[Suzanne rose]

My brother who is 59 is on medical cannabis for back pain. I couldn't believe how easy he got it.
He was a pot head before being prescribed it.

He came to Sydney a few weeks ago and we went out to dinner. I couldn't believe how much he was using it . To be honest I think he is abusing it.

 

[Liz]

I had a friend who had vascular dementia and the medical marijiana was the only thing that worked for him in the nursing home to stop aggression. I for one, wouldn't take it even if my pain was severe and I hope it if end up in a nursing home, I wouldn't be put on it. There are, I believe, other options.

 

[Rain72]

I had a friend who had vascular dementia and the medical marijiana was the only thing that worked for him in the nursing home to stop aggression. I for one, wouldn't take it even if my pain was severe and I hope it if end up in a nursing home, I wouldn't be put on it. There are, I believe, other options.

I'd love to find any option for savage upper back pain attacks. I don't take medical marijuana or cannabus, and my doctor said he is not permitted to prescribe it even if he wanted to, but he doesn't recommend it. I eventually went to a different doctor who consented to prescribe very strong pain meds but warned me to take them only when really desperate for relief and never more than one day's dosage in several weeks. Several people have suggested cannabus, but others tell me it doesn't really do much for severe pain but just makes you feel generally happier. Overall, I hate all drugs and avoid them as far as possible.

 

[Veggiepatch]

I wonder if there has been double blind experiment to determine the effectiveness of cannabis based "medication".

The placebo effect comes into play with unregulated preparations.

 

[Ricci]

I tried medicinal cannabis and it did absolutely nothing for my severe back pain caused by Spinal Stenosis. I'm currently on the waiting list for an operation but was desperate to get some sort of relief from the constant debilitating pain. I went through proper medical channels to get it and had to jump through several hoops before my doctor suggested it. I honestly don't see what all the hype was about, to me I was just spending heaps of money for nothing.

 

[goatwhisperer]

My husband was prescribed Medicinal Cannabis (witb THC) by our GP. It was a low dose and to only be taken just before bedtime. It certainly helped him sleep better with his chronic unrelenting pain at the time not jelped by the usual prescription pain killers.. He was acutely aware of those side effects and feeling of drowsiness the next morning. Thankfully no psychotic episodes and monitered carefully by our GP. Cannabis is not the harmless drug that many make it out to be, particularly if you have a predisposition to psychiatric illnesses. I am not surprised by the increase in presentations to emergency departments with users of "medicinal" cannabis having psychotic type episodes.

 

[Veggiepatch]

I wonder if there has been double blind experiment to determine the effectiveness of cannabis based "medication".

The placebo effect comes into play with unregulated preparations.

I found this in less than a minute.

Brooke Manning, Amie C. Hayley, Sarah Catchlove, Con Stough, Luke A. Downey, A randomised, placebo-controlled, double blind, crossover trial on the effect of a 20:1 cannabidiol: Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol medical cannabis product on neurocognition, attention, and mood, European Neuropsychopharmacology, Volume 82, May 2024, Pages 35-43.

In summary, the researchers found that medical cannabis is mood altering, disturbs visual memory and promotes drowsiness through the production of melatonin. Another consideration is the user expectation which can affect the efficacy of such preparations, whether it is beneficial or not.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X24000373?via%3Dihub

 

[Clancieblue]

I had terrible lower back pain at the end of last year. Fast forward to know and 23kg lighter and walking 4km daily. Back pain gone.
Not the answer for everyone, but it could help some.
Keep mobile as long as you can, do only as much as you can, I have seen people walk into a nursing home to live there. When they sit down and have nothing to do, they stay there and have trouble ever getting up again.

 

[Sherril54]

My aunt was prescribed medical cannabis for chronic back and knee pain, she went through the hoops to get onto the program. I was with her at the time and I gave the cannabis in a liquid to her at night. She had previously been on the norspan patches and could not take a higher dose of morphine. It realy didn`t help with her pain, the only thing it helped with was her sleep and she had the muchies after taking it. I think it is still too early to predict how helpful it is, or does it help it all, versus the possible negative side effects. These renegade health care workers need to be stopped. Also there needs to be much more clarification on the legality of drivng under it`s influence.