TWiG’s Joint

There are many people around the world and across the internet who will say what great help Medical Marijuana is and its many medical uses. But there are not a lot of people explaining how to use marijuana best for these problems. As a medical marijuana patient, and a caregiver for others, we get to (read: have to) sort of experiment on ourselves, and figure out what helps best in different situations. Sometimes though, as with regular “drugs”.. the medication alone will not solve the problem, but help or assist you with some of the other steps. Most pain killers for example only mask the pain you are feeling, leaving you to be in pain once again when they wear off, and quite often with some rather shitty side effects along the way or after. This is where I will disburse some of the knowledge I have gained through my own “testing” as well as information gathered through other Medical Users that I have applied their technique to myself.

From the start here I would like to list a few of the common, short term side effects of smoking marijuana. Different users will experience their own combination of some or all of these “side” effects while using Marijuana for medical reasons. Depending on the reason for use, some of these effects listed may actually be wanted. This is NOT a complete list, or at all trying to make it sound harmless. There will always be long term effects of inhaling ANY kind of smoke, be it cigarettes, pot, campfire or even incense. Nothing we do in life is “completely safe”, but that is another post all together.

Side Effects of Medical Marijuana

• Coughing (during use)
• Getting “High”
• Drowsiness
• Hunger
• Dry Mouth
• Thirst
• Dry / Red Eyes

When I compare that list to some drugs advertised on TV with their lists of things like: Rashes, Burning Sensations, Oily Anal Secretions, Kidney Failure or DEATH… I really dont mind the want for snacks and a nap, and infact USE many of those so called marijuana “side effects” for my own health.

The smoking vs eating argument. What it comes down to here is speed of effect, smoking marijuana the user will often feel the effects immediately. Ingesting the marijuana through food is MUCH healthier for your lungs, yet often takes upwards of 30 minutes or more for the effects to kick in, leaving the pain to grow, and re-dosing a confusing guess.

The following is a list of medical problems I use Marijuana for, some explanations and a little info or tips that I learned along my usage that may help others.

NAUSEA
- One of the most common mentioned medical uses for Marijuana, and personaly I would have to say it works VERY well for this issue. I find that just taking one or two tokes from some smooth smoking marijuana as the nausea sneaks in, curbs it right away. Its an almost instant reaction for me and most others I have observed. If the nausea has already set in strong, take a toke, then a few slow deep breaths, then another toke. Repeat this a few times and you will be feeling better in no time flat. Much faster than any over-the-counter nausea drugs, and with much nicer side effects. This seems to work with nausea caused from colds/flu as well as movement based types (Car or Boat Sickness), and with the nausea I seem to feel for a few hours every single gad dang morning. I take one toke in the morning, not even enough to get a regular user like me “high”, and I am fine.

BACK & NECK PAIN
- One of the most common uses of Marijuana for patients I work with and talk with is pain. Back and Neck pain can be caused by so many different reasons that treating it can be hard, unless the exact reasons for the pain are known, injuries for example. Even knowing the reason for the pain, doesn’t mean there is a cure for that problem. Often people with chronic pain are left with no options from their doctors than a lifetime of pain medication. I find that a combination of marijuana, stretches, and posture can help prevent, or greatly lower some of the chronic, often debilitating pain I, and people I know live with every day.

If the pain is just starting in, first I relax, and slowly smoke a very STRONG strain of marijuana, exhaling my hits slowly and almost meditatively. Once you can feel yourself loosening up, and you will, slowly do the stretches that help your problem area best. This will greatly reduce tension and inflamation of the muscles in your body, then the stretching often prevents the problem from escalating to the severe level. When the problems are not able to be prevented, and are in full pain mode, and sometimes, not allowing me to move correctly at all, a different tactic is needed, and some help from a over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, Ibuprofen. I take 600mg of Ibuprofen (consult your doctor, wikipedia or the bottles information for the side effects of this rather common use drug), along with VERY STRONG strains of marijuana. I will often smoke a first & second bowl rather quickly, and another slower, sort of “as needed”. While the smoking is going on, it is again important to relax. The marijuana will start to help the pain and inflammation until the stronger dose of Ibuprofen kicks in to try to fully relax the inflamed areas of your back and neck, while the marijuana continues to help with the pain. Once the pain is reduced to a manageable level, the stretching steps from before will be used.

INSOMNIA
- Another common use for Marijuana is sleeping problems, and many types of marijuana have the side effect of drowsiness. Some strains of pot are VERY good at helping people to fall asleep, and some people will fall asleep smoking almost any type. As with all things, our bodies react and interact with things differently. I find that by using a nice strong sedative strain, and smoking a few bowls while watching some mind numbing TV for awhile before the time I want to get to sleep, I have a much higher sleep success rate. The sedatives of the marijuana help me to stay sleeping through distractions, without FORCING a non-restful zombie sleep the way various “sleeping drugs” will.

DEPRESSION
- If you have ever used or have seen the use of most depression medication, you may wonder who in the hell thought those screwed up main effects and side effects are at all worth gaining to loose the feelings of depression. With marijuana the various effects from the “getting high” part come into play quite nice. Dosage is simple, smoke till your smile is back and you can laugh at something. A strain with a nice, uplifting high is best here. Might take a bowl or two, best done with a friend who is in a good mood already, and can help you to relax. Here is another one that the weed doesn’t cure, but lets you feel better for the time and let you think through things in a much less depressive way, allowing you to solve the root issue smoother. NEVER drink alcohol for depression, it will ALWAYS make the feelings worse.

ANGER
- Not often mentioned in lists of problems that marijuana will help, and often overlooked, is Anger issues. I have found that, as a side effect of using marijuana for other issues, it has helped in general with my anger “problems”. When I notice myself getting overly pissed off at something, I try to step back and take a few rips of weed, the effects combined with the time to sit and think about the issue a bit, brings things back to a controlled level. And again with the warnings, try not to drink alcohol if you have anger control issues, they will only strengthen and while drunk you may not be able to control it at all.

There are of course many many more uses for medical marijuana, these are just the ones I personally use it for. At some point I may talk about some of the uses that others I know have used it for, and their personal tips and tricks. Feel free to use the comments here to add your own tips and tricks for how you use medical marijuana to help with your own issues.

Now of course I probably HAVE to say here, according to paragraph 41.9 of some law somewhere, that I am not a doctor, and I don’t even play one on TV! That these are the techniques I use myself, and all I can truly claim is that they work for me. Use at your own risk, results may vary, no refunds, beware of dogs.