Thread by @BadgleyLaurence

CANNABIS FOR FIBROMYALGIA is something I have studied. In a threadreaderapp essay that I am working on, I will discuss the concept.

https://twitter.com/badgleylaurence/status/1330911926990278657

CANNABIS FOR FIBROMYALGIA
In order to understand the use of Cannabis for pain there are certain principles that first need to be understood.

The first Principle is that, like any substance used medicinally, Cannabis first needs to be somewhat purified so that standardized dosages
can be measured, identified & used rationally & medicinally.

One average “joint” also called a reefer (the rolled cigarette) weighs about 1 gram of dried flower & contains about 10 mg of THC. This might be loosely regarded a standard dose of the flower, but the material smoked is comprised of much non-medicinal plant matter.

Cannabis flower leavers are covered with microscopic wax globules, called tricomes, which contain the oil comprised of about 126 cannabinoid bio-chemicals, plant alkaloids. THC & CBD are only two of these 126 plant alkaloids.

Ideal way to deliver analgesic Cannabis is in a concentrate of tricomes devoid of plant matter; as “cold water” or “bubble hash”: tricomes brushed off in a stirred ice cube bath & strained through flake gold sieves to concentrate tiny globules of oil. When dried is hashish.

The method of cold water extraction is useful because the alkaloids are not solubilized in water & THC is not “decarboxylated” into the psychoactive form until 220 degrees is involved. That is why people smoke or bake it.

But the unheated Cannabis can be eaten and still be medicinal. Cold water hash can be melted in oils & butters at low heat temperatures (in crockpot) to dissolve & release the cannabinoids, which can be eaten to treat pain. No exposure to 220 degrees = non-psychoactive.

My studies of busted-up men who formerly used opiates & then switched to hash found that 1 gram of hashish equaled the analgesic power of 30 mg of Morphine (#3 10mg Norco).

Historically, hashish has had a bad reputation. I forget his name, but one attention-seeking Victorian wrote an expose’ type of diary of an intense dalliance with hashish & fabricated reports of scandalous hallucinations & behavior that brought him notoriety. Reefer madness.

Today, users of hashish honor the pain-relieving benefits of hashish and know that the Victorian writer’s “revelations” were spurious and made up for shock value and book sales.

During my studies of medicinal Cannabis users, I personally interviewed dozens who regularly used 10 or more grams of hashish per day and whose demeanor and intellect appeared normal. We held in-depth conversations and they seemed not intellectually or physically compromised.

Heavy hashish use accompanied by social & physical stability reflects the scientific phenomenon of “tolerance”. These users gained a gradual accommodation to the sedating qualities by slowly escalating amounts used & over time.

A surprising discovery, I made while encountering these hashish users of generous amounts, was that they could stop suddenly at anytime & not have withdrawal symptoms.

Upon sudden withdrawal the pain recurred, but they did not have the uncomfortable shakes, seizures, vomiting, abdominal cramps, & restless muscle spasm agonies experienced by opiate abusers who withdraw.

Successful use of hashish for pain does have drawbacks. The efforts required to produce hashish can become full time. Twenty-eight grams of hashish, about enough for one gram per day (1 gm = end segment of pinky finger) makes about one ounce (duck egg size); about 1 month worth.

Manufacture of one ounce of hashish takes about one pound of dried Cannabis flower, which is a mass about the size of a basketball. Advanced growers can generate several pounds per plant, but one pound is more the average production norm.

To grow a 6 foot plant that produces one pound after several months of growth requires 6-8 gallons of water per day & is no small feat. A person needing a gram of hashish per day will need to grow 12 of these plants per year, but that is not all.

Growing Cannabis requires confronting a large number of assaults that results in about 10-30% loss of plants per grow cycle; due to mites, mold, frost, drought, theft, scavenging animals, etc.

Therefore, use of one gram of hashish per day requires starting the grow season with about 14-16 plants to cover an average loss ratio; finishing the season with enough medicinal for one person.

If each Cannabis plant requires about 16 square feet of grow space, then 15 plants would require 256 square feet; about the size of a one car garage.

Years ago, I published a study of the use of hashish for pain. Curiously, the arenas I published in were state court cases, where I was an expert witness for the defense in about 30 medicinal Cannabis hearings in California.

I resisted publishing my Study in literature that might make way to the general reading public with concern not to become a Cannabis guru & target for law enforcement, but that is another story.

Use of Cannabis for Fibromyalgia has been published in several clinical studies. The biochemical systems where Cannabis acts in the body is quite pervasive. The most dense class of cell receptors in the entire human body is for Cannabinoid molecules; both endogenous & exogenous.

Endocannabinoids, our own body’s internal cannabis molecular system, is super-controller of the nervous system. Many of dysautonomias of Fibromyalgia, such as Migraine, Gastroparesis, Panic Attacks, IBS, & Interstitial Cystitis, are controllable with exocannabinoids of Cannabis.

Fatigue due to sleeplessness is a major symptom of Fibromyalgia. Probably the most common use of Cannabis is for sleep promotion. Sleeplessness is a major factor for development of depression. Many persons have reported amelioration of depression by using Cannabis.

Indeed, a majority of states wherein use of Cannabis is medically allowed is on the horizon. But the legalization victory is bitter sweet.

The average prosecutor, lawyer, & law-person regards these modern Cannabis laws as hypocrisy & fronts for black market operations, & that nobody needs more than a joint or two per day to “get high”. They are ignorant of true medicinal uses.

The idea that Cannabis can be truly used as medicine is generally espoused tongue in cheek by the authorities. Many state laws protect the possession of a personal ounce or a few ounces per year.

The idea of the true amounts of Cannabis needed for serious problems like Cancer & Pain is still foreign to the body politic. I do not see that changing anytime in the near future.

Way that Cannabis entered the arena of legal use was by way of negotiation between activists & politicians that legality would be offered if Cannabis were allowed to be taxed. Leading legalization activists, with eyes on the Cannabis commercial pie, jumped into the negotiations.

The sales pitch of the activists has been, “let us grow it and all the taxes we pay will pay for all your public services”, or some such outlandish claims. The agreed upon formulas developed for taxation of Cannabis are onerous.

Ironically, the taxation scheme for legal Cannabis has functioned to apply an arbitrary exorbitant value to this weed that can grow in the wild. The net effect of the excessive taxing scheme is that the black market has not been decimated but has prospered.

Think about the idea that a plant that grows in dirt in a ditch gathers water & needs only sunlight to grow. The same plant helps humans be healthier & happier. What should we do with it? Of course, we should surrender it to governmental control.

Instead of letting people freely pick and use this plant for headaches, muscle pains, intestinal discomforts, & menstrual cramps, governmental leaders brand this weed as off limits to the citizens.

At every stage of possession, harvest, & manufacture into medicinal forms a tax is imposed. Jail is not imposed for the tax money, but for mere possession. Social theories that Cannabis is a “gateway drug” & “addictive” have long been debunked.

The proper way to handle the Cannabis issue is to let people freely grow it and share it with anyone whom doctors deem safe to use it. Let anyone sell it at farmers markets to anyone who has a doctors certificate of benefit.

The only governmental mandate should be that all Cannabis sold must be with a certificate of analysis as to wholesomeness & potency.

At this Analysis level let there be requirement for only licensed labs able to provide the certificates & at a competitive price. Let the government regulate the analytic labs & make money off of them.

With above described schema for a laissez faire arena for Cannabis, people will be happier & more productive. When British colonials ruled India they sent emissaries into all parts of the country, & who returned with a 2 volume report: use of “ganja” (Indian name for Cannabis)

The conclusion of this grand report was that the people should be left alone because they were happier and more productive when their relationship with ganja was unregulated.

CONCLUSION:
When healthy you are happier. When happy you are healthier.

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