Glaucoma Disease

is Smoking plants other than Tobacco harmful ?

Question:

There has been a bit (well OK a lot) of negative press in Australia about THC usage and the onset of mental illnesses in later lif, notably schizophrenia and clinical severe depression. Any thoughts?

I think that chronic heavy use of marijuana probably isn’t a great idea.  I think any substance that alter’s one’s mind (both"natural" & synthetic) has to be handled with extreme caution.  With medicinal use of marijuana, we aren’t talking about getting stoned 24/7.  It’s use is limited to what is needed to work relieve the patient’s complaint.  Most of my patients smoking pot make the stuff last quite a while.  Two or three hits before a meal for some of them allows them to hold down a meal.  Several taking chemotherapy use pot only during their chemo cycles — in between, there’s no nausea so they don’t bother. I work with people whose problems with nausea & vomiting are very serious. Several of them wasted away to less than 90 lbs., walking skeletons.  Then their families said "what the hell" & went out & simply bought some weed & it worked.  One patient (an elderly church going grandma) had me laughing when she described her phone call to her oncologist about the n & v that didn’t stop with other medications, & his advice to her.  "Do you know anybody who smokes pot?" he asked.  "Yeah, my daughter complained to me that my grandson smokes it " she told him.  "Well, go get some & smoke it.  But you didn’t hear that from me."  [She spoke to her grandson who now makes sure that Grandma has a couple of joints in the house when she needs it.  A different twist on spanning the generations, huh?] I’m sure that anyone with a pre-disposition to mental illness would want to avoid using anything that effected the mind unless absolutely necessary. Just like with alcohol.  But when faced with the choices some who use marijuana medicinally are up against, I see nothing wrong with choosing to u se pot in that way. Michele

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi everyone, I was just reading a book that was lent to me by my other-in-law – it deals with Native American herbalism amongst other topics… Anyway – I had always assumed that inhaling the smoke of burning plant/herb would be bad for your health yet this book documents various herbs which you can apparently actually smoke as remedies for such ailments as bronchitis, asthma etc. Now…this seems contradictory to me – with my limited knowledge – have I been misinformed and is it therefore safe or possible to smoke some plants/herbs without damaging your health – and perhaps actually benefitting it? Thanks to all who reply! Fool…… Let’s face it, smoke is an irritant (at least to some degree) & whatever you’re smoking does decrease the oxygen intake af that particular inspiration.  Not usually a real good idea to inhale lots of smoke. That said, there are substances that people smoke that do have some good effects.  I’ve been reading up on the medicinal uses of marijuana over the years & am impressed by what limited use of it has been shown to do.  I also have quite a few patients who utilize it for medicinal purposes (most often they are terminally/chronically ill with cancer or have HIV & find that pot helps them deal with nausea & vomiting much better than any of the other anti-emetics, including the politically correct form of THC, Marinol) & have seen their n & v improve dramatically, their weight loss & wasting stop, & their overall nutritional status is usually better than when they don’t toke up. I’ve also found through research & testimonials from people with asthma — who absolutely can’t tolerate other sorts of smoke without just about dying — that marijuana appears to be an anti-inflammatory which reduces the amount of inflammation in the bronchioles & makes breathing easier. Whether the irritation of inhaling *any* smoke outweighs the anti-inflammatory benefits of smoking the pot hasn’t been conclusively proven (at least in the research I was able to locate). The use of pot with glaucoma patients is promising — basically it dehydrates & reduces intra-occular pressure (is that the best way to describe it, Dr. Larry or frank?).  Apparently, patients have used marijuana with results every bit as good as pharm drugs used to do the job, with less side effects & contraindications.  [Of course there's lots of giggling & cravings for Twinkies & chips -- & operating dangerous equipment or driving isn't recommended -- but one could do far worse.  ;P] There are so-called marijuana substitutes out there — legal & easily available.  I have never heard of any that possess marijuana’s benefits, no doubt because the THC is the key. Speaking of THC, does anyone know if it can be absorbed through skin?  Can it be "leeched" out of a patient’s skin?  [Much like onions & garlic can be excreted that way & actually smell.] Michele

There has been a bit (well OK a lot) of negative press in Australia about THC usage and the onset of mental illnesses in later lif, notably schizophrenia and clinical severe depression. Any thoughts?

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi everyone, I was just reading a book that was lent to me by my other-in-law – it deals with Native American herbalism amongst other topics… Anyway – I had always assumed that inhaling the smoke of burning plant/herb would be bad for your health yet this book documents various herbs which you can apparently actually smoke as remedies for such ailments as bronchitis, asthma etc. Now…this seems contradictory to me – with my limited knowledge – have I been misinformed and is it therefore safe or possible to smoke some plants/herbs without damaging your health – and perhaps actually benefitting it? Thanks to all who reply! Fool……

Let’s face it, smoke is an irritant (at least to some degree) & whatever you’re smoking does decrease the oxygen intake af that particular inspiration.  Not usually a real good idea to inhale lots of smoke. That said, there are substances that people smoke that do have some good effects.  I’ve been reading up on the medicinal uses of marijuana over the years & am impressed by what limited use of it has been shown to do.  I also have quite a few patients who utilize it for medicinal purposes (most often they are terminally/chronically ill with cancer or have HIV & find that pot helps them deal with nausea & vomiting much better than any of the other anti-emetics, including the politically correct form of THC, Marinol) & have seen their n & v improve dramatically, their weight loss & wasting stop, & their overall nutritional status is usually better than when they don’t toke up. I’ve also found through research & testimonials from people with asthma — who absolutely can’t tolerate other sorts of smoke without just about dying — that marijuana appears to be an anti-inflammatory which reduces the amount of inflammation in the bronchioles & makes breathing easier.  Whether the irritation of inhaling *any* smoke outweighs the anti-inflammatory benefits of smoking the pot hasn’t been conclusively proven (at least in the research I was able to locate). The use of pot with glaucoma patients is promising — basically it dehydrates & reduces intra-occular pressure (is that the best way to describe it, Dr. Larry or frank?).  Apparently, patients have used marijuana with results every bit as good as pharm drugs used to do the job, with less side effects & contraindications.  [Of course there's lots of giggling & cravings for Twinkies & chips -- & operating dangerous equipment or driving isn't recommended -- but one could do far worse.  ;P] There are so-called marijuana substitutes out there — legal & easily available.  I have never heard of any that possess marijuana’s benefits, no doubt because the THC is the key. Speaking of THC, does anyone know if it can be absorbed through skin?  Can it be "leeched" out of a patient’s skin?  [Much like onions & garlic can be excreted that way & actually smell.] Michele

Response:

Hi everyone, I was just reading a book that was lent to me by my other-in-law – it deals with Native American herbalism amongst other topics… Anyway – I had always assumed that inhaling the smoke of burning plant/herb would be bad for your health yet this book documents various herbs which you can apparently actually smoke as remedies for such ailments as bronchitis, asthma etc. Now…this seems contradictory to me – with my limited knowledge – have I been misinformed and is it therefore safe or possible to smoke some plants/herbs without damaging your health – and perhaps actually benefitting it? Thanks to all who reply! Fool……

Response:

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