By Frank G. Shineman
The National MS Society poses the question- Should medical marijuana be used for MS? It is my opinion that the question is very presumptuous and laced with an arrogance that I find very distasteful. The answer should be- of course! Why would we even think seriously about not considering it? If we are an organization that we are presenting ourselves to be, that would be as some say- a no brainer. Or are we a large national organization just serving as a front for the multibillion dollar pharmaceutical behemoths that want to appear to care about all the people worldwide who suffer from this disease or do we only care about our overflowing corporate bank accounts? Myself, I believe it is the latter! I also believe that they pretty obviously expose who they are. To me that is obvious, especially because of one of the categories of information/discussion listed at the very top of the page is entitled-How to live well with MS. The thought processes of the executives and the corporate should be- “Let’s hire the scientists, marshall the necessary resources, have our Facilities Department set aside the necessary space and let’s get at it! But you see, dear reader, it is not that way at all! Another proof of what I am saying, you will witness in their overall negative attitude. That is, they cast medical marijuana in a very bad light. Well, you might ask why they would do that? The answer is simple- they want to protect their massive profits from the sale of pharmaceuticals. They are just giving lip service to the idea that there might be something better out there. But as I mentioned I will give you the results of some of their tests. You may arrive at a similar conclusion.
On effects of cannabis on cognition/cognitive function in people with MS:
Their conclusion- the cannabis group performed more poorly on the more demanding tasks.
Their conclusion on the second study was: “The study confirmed for the first time that cannabis can worsen cognition.”
*Writer’s note: I ain’t buyin’ it
The world famous Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org), thankfully brings us leaping and shouting with joy into the bright sunlight of real possibilities for real hope for the multitudes of MS sufferers around the world!
No longer do we have to trudge through the muck and mire of the heavily biased responses and ill-informed conclusions of the previously revealed source of information.
In response to the question of an MS sufferer, Dr. Dean Wingerchuk of Mayo Clinic stated “Studies completed in the recent past found that an extract from cannabis(capsule form) can help relieve MS symptoms. These symptoms showing significant improvement include:
Muscle stiffness
Spasms
Reduction of pain
Reduced bladder urgency
Dr. Wingerchuk goes on to explain that though we are thrilled with these improvements, there still exists the possibility of minor complications. The writer notes that the complications appear when using extracts.
If I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Wingerchuk, I would ask- Might it not be a better use of our collective wisdom and experience to devise a different method of testing? Here’s my idea- Let us do the necessary research to determine whether an Indica or Sativa strain would hold out as the superior strain for this purpose. Then under appropriate controls, provide the MS patients with the medical marijuana to smoke and diligently note their responses as to how their symptoms were affected and in what way. I would go on to ask the test administrators- “Why do you feel the need to develop extracts?” I suspect that some of the problems lie in the fact that they are consuming extracts! Let’s focus on the proper strain’s plant properties and throw out the idea of extracts.
The well known ultra-liberal website, Salon(www.salon.com) reported on their website on January 19, 2017, that marijuana could improve common MS symptoms. They are reporting that MS sufferers using cannabis are finding out that they are experiencing greater physical activity levels, more strength and less fatigue
Based on several studies, The American Association of Neurology states that there is strong evidence that cannabis is “effective for the treatment of pain and spasticity.” In addition, The Integrative Neurophysiology Laboratory at Colorado State University is studying MS patients who began consuming cannabis on their own volition to determine the different effects they are experiencing.
