that was back in the 60s, iirc.
because he's a doctor, he would not consider obtaining marijuana for his child, even after he heard about the benefits, because of its illegality and because of its widespread use, recreationally, on the campus where he taught (He's a medical dr. and a psy.)
The next time his son had a chemo treatment, his son went through the treatment with no problem - wanted to stop and get food after treatment.
It turns out that Grinspoon's wife - the mommy of this boy - went to students and obtained some.
Grinspoon told the doctor who was treating his son - worried the doctor would be upset - and the doctor told him, from then on, to bring Grinspoon's son into the office so he could use the mj there, rather than in the car before his treatment.
No doubt there are some doctors now who would be that way - but also, NO DOUBT, there are doctors who still don't understand the value of mmj.
But, as far as Grinspoon - that's what we see time after time - someone has a family member or a personal experience that demonstrates current law just isn't right - and then they speak out.
Whatever you choice, again, best wishes and let us know how you're doing.