Cannabis

Description

Side effects

(Don't be unduly alarmed. All drugs cause side effects for some patients)

Warnings

(These are standard cautions but may not apply in your case)

Remember, this is still an illegal drug. Use in any form may result in prosecution in many countries under current laws.

Cannabis smoking also generally involves the use of nicotine, with all its well-publicised health risks.

Comments

A company developing cannabis as a painkiller has begun tests to see if it helped pain sufferers sleep. GW Pharmaceuticals said a small number of victims of multiple sclerosis and some suffering nerve-system pain were trialling cannabis as a pain killer and to control muscular spasms. They take it in liquid form under their tongue every day.
The four experiments include one to see if MS sufferers who have trouble sleeping will be helped. The others are for people with pain which is caused by a malfunctioning nervous system or "allodynia". The trials- complementing the existing three tests - bring the total number of patients experimenting with cannabis in the UK to 600.
Dr. Geoffrey Guy, GW executive chairman, said the extension to the trials was "another milestone" on the way to gaining regulatory approval for the medicinal use of cannabis.
If GW is awarded a product licence, the UK government has said it would be willing to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act to exempt people who take cannabis under prescription. Information provided by Pete Dyke

I have RSD in my right leg and take various drugs for it, but the only genuinely effective pain relief I get is from smoking cannabis. I limit myself to a couple of joints a day (or I wouldn't be able to think straight!) and although it does not take the pain away completely, it certainly reduces it more than the Gabapentin. The side effects of being a bit stoned are nothing compared with some prescription drugs which make me ill, loopy and still don't do much for the pain. It is still illegal, but at least it works to a certain extent. Rachel, England

I'm not sure if I have RSD, but my pain specialist said he would treat my chronic pain the same as if he were treating RSD. I take Neurontin 3200mg, catapres TS3(clonidine) patch, Serzone 400 mg, methadone 30 mg, and up to 30 mg. oxycodone when it gets really bad. One day when the pain had me climbing the walls, I tried a joint....that was a mistake, the pain level at least doubled. I will never again trade the euphoria for the increase in pain. If the meds aren't working now, I jump in the hot tub. Fred - Sultan, Washington, USA

I have suffered from RSD for 4 years now. I've been on a variety of drugs that made me sick increased the pain, made me tired, made me forget and made me shake and gain weight. sitting down and smoking marijuana helps more then any nerve block or joint injection or medication Ihave ever ever been prescribed. (Name witheld)

It was suggested to me by one of my physicians that I try marijuana to see if it would decrease my pain level. While it had, for the healthy side effect of increasing my appetite,I found that the drug created a situation in which my attention to pain was also increased. I wouldn't say that it heightened my pain, but rather it diminished my ability to distract myself from my pain. It was as if I was unable to shift my focus away from the pain. My doctor then prescribed Marinol which contains synthetic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. I observed no benefit from this medication other than increased appetite. In all fairness, I have spoken with others who have RSD-CRPS who have found both cannibis and Marinol to be helpful for them. - Barbara T., USA