11 ms·

Chronic Pain: Finding Relief with the Benefits of Cannabis

14 points by sacrosanct 3y ago

janicekevin836 3y ago
[dead]
seattle_spring 3y ago
It'd be nice if it mentioned that cannabis does not work for everyone, and actually makes pain worse for some chronic pain.
- freitzkriesler2 3y ago
  I'm going to get downvoted for this but it's truthful. People who typically extol the benefits of cannabis are typically recreational users themselves. The theraputic dose for pain and appetite relief is very very low. Enough that a recreational user wouldn't get any enjoyment from it. And typically those who are recreational users are outright abusing the drug and don't want to admit it because being stoned isn't as obvious as being drunk to someone who smokes a lot. The problem is, we have no quantification of what abuse is. Is 1 hit abuse? 1 bowl, 5 bowls, 1 blunt? Personally I would equate 1 bowl of weed to one glass of wine or a can of beer. Depending on the strain too this can even throw off the balance. If you're smoking multiple bowls, then it's equivalent to drinking multiple glasses of wine or beer. If you're smoking a blunt, You're taking shots. You could even switch this analogy to coffee since weed is similar to caffeine in terms of its obvious physical damage. Too much caffeine and you're a jittery mess. Too much weed and you're a couch locked burn out. Yeah it's not a perfect system but it's better than nothing. Cue the posts about high performing stoners and how it doesn't affect their work I too know some high performing alcoholics. It's obvious what abuse looks like when it's alcohol or coffee. It's harder to identify abuse of marijuana. Maybe it's time to start. Regards, a former 15 year "all day everyday" stoner who quit cold turkey 6 months ago.
  - phatskat 3y ago
    It sounds like you’ve gotten some pushback in relation to your quitting - I’d hazard a guess that the pushback came from other regular cannabis users in your circle who didn’t get it. To that end, a lot of this is highly personal to you and your experiences. > The theraputic dose for pain and appetite relief is very very low. Enough that a recreational user wouldn't get any enjoyment from it. Citation? The small anecdotal sample size of people I know who use it for pain management definitely use higher doses than I personally take for recreation. This is likely related to several factors: personal tolerance, pain level, how readily your body processes THC, etc. > And typically those who are recreational users are outright abusing the drug and don't want to admit it because being stoned isn't as obvious as being drunk to someone who smokes a lot. Do what? Your questioning about what defines abuse is definitely a good line of thinking, but it seems you’ve already defined abuse in some way and you’re holding a lot of people to whatever that definition is. I use cannabis somewhat regularly, and I wouldn’t say I’m addicted or abuse it. I know my limits, and I don’t use it everyday. It’s something for me to enjoy and not something I need. I think most of my recreational use friends are in the same camp - even the daily stoners I know take breaks without issue. For me, abuse of any substance has always come down to: does it interfere with your personal or professional life in a severe and negative way? If your cannabis consumption got you fired, is straining your marriage, alienated your friends, etc, then it’s a problem. In this way, “cannabis abuse” is not at all different from alcohol or other drugs. > Personally I would equate 1 bowl of weed to one glass of wine or a can of beer. To me, this is a useless metric for anyone but you - I’m glad you prefaced with “personally”. Alcohol has a much different impact than cannabis and while they can share some overlap in perceived effects, they’re radically different. Equating the two in terms of effect and impact is just not a good idea in any kind of serious discussion. > You could even switch this analogy to coffee since weed is similar to caffeine in terms of its obvious physical damage. Again, this is just based on perceived effect and even then you’re analogizing “jittery” and “locked to the couch” - two very different states. > It's harder to identify abuse of marijuana. It really isn’t.
  - jrflowers 3y ago
    > The theraputic dose for pain and appetite relief is very very low. I like that you acknowledge that cannabis is useful for pain and appetite relief before writing at length about the existence of another group that uses cannabis differently and how we should all be focused on them and not the group that successfully uses cannabis for pain and appetite relief.
- RHSman2 3y ago
  Brings out my chronic back pain worse than anything!!
clsec 3y ago
While I differ from others responding, in the fact that I do find pain relief from cannabis, this is not the place to get your information from [1]. [1] https://spinfuel.com/legal/ https://spinfuel.com/legal/ "Spinfuel eMagazine is a professional e-cigarette news and review website, staffed and operated by people that purchase, use, and enjoy electronic cigarettes. As such, we receive sample products for the purpose of review, though more than 50% of the products reviewed are purchased by Spinfuel. We do not receive any sort of compensation from vendors, manufacturers, or anyone else for writing reviews, commentary, or guides."
- Mandatum 3y ago
  People who say it doesn’t work don’t understand chronic pain management. It’s less about stopping the pain and more about making it bearable enough to forget about it. Some pain you can’t stop. You can address the symptoms though.

14 points by sacrosanct 3y ago

[dead]

It'd be nice if it mentioned that cannabis does not work for everyone, and actually makes pain worse for some chronic pain.

freitzkriesler2 3y ago
I'm going to get downvoted for this but it's truthful. People who typically extol the benefits of cannabis are typically recreational users themselves. The theraputic dose for pain and appetite relief is very very low. Enough that a recreational user wouldn't get any enjoyment from it. And typically those who are recreational users are outright abusing the drug and don't want to admit it because being stoned isn't as obvious as being drunk to someone who smokes a lot. The problem is, we have no quantification of what abuse is. Is 1 hit abuse? 1 bowl, 5 bowls, 1 blunt? Personally I would equate 1 bowl of weed to one glass of wine or a can of beer. Depending on the strain too this can even throw off the balance. If you're smoking multiple bowls, then it's equivalent to drinking multiple glasses of wine or beer. If you're smoking a blunt, You're taking shots. You could even switch this analogy to coffee since weed is similar to caffeine in terms of its obvious physical damage. Too much caffeine and you're a jittery mess. Too much weed and you're a couch locked burn out. Yeah it's not a perfect system but it's better than nothing. Cue the posts about high performing stoners and how it doesn't affect their work I too know some high performing alcoholics. It's obvious what abuse looks like when it's alcohol or coffee. It's harder to identify abuse of marijuana. Maybe it's time to start. Regards, a former 15 year "all day everyday" stoner who quit cold turkey 6 months ago.
- phatskat 3y ago
  It sounds like you’ve gotten some pushback in relation to your quitting - I’d hazard a guess that the pushback came from other regular cannabis users in your circle who didn’t get it. To that end, a lot of this is highly personal to you and your experiences. > The theraputic dose for pain and appetite relief is very very low. Enough that a recreational user wouldn't get any enjoyment from it. Citation? The small anecdotal sample size of people I know who use it for pain management definitely use higher doses than I personally take for recreation. This is likely related to several factors: personal tolerance, pain level, how readily your body processes THC, etc. > And typically those who are recreational users are outright abusing the drug and don't want to admit it because being stoned isn't as obvious as being drunk to someone who smokes a lot. Do what? Your questioning about what defines abuse is definitely a good line of thinking, but it seems you’ve already defined abuse in some way and you’re holding a lot of people to whatever that definition is. I use cannabis somewhat regularly, and I wouldn’t say I’m addicted or abuse it. I know my limits, and I don’t use it everyday. It’s something for me to enjoy and not something I need. I think most of my recreational use friends are in the same camp - even the daily stoners I know take breaks without issue. For me, abuse of any substance has always come down to: does it interfere with your personal or professional life in a severe and negative way? If your cannabis consumption got you fired, is straining your marriage, alienated your friends, etc, then it’s a problem. In this way, “cannabis abuse” is not at all different from alcohol or other drugs. > Personally I would equate 1 bowl of weed to one glass of wine or a can of beer. To me, this is a useless metric for anyone but you - I’m glad you prefaced with “personally”. Alcohol has a much different impact than cannabis and while they can share some overlap in perceived effects, they’re radically different. Equating the two in terms of effect and impact is just not a good idea in any kind of serious discussion. > You could even switch this analogy to coffee since weed is similar to caffeine in terms of its obvious physical damage. Again, this is just based on perceived effect and even then you’re analogizing “jittery” and “locked to the couch” - two very different states. > It's harder to identify abuse of marijuana. It really isn’t.
- jrflowers 3y ago
  > The theraputic dose for pain and appetite relief is very very low. I like that you acknowledge that cannabis is useful for pain and appetite relief before writing at length about the existence of another group that uses cannabis differently and how we should all be focused on them and not the group that successfully uses cannabis for pain and appetite relief.
RHSman2 3y ago
Brings out my chronic back pain worse than anything!!

clsec 3y ago

While I differ from others responding, in the fact that I do find pain relief from cannabis, this is not the place to get your information from [1]. [1] https://spinfuel.com/legal/ https://spinfuel.com/legal/ "Spinfuel eMagazine is a professional e-cigarette news and review website, staffed and operated by people that purchase, use, and enjoy electronic cigarettes. As such, we receive sample products for the purpose of review, though more than 50% of the products reviewed are purchased by Spinfuel. We do not receive any sort of compensation from vendors, manufacturers, or anyone else for writing reviews, commentary, or guides."

Mandatum 3y ago
People who say it doesn’t work don’t understand chronic pain management. It’s less about stopping the pain and more about making it bearable enough to forget about it. Some pain you can’t stop. You can address the symptoms though.