Medical Marijuana in Vancouver BC
Jan 15th, 2012 by Janet
In Vancouver, British Columbia, there is widespread use of medical marijuana, with Vancouver often being called “Vansterdam” in recognition of its general tolerance of prolific, and often public, recreational pot smoking.
There is an intensely pro-active movement throughout the world that is wholly directed towards the eventual legalization of marijuana, so that people can freely both grow it and smoke it without criminal sanction. Others direct their thrust towards promoting marijuana as a prescription drug.
The issues involved in recreational marijuana use are quite separate and distinct from the issues involved in using marijuana for medical purposes.
Many articles have been written on the subject of the recreational use of marijuana. Most researched articles come out strongly against the smoking of marijuana for recreational purposes. The arguments against the recreational use of marijuana are fairly clear, and based on the same general principles that argue against using any psychoactive, toxic substance, to gain a pleasure sensation, at cost of your general health, with the additional risks that are unique to any particular recreational drug.
When the pro recreational marijuana arguments are looked at more closely – most boil down to the basic premise – that as marijuana has many well known and researched medicinal properties – what is the harm in smoking it?
Smoking pot carries similar risks to any other substance abuse. If marijuana has medicinal benefits – then it must be used medicinally, and not for “recreational” purposes.
Some people are licensed to grow limited marijuana for the purpose of their own medication. The intention in Canada has always been that people access their medical marijuana through authorized government channels.
People allowed to grow one or two plants for their own therapeutic use seem to have generated, in some miraculous way, a major illicit medical marijuana industry, geared to supplying people with copious amounts of “medical marijuana” through marijuana shops and compassion clubs, of which there are several flourishing in Vancouver, and throughout North America. Some of these outlets are well known and have been established for years, known about but generally ignored by the authorities.
Medical scientists have produced several varieties of synthetic medical marijuana, such as Marinol, and Sativex.
Other drugs act so as to promote or inhibit endocannabinoid function. It is problematic about the use of these drugs given the present state of medical knowledge about the natural defense mechanisms of the body.
Science first discovered cannabinoid “receptors” in the body, and wondered what they were for.
They discovered that the cannabinoids in pot, latched onto these receptors in the body, and that it made people feel “good” – about aches and pains, improved appetite and many other things.
There are probably hundreds of benefits to the body that are mediated by the cannabinoid receptors in the body – provided that they are triggered by the endogenous cannabinoids that are to be found in the body.
Scientists testing and prodding the receptors with extracts of pot one day discovered that the body makes its own endocannabinoid chemicals, that fit precisely and as needed, into the cannabinoid receptors.
Many years ago, doctors started using extracts of opium to deal with pain. We are now suffering a backlash of chronic illness and addiction actually caused by opioid drugs – due to us edging out the natural enkephalins and other painkillers in the body – and trying to replace them with our ‘drugs”.
All exogenous drugs come with toxic side effects – including opioids and cannabinoids that should not be used for “medicinal” purposes, as being toxic to the body.
Studies have found that neither endocannabinoids, nor marijuana extracts are particularly useful for dealing with acute pain, which is controlled more by opioids.
However for chronic pain, and for pain of unknown causes, both endocannabinoids, and marijuana smoking do provide relief.
This is mainly because chronic and ideopathic pain have a strong emotional component that is moderated by cannabinoids. Endocannabinoids in the body serve a protective function, to reduce levels of stress and tension – settle people down. It is this settling function that does the most to bring pain and other symptomatic relief to patients.
Endocannabinoids bring psychosomatic repair and regulation, such as providing relief from migraine causing tensions, increased appetite.
Endocannabinoids, in a healthy person, fine tune stress and tension relief to perfection, work with precision to synchronize and morph with other biochemicals to get the balance just right.
Surrounding the body with cannabis smoke and blearily inhaling does not work quite as well. It is fair to say that it never will – you also risk side effects and addiction.
You get similar drug warnings with processed cannabinoids as you get with the synthetic opioids that cause us so much distress.
In trying to create drugs to replace the natural chemicals in the body, science has bitten off more than it can chew -
but it does not stop the drug merchants from peddling their wares, to the detriment of all.
There are natural methods of health care that work with the body, that enhance and promote endocannabinoid function that helps the body to heal – reduce its experience of pain, damage and disorder, with no side effects or addiction.
Addiction to synthetic drugs that have a psychoactive function is one of the worst kind of side effects that anyone can suffer – particularly when they only used the drugs in the first place to make themselves feel better.
People in Vancouver BC, who want to end their substance abuse, addiction to prescription drugs or to marijuana - in a natural and healthy way, are encouraged to use the drug free program used in Canada by comprehensive alcohol and drug addiction recovery centers.
Comprehensive addiction recovery programs in Canada, rehabilitate both mind and body – free you of substance abuse, get you off drugs completely – enabling you to live a more healthy, constructive, drug free life.
