Crohn's Disease Support Group

I was wondering if any of you are using marijuana to help with your Crohn's. To be honest, it has helped me more than any drug that my doctor has prescribed me. Crohn's is now widely accepted as a disease that medical marijuana can help as it has anti-emetic (anti-nausea), anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. I would have lost even more weight had I not had marijuana. Many times, I cannot eat until I smoke or vaporize. I just thought I would see if anyone else is out there using this beneficial plant. If you are in a state that allows for medical marijuana, I would say give it a try. It is a lot safer than some of the steroids and stuff they give us. Below, there is a link for a brochure that goes into more detail about medical marijuana and GI disorders.

Brochure PDF-

http://ripatients.org/uploads/File/GI_brochure.pdf

And some journal articles on the subject-

Cannabinoid CB1-reception mediated regulation of gastrointestinal motility in mice in a model of intestinal inflammation

Izzo, Angelo A., et al. (2001) British Journal of Pharmacology. 134: 563-570

http://ripatients.org/uploads/File/Gastrointestinal/ britjounralmedicineGI.pdf

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol as an antiemetic

Anderson PO, McGuire GG. (1981) American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 38: 639-46.

http://ajhp.org/cgi/content/abstract/38/5/639

The Gastrointestinal Pharmacology of Cannabinoids

Izzo, Angelo A., et al. (2001) Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 6: 597-603

http://tinyurl.com/6xtkv8

Cannabinoids for Gastrointestinal Diseases: Potential Therapeutic Applications

Izzo, Angelo A., et al. (2003) Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs. 12: 39-49.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/apl/eid/2003/00000012/ 00000001/art00005

An an article about vaporization, a safer alternative to smoking and why marijuana smoke is not as damaging as tobacco i.e doesn't cause cancer-

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7458&wtm_format=print

P.S. I am sorry that most of the Journal Articles are abstracts only. You have to pay for the full versions on most of them, but at least they show that this has been seriously researched for anyone who has doubts on the medical benefits of marijuana.

Post edited by: OrneTTe, at: 09/03/2008 09:41

OrneTTe: No, can't say that I have used it. I have a friend who has been urging me to try it. I have not been in enough pain yet. Also, not worth it for the pain and suffering to my family if I were to get caught with it. I see that you are also in IL, I don't know if IL is a state that you can get a script and use it without persecution.

No, Illinois does not allow for it, but when I am miserable, I really do not care. Soon, I hope to move to Canada as it is accepted there and I am going to lose my insurance in about a year. My family knows I use it for these purposes so that is not a problem. Don't you see the problem here though? There is something that might help you immensely, and you would like to try it, but that would make you a criminal. What a medical system we have here. Drugs that are not profitable are kept illegal no matter what their benefit, as you can't patent a natural plant. Sorry to rant but our medical and judicial systems are so screwed up sometimes.

Post edited by: OrneTTe, at: 09/04/2008 18:13

Post edited by: OrneTTe, at: 09/04/2008 18:13

I have smoked it in my really bad years, all the normal pain meds always make me really feel funny (inside), but a joint can send me back to 11 years old before I came down with Chrones, even for a short time. the thing with all pain meds is that they do not help the pain they just make you not care weather you hurt or not. I just have always gotten mine the old fashioned way, from a little man named stumpy on the street corner.

That's the thing. It is not just a pain reliever. Look at the brochure. It also helps with appetite, nausea, and inflammation. Oral cannabis is also an option by the way. You can simmer it in vegetable oil or butter and use the vegetable oil or butter as you would in any recipe. You can make brownies, cake, cookies, and even things like pasta.

Interesting... how do you know how much to put in and how much you should eat? Or do you mean just use the oil in the brownies and pasta? Exact same effect?

That is interesting.

It depends on quality and tolerance, but for someone with zero to little tolerance, for average grade seedless marijuana that runs for $40-$60 for 3.5 grams, as little as .1 or .2 grams is enough smoked, vaporized, or per serving orally. That is about $3 each time. Many of the beneficial medical effects seems to last for a while, even after the high wears off.

Lower quality cannabis, or cannabis bought in larger quantities can be had even cheaper, though I would suggest going with as high as quality as possible as it is better medicine, and less has to be used. Your tolerance will go up after time, but not by that much as long as you are not smoking all day. I usually smoke just a little bit in the morning so I feel good enough to carry out my day, once before dinner, and once before bed as laying down seems to bother me a lot. I have been smoking for years and never smoke more than .5-.7 grams per day. Vaporization is even more efficient as no THC is wasted by combustion, but vaporizers can be somewhat expensive, though no damage is done to the lungs as the marijuana never burns.

Here is a link with a bunch of recipes for eatable cannabis.

http://www.wamm.org/recipes.htm

Here is a link about vaporization.

http://www.maps.org/mmj/pr5.02.03.html

Here is an interesting documentary made by a man who says he has healed cancer in people who were terminal through the use of hemp oil, a high concentration extract made of marijuana. It has been proven in clinical studies that THC and other cannaboids found in marijuana actually shrink tumors and Rick Simpson says that he has used this to cure cancer in patients. It also talks about the use of this oil and cannabis in general for other diseases.

http://www.youtube.com/chrychek

If anyone has any questions they don't want to ask on here, feel free to PM me.

Post edited by: OrneTTe, at: 09/03/2008 23:15

I hate pot, but I was just on vacation and decided to see if it would make me feel better. I was able to eat and enjoy the food. I had an actual appetite. I didn't throw up or poop right after. I was in no pain. It did wonders.

Then I regretted it when the high wouldn't go away cause I am not a fan of the high from pot.