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When you’re dealing with chronic pain, it’s difficult to focus on anything other than your discomfort. The agonizing and sometimes debilitating pain can cause us to lose out on the important things, like spending time with our families, being productive at work, and even the simplest daily activities can require monumental strength to muster through them. In the U.S. over 100 million people reportedly suffer from some form of chronic pain. Living with pain on a daily basis can become intolerable and for this reason, many people suffer with addiction.
Pain Management Addiction
The most common treatment for chronic pain is to mask it with narcotic prescription pain medications. Narcotics like Opioids are highly addictive, and our state is currently leading the country in abusing the drug and overdose episodes.
The CDC reports that nearly half of all opioid-related deaths are due to the narcotic being prescribed for pain related circumstances such as lower back pain, nerve and joint disorders, arthritis and spinal injury. They also estimate that 42,249 deaths annually are related to opioid overdose, and that number s on the rise.
The bigger issue that many pain doctors won’t tell you is that after long-term use, narcotics fail to work. This is known as treatment resistance. So, where do you go from there? Narcotic use for pain is a bottomless pit of delusion and dependence.
Cannabis for Chronic Pain
Medical Marijuana has significantly helped countless individuals with chronic pain. Our brain and nerve cells have cannabinoid receptors, so our bodies naturally react to cannabis (medical marijuana). The structure of cannabis interacts directly with our cells. Our natural endocannabinoid system works synergistically with medical marijuana (MM), creating a multitude of beneficial reactions in the body. The endocannabinoid cells have tiny receptors that take in chemicals and produce responses. This natural system in our bodies regulates things like pain-reception, mood, sleeping, immunity, pleasure, memory and much more.
Medical marijuana is made up of THC, CBD, and terpenes. The CBD is known to bind to receptors and is thought to regenerate cells and brain function, while THC helps to relax and alleviate the physical symptoms of pain and apprehension, and terpenes have healthy healing properties There are different levels of MM, some with higher THC, some with very low THC depending on the disease being treated.
The advantage of MM in treating a wide array of conditions from multiple disorders is hard to dispute. Many patients who have suffered for years with chronic pain and have become dependent on narcotics have not only had improvement in their pain but have also been able to stop narcotic use altogether. Many states where medical marijuana was legalized, report upwards of 1,800 fewer pain medications being prescribed each year
In 2016 Florida voters passed Amendment 2, making medical marijuana legal in our state; and one of the most exciting developments since has been a lift on the stay to ban smoking medical marijuana. Not all patients are the same, but certain conditions and diseases are more receptive to smokable MM like ALS, HIV, and neuropathy; available forms are oils, tinctures, vaping and edibles. Our Governor is currently working to lift the ban on smoking cannabis.
Currently, there are 12 medical conditions explicitly defined in the Florida medical marijuana initiative. However, the Florida marijuana law also states that any medical condition in which the medical marijuana doctor believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient may be used as criteria when certifying a patient for the Florida MM program.
Florida’s Qualifying Conditions
• Cancer
• Epilepsy
• Glaucoma
• HIV
• AIDS
• Seizures
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Crohn’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualifying medical condition and persists beyond the usual course of that qualifying medical condition
• Patients can be considered for alternative disorders
In addition, Amendment 2 allows physicians the authorization to recommend the Florida Medical Marijuana Card to patients who have been diagnosed with “a similar or other debilitating medical condition.”
• Anxiety
• Addison’s Disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Migraines
• Radiculopathy
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Depression
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Lyme Disease
• Osteoarthritis]
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Sickle Cell Anemia
You must visit a Physician that is licensed to recommend MM. To legally purchase and consume medical marijuana in Florida, a patient must have one of the 12 specific qualifying medical conditions regulated by the government, or have a medical condition that is deemed as appropriate.
It’s crucial for patients to seek out a highly qualified physician. The physicians at Omni Medical Services have spent a considerable amount of time researching and learning the ins and outs of using medical marijuana to treat disease states. Having the right doctor will make the difference as to whether or not your condition gets approved if it’s not already on the list.
For many patients with chronic pain syndromes, medical marijuana has helped them become pain-free without narcotics use. To find out more, please call 866-417-2002, or visit their website at OmniMedicalFL.com
