This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Smoking marijuana can relieve muscle tightness, spasticity (contractions) and pain often experienced by those with multiple sclerosis, says research out of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The findings, just published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included a controlled trial with 30 participants to understand whether inhaled cannabis would help complicated cases where existing pharmaceuticals are ineffective or trigger adverse side effects.

MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord.

The disease attacks the myelin, the protective covering wrapped around the nerves of the central nervous system, and — among other symptoms — can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis.

The average age of the research participants was 50 years with 63 per cent of the study population female.

More than half the participants needed walking aids and 20 per cent used wheelchairs.... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1815

just legalize it already...

thank big pharma lobbyist and a congress thats full of cowards and greed

we need to reform our congress

Burning carbohydrates (e.g. cellulose) produces acrolein which is also known as vinyl aldehyde. It's a small, highly reactive and toxic molecule which induces oxidative stress and also cross links DNA with covalent bonds (i.e. causes DNA damage). I imagine that smoking pot would be no exception. Here's a paper which discusses acrolein and provides some ideas on avoiding exposure. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... ool=pubmed

NHE

NHE wrote:Burning carbohydrates (e.g. cellulose) produces acrolein which is also known as vinyl aldehyde. It's a small, highly reactive and toxic molecule which induces oxidative stress and also cross links DNA with covalent bonds (i.e. causes DNA damage). I imagine that smoking pot would be no exception. Here's a paper which discusses acrolein and provides some ideas on avoiding exposure. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... ool=pubmed

NHE

You don't have to smoke MJ!! It can be ingested by incorporating it into food preparation. Many who simply do not want to smoke use MJ this way. Although it takes longer to obtain the effects vs smoking, it does work.

Or if you can afford it, Sativex pretty much gives the same results.

Unfortunately some people won't follow the science but instead impose their moralistic views on MJ. How sad.

Harry

i cannot imagine inhaling any type of smoke is good for you, but if one is suffering from spasticity and this provides relief, then why not?

vaporizing is also an alternative. http://www.maps.org/mmj/Gieringer-vaporizer.pdf

and yes, you can certainly eat it.

bottom line...exactly what civickiller said above. $$$$

Have you ever looked into products such as Rick Simpson oil or similar "hemp oil" products out there? I gave my family member a bottle, it has the consistancy of honey and you just add a drop - 4 or so on a cracker cookie ect. twice daily or as needed and it seemed to help a lot with sleeping and relaxing without the "head high" that she did not like.

A question is if these products would show up on a drug screen. Some of us are subject to random drug screening at work, and even if we can get over the moralistic issues, having MJ show up whether from smoking or eating it, and even when clearly used for medicinal use, we still would get fired.

FLJhawk wrote:A question is if these products would show up on a drug screen. Some of us are subject to random drug screening at work, and even if we can get over the moralistic issues, having MJ show up whether from smoking or eating it, and even when clearly used for medicinal use, we still would get fired.

Interesting question for your doc to answer. If it would show up on a screen, I would approach your company's HR department and ask them for their take on it so they know up front. A letter from your doc describing the medication and why it is being used would be of benefit as well.

Yes. it will show up on a screen. If your doctor is ok with MJ then see if you can get a letter or note for your HR dept. that the current medication you are using may effect the outcome of a drug screen but since the doctor OKed it they may go for it. Sticky Situation.

Tizanidine, 120mg of Baclofen, 4-ap, and Gabapentin, all halved, or stopped since Mary Jane. Liver numbers say it was smart too

I'm with "shaight" Just legalize it already!

It's available here in Canada with a doctor's prescription (but there's the fun of finging a GP who is willing) and then a lengthy dance with Health Canada and the RCMP . It takes eight to ten weeks someties more for the paperwork to be filed and screened and then you're good to go for a year at which time you have to go through all the rigamarole again.
So as I say just legalize it so that we can get it simply with a doctors prescription and cut out all the bureaucratic nonsense. But I doubt that will ever happen as long as politicians who don't have a clue about MS in Canada keep putting their oar into the whole matter with their self righteous opinions.

i'm from oregon which means that I have to visit a doc willing to recommend cannabis once a year. Ms is on the list in oregon so its almost sure that I will be approved. The last doc I saw said the same as the others...no smoking. He said I can learn how to cook on utube. Basically, butter is made and then cooked into a brownie or something.
I have a vaporizer which the doc says is ok but you lose about 20 percent of medicine.
Just this morning i woke with incredibly painful spasms. I tried the cannabis tincture (under the tongue) but it didn't work very well. I had to smoke to get the benefit, at least this morning. Its really an experiment to find the right strain, the right dosage, the right method for ingesting...........
I wish I lived in CA because they have dispensaries there and people who know which strains work the best for muscle spasms.I hear they have marijuana lollypops in California (smile)
I have searched and searched for an online site dedicated to MS and cannabis but have not found one. The people at Oregon Green Free recommended I start one myself. Not sure if there is a need ...what are your thoughts?

i only smoke it when my leg spasm get bad but i only need like 3 hits to stop the spasm's. im saving as much buds as i can for oil.

reneelucia wrote:I have searched and searched for an online site dedicated to MS and cannabis but have not found one.

I do not have any know how of MJ and MS, but I did a search and found this CBC story which may help.
The 16 Top Medical Marijuana Strains
and
http://www.medicalmarijuanastrains.com/ ... sclerosis/

I found these through google with the following search:
Google Search