United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Check this out, I live in Ferndale and its now LEGAL! Im not a pot smoker but there are times that the pain is just that unbearable that it needs to be done! Might only be once a year but glad to know that it IS LEGAL here now!!

http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21280.shtml

COurt

Court I dont think that is something you should say on here . since younger ones look up to you. Well not any more!!

kd's daddy.... I do not get what you are getitng at... you have really offended me here! You have NO IDEA the pain that TBPI live with every day and for you to tell me that i am NOT going to be looked up to any more? Thats just not your place to do such a thing. If you read in my original post, I do not smoke... pain relief is a blessing though! Please re think that which you have previously stated!

COurt

Hi Court..well thats a small step in the right direction! I simply cannot understand why MJ hasn't been decriminalised for medicinal use years ago. MANY of us with a TBPI use it regularly, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of MS sufferers worldwide. The true figures for people who use it regularly for pain relief as opposed to recreational use will never be known, but I bet it would run into millions.

Here in the UK, we had 3+ years of cannabis derivitives clinical trials, which I was a part of, and the phamaceutical company that was involved were pretty confident that they would get the legislation thru sometime last year, but the elections in the UK put paid to that, and sadly, the whole thing has been shelved for the time being. I and many others are still able to get the spray via the trial centres tho.

I hope that one day, mj will be available for medicinal use everywhere as it has been proven to be a very effective pain reliever time and time again. If it wasn't for the masses who believe all the media hype about it, and who are very quick to condemn those who use it, even for pain relief, then I believe it would have been decriminalised years ago.

I also think that if the governments could think of a way of taxing it, like our legal drugs of nicotine and alcohol, then it would have been legalised way back...but thats a whole different argument! ;0)

KD's daddy...I don't want to seem to be picking on you here, but since you did post, I am directing this last bit of my post to you.

If you(along with no doubt hundreds of others here who'll read this thread) could try and keep an open mind about MJ and pain relief, then there would be a lot less misunderstanding about it and far less demonisation of the people who use it. People with a TBPI almost ALWAYS suffer from longstanding, intractable pain 24/7 and believe me, if you were in that place you too would try ANYTHING legal or not for relief.

The fact that Ferndale seems to have taken this step is one that should be seen as a step in the right direction, and I personally am grateful that Court has had the courage to post about it here.

IF the kids that look up to Court (and there are MANY believe me...I saw this at Camp...) seem suddenly not too, well then it isn't because of anything that she has posted, but because of what the parents have said about her post, or maybe more to the point, NOT said about it.

As with everything, a free and easy well informed discussion with your kids about this, is the best way to deal with it. Open your mind. Ask questions.

Lizzy B

Hey,
As the parent (conservative Republican) of 23 yr old son with LTBI (5 avulsions) given the choice of Vicaden, Percocet, Morphine, and a dozen other strong pain killers, anything that will give any type of relief is worth it not to see your child in pain. If someone said weasel urine would work, I'm out looking for a weasel

Steve that was great! I am with ya there, WHERE IS THAT DAMN WEASEL??

COurt

Thank you Court for sharing this important news with us.

KD's Daddy, I can only assume you are misinformed about a couple of things.

1. TBPI's suffer an incredible amount of pain. It is quite different from the pain that OBPI's feel, it is central core pain and they often have it 24/7.

2. Using ANY drug for medicinal reasons is vastly different from abusing a drug for recreational reasons. Please don't confuse the two.

3. Courtney has a great deal of respect from this community, from me, as the President of UBPN, from every member of our Board of Directors, and from this message board community. She interacts very well with our youth and I know she will continue to be one that they will look up to and ask advice from.

I expect you did not realize some of these things, or you would not have posted as you did.

Nancy Birk
UBPN President

Hey Court- I still look up to you or maybe down in your general direction because I'm taller - unless you were standing really far away, then I'd be looking at you. I know, you stand on the higher part of an incline, then I'd look up to you. Heck, I'll sit and you stand and that will take care of everything.

Guess what KD Daddy, I'm a drug user. I'm on uppers and downers and thinking about going on methadone with all the other drug addicts. Right now I'm drinking coffee and my head hurts because I drank too much alcohol last night. Maybe I'll pop down two aspirin with my coffee then go get some cigerettes and start chain smoking.

Gosh how bad does that sound until you find out my drugs are called medicine prescribed by a doctor. My hangover is from four beers and I don't drink often - so i have a headache. And I never take aspirin unless I have menstrual cramps.

My spinal cord injury (TBPI) hurts ALL the time and to a degree I couldn't even describe. No wait, let me try - if you could imagine what it would feel like in hell- burning, ripping, shocking, crushing - that's what it feels like and that is why I'm a drug user.

I was never a pot head, in fact in college when I tried it, I hated it because it made me feel out of control. But like my Oxycotin (basically heroin), Neurontin, Lexapro, Valium, Elavil, Flexaril, Percacet, Vicadin (I can go on) all prescribed to me for the pain, I would much rather have cannabis because it works and there are no unwanted side effects.

I use drugs as I've stated, the key is, I don't abuse them. I'm not trying to get high, I'm just seeking some relief for this god awful pain 24/7. My doctors have said they wish they could prescribe marijauna for my pain but it's not an option.

If they could only come up with some medicinal name for it, I'd bet no one would make a fuss. Opium is prescribe under so many fancy names that no one really thinks- wow I'm taking opium. So what should marijuana's medicnal name be? Tetrahydrocannabinol - that sounds medical enough to me and it's actually the chemical in cannabis that works for many medical problems.

I guess I just don't see the difference between the WIDE use of opiates for pain and using cannabis. If one works better, why not allow people to use it.

Next time your child goes to the dentist, tell him/her they will get cocaine in the form of novacaine, and that the soda they're drinking is an upper- it stimulates their system and makes them hyperactive. Then have them eat candy and chase it down with the soda and see them really get hyper. Then go to the docter and tell the your kid's bouncing off the walls and can't concentrate in school. No problem, just have your kid take this Ritalin or as they call it on the street, speed, but it doesn't work on children as an upper, it's a downer and counter balances all the sugar and caffeine they ingest. Then when he/she gets a cold with a really bad cough use codeine ar should I call it morphine or heroine.

The point is chemicals are in everything we ingest, drugs are all chemicals that are used to help with medical issues, and if Tetrahydrocannabinol helps people with certain medical problems, then lets use it. It can't be any worse then any other medicine we use.

THANX LOVE SUSAN

Susan ,
I guess that is a good way of looking at things. Abuse is different from use to relieve pain. I am a mother of a 7 year old with OBPI. I would hope he would never-ever suffer the pain the you TBPI's are. I have a neighbor who abuses cannibis. He has tried on several occasions to seel to my children 17,14, and 9, yes, nine. This is what I do not accept. If you use it for medicinal purposes then praise the Lord, just don't try and share with my kids !!! Gayle

Susan... you are BRILLIANT! I Loved reading your post! There is a huge difference in what people use drugs for... people do not seem to understand this! They think (kd's daddy) that is you use marijuana, for whatever reaosn, that yo uare a bad person, one whom people CAN NOT look up to! This is 150% inaccurate!!

One of the largest problems with legalizing it for medicinal pourposes is that it is hard to regulate the THC levels in the plants. There have been some extemests who have gone nuts with cannibis, and have made some super potent forms of it. The government does not want this.

I an NOT a "pot head" as some might think... im only in need of pain relief!! THANKS SUSAN!

Gayle.... THANK YOU for being understanding and OPEN to learning! Thats a great way for people to educate themselves, be open to new ideas.

Untill you live with this pain day in and day out, you have no room to criticize!

COurt