How to Talk to the Doctor About Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain or Other Medical Conditions
If you have a chronic pain condition, cancer, or another debilitating medical condition and you haven't considered medical marijuana as part of your treatment plan, you might consider it. Medical marijuana has been in the news lately for its medical purposes. Unfortunately, the state and federal laws related to medical marijuana don't match up and this makes it difficult for both doctor and patient. Medical marijuana is legal in fourteen states. However, the problem is that it remains federally scheduled as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Under this federal schedule, marijuana supposedly has no medicinal value. But, the active marijuana ingredients tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and around 50-60 other cannabinoids have been found to be medically helpful. Some people are able to use Marinol, which is a pharmaceutical THC, but the evidence leans toward smoking medical marijuana as a more effective delivery system. The other major factor is that when you synthesize only one of the ingredients you lose the synergistic effect of all the cannabinoids.
Why Talk to the Doctor About Medical Marijuana?
Medical marijuana has been used for centuries. It is a very purposeful substance having many uses, including medical, environmental, and health perks. The first step to talking to your doctor about medical marijuana for chronic pain or another qualifying condition is to check state law. Some people are very afraid to talk to their doctor about medical marijuana because it carries a stigma. It is often thought that people who want marijuana legalized for medical uses only believe this for the purposes of getting high. It is hard to make the mental shift from peace-sign-waving-long-haired-pot-smoking-hippie-folks to a chronic pain patient using marijuana. Many people also use medical marijuana to reduce the amount of pain medication they take.If medical marijuana is legal in your state and you are suffering from chronic pain or another chronic medical condition then you should make a pros and cons list for talking to your doctor. Make sure that your research is state specific. If you are looking it up for Washington State for example, you can find the state law codes online. Under the law, it will dictate what conditions apply to the use of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana has been shown to be very helpful for patients with a variety of pain conditions. That being said, it does vary by state as to what medical conditions are covered. If your condition is not currently covered under the medical marijuana laws you can write the Department of Health or other guiding agencies to petition to get new conditions covered.
Print the medical marijuana law to bring with you to talk to your doctor. Write notes and be prepared. Your doctor may think medical marijuana is fine, but he or she could be avidly against it. Before bringing up the topic, you should build some rapport with your doctor. If you have a good rapport with your doctor it is easier to talk about any tough subject. You cannot be arrested for asking your doctor's opinion on medical marijuana. Some people fear that asking makes you guilty, but it does not. Asking about it gets you educated. It can be very helpful to build a pros and cons list of medical marijuana versus other pain pills. Seeing it in black and white and in comparison to each other can really help someone understand the benefits of medical marijuana.
If you are asking your doctor for medical marijuana it is best to have a list of why you think this medicine will help your condition. Although it shouldn't be so hard to get approved for the use of medical marijuana, the process can be hard and you have to really prove that you have a medical condition that complies with the law. The use of medical marijuana isn't a joke to those who use it medically for pain relief. Discussing the options with your doctor is a good thing. Depending on your state you may just need a note from your doctor that says they believe it might be beneficial to your condition.
Your doctor may be able to write your certification for the medical marijuana program in your state. You should know though that just because it is legal in your state, the guiding policy of your primary physician may preclude them from recommending medical marijuana. This is another reason why it should be legalized outright. The red tape regarding medical marijuana policy can end up pitting your doctor on the opposite side of your care even when they believe in the possibility of getting help from medical marijuana. If the office policy is to only write for certain conditions, such as cancer, then you will have to find help through a local medical marijuana clinic.
When you prepare to talk to someone against medical marijuana you should do some research about its medical benefits. You can find a lot of information by using "medical marijuana benefits" and "pros of medical marijuana" as your search terms. If you are looking for scholarly articles use the Google advanced features function. On many of the medical marijuana websites there are research articles posted frequently as proponents keep a close eye on the advances in research and law. Finally, think about this: if you were really sick or had pain that doesn't subside wouldn't you want access to every thing that could alleviate your symptoms?
Resource: How to Get Approved for Medical Marijuana in Washington State
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Great article jp, I'm am pleased to see how educated you are on this topic ;-). The state I live in is very close to allowing medical use of marijuana. We have a very high rate of illicit marijuana use in our state, and I can't wait for it to get voted in because our prisons and jails are way overpopulated and I think it will make a lot of sufferers of pain or other chronic issues of the like very happy. It's a win-win in my eyes. We all know how ridiculous it is for it to be illegal anyways, what with the alcohol being promoted on tv ads all the time. Anyway, thumbs up on another great read! Keep it up!
I meant to put the word "illicit" in quotes. I meant to be sarcastic in that there are people in prison for using marijuana to help themselves with a medical condition that nags them. As you said, not all people who smoke marijuana are "potheads". I truly feel sorry for those who are currently being prosecuted for "illicit" marijuana use when they are simply trying to make their life easier and more enjoyable by relieving chronic pain. Guess they should have taken a legalized Vicodin filled with synthetic chemicals aimed towards shutting off parts of your brain and nervous system, which is obviously much safer than a plant ;-)
At some point, the law just needs to change. Holding onto the reefer madness era politics is only hurting people. Imagine that just legalizing this could help turn a country around. There is so much overwhelming proof that medical marijuana is helpful, it's just hard to see why other people don't see that and why the Gov. doesn't change.
I like you guys!
Hopefully the government will catch up to the medical community on this issue. So many people could benefit from it.
The court system needs to change. My ex smokes pot recreationally with no medical card. He has no medical issues. I have many chronic pain medical issued that would be solved with marijuana. Because we are involved with family court for custody issues, I wouldn't dare even trying to get a card, because I don't think the courts would care if I was tested and had a card. I can't afford the risk. So my ex smokes for fun, and I just try to cope with chronic pain until the day it is actually supported by family courts as well. Sad. My experience with it over 20 years ago was that if you were in pain, it relieved it but you did not get high. If you had no pain, it got you high. I have children now, and I'm obviously not into the getting high part, but I sure would like the pain relief. Please feel free to delete my post if it doesn't suit your article.
I should add that I'm from CA, and I HAVE talked to my doctor and neurologist about marijuana, and they agreed that although it would probably help my chronic pain issues a lot, and I could probably get a card, it would be used against me in family court- they recommended against it. In fact, I now take nothing, not even Neurontin, which was helpful for my pain issues in the past.
@Glorybug - your comment totally pertains to the issue of medical marijuana. I'm curious if you have ever talked with anyone in the legal system about it? I wonder if there are any precedents with medical marijuana and custody cases. Chronic pain is one of the main issues that medical marijuana treats, so it makes sense you should qualify and be able to get pain relief. After all pain is very overwhelming. I suppose it is a risk to take although I think you'd come out in favor since you would be legally doing it for treatment of a medical condition. Definitely, the law regarding medical marijuana needs to change.
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