Quality of life, the role of MMJ
A phrase that comes up often when working with people who suffer from severe pain, is "quality of life". Another time you will hear that phrase is in the twilight years for many people. Surprisingly, "quality of life" is also a phrase we see repeatedly in Medical Marijuana studies. It creates an interesting thought for debate - Is the perceived improvement in quality of life reason enough to recommend this plant as a medicine? Surely, a statement like that must be weighed against the known harms of a substance but considering the current options like OxyContin and Percocet for intractable pain, the Cannabis plant would seem like an attractive option to explore.
This subject strikes near to us, a dear old friend had let out a call for support last week. She is a young person, who suffers from intractable pain. The number of surgeries and specialists are too many to list, she really has tried it all. Until you live with daily pain, its near impossible to understand the mental toll it takes. It's not just days or a few weeks of pain and depression, it's years on end. It really takes a strong person to handle it. Doctors are quick to write prescriptions for powerful narcotics, which are mood altering and highly addictive chemicals. Many people on opioid medications report a loss of self, a feeling of being "a drugged-up zombie".
This week, 1985 Superbowl Champion quarterback Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bears, publicly discussed how Medical Marijuana helped him quit his prescription drugs. McMahon got his medical marijuana card in Arizona, where he lives, after it was approved by a voter referendum in 2010. Before that, he said, he'd been taking 100 Percocet pills a month for pain in his shoulders, neck and arms. "They were doing more harm than good," he said. "This medical marijuana has been a godsend. It relieves me of the pain — or thinking about it, anyway." To read more about his story, click HERE
Opioid prescriptions for life, is simply not an attractive option. For our friend, it's even more complicated. Having a history of addiction, long and successfully in her past, using the recommended drugs is not a responsible option.
After hearing her request for support from the mental and physical battle she deals with every day, it was our instinct to want to suggest MMJ. Not knowing how this would be received, given her position of sobriety, we thought back to the phrase "quality of life" and the many times we've seen it used in the conclusions of Medical Marijuana studies. Cannabis does offer an aspect of pain relief, scientifically we know why this happens. When conducting MMJ research, aside from the targeted condition, patient welfare is closely monitored. There are a variety of accepted tests (with really long names) to assess the therapeutic value of the medicine being studied.
In the numerous medical journals we have poured over, in many cases, even if the targeted condition doesn't go into remission, the patient's quality of life index goes up. Some studies attributed it to a sense of relaxation, others cite a distraction from pain for the patients. Reports of anxiety or agitation were minimal. You don't need to look far to find solid evidence about the addictive and physically destructive nature of opioid medications. Yet, for doctors, they are the "go-to" medicine for people with intractable pain. Considering the comparative safety of Medical Marijuana, why are advocates still being blocked from conducting meaningful human trials for MMJ?
We sincerely hope the answer isn't - the pharmaceutical industry.
