Is Medical Cannabis Right For You?
Deciding whether or not to use cannabis can be a tough decision. Hopefully, in this blog post, we can answer some of the questions you've been having.
Many of us heard that medical cannabis can change lives and even save lives. However, for some reason, you may have been hesitant and unsure if it was the right choice for you. We are here to tell you that cannabis is probably the BEST treatment option for you.
Many prescription drugs, most of the time, do not heal. They simply mask symptoms and for short term relief it's great. Living with pain, nausea, discomfort etc... is not easy. At least you will be able to live normal life, but, what are the long-term side effects? A prescription drug, whether it is lyrica, prozac, zoloft, methotrexate, percocet or vicodin, is filled with harmful toxins that can actually cause more harm than good. These side effects include, nausea, upset stomach, cancer, addiction, weakened immune system, cardiovascular conditions and liver damage or failure. Those are not the only side effects, but those are a common few.
As a society, we've abandoned the principles in which we need in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. "Popping pills" have become the norm, however, that's not a healthy foundation to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It would be unfair to say that long term use of cannabis doesn't have any side effects, because then we'd just be lying to you. Those side effects are not nearly as harmful as traditional drugs.
Pennsylvania has approved over 15 debilitating conditions that can now be treated with medical cannabis. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has conducted the research, and realized that patients with these conditions can live a better life by using cannabis as medicine. Many patients with these conditions have had little to no success with prescriptions drugs.
Those conditions are:
- AIDS
- ALS
- Autism
- Cancer
- Crohn's Disease
- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- HIV
- Huntington's Disease
- IBD
- MS
- Neuropathy
- Parkinson's Disease
- PTSD
- Seizures
- Severe Chronic Pain
- Severe Intractable Pain
- Spinal Cord Disease
- Spinal Cord Injury
Since we've began helping patients understand the benefits of medical cannabis, a common concern we always hear is that people do not want to get "high". THC, one of the active components in cannabis, does have psychoactive effects. That is what causes that "high" feeling. The common misconception is that you will get high if you use cannabis. Cannabis can be consumed in several different ways - vaping, using topicals and oils are common methods of consumption. With these different cannabis extracts, you have the option of using a strain that has little to no THC in it. Which means, you can benefit from the therapeutic benefits of cannabis without the psychoactive effects. Great! Isn't it?
Cannabis is considered to be "modern medicine", however, it's actually one of the first medicines discovered. The first documented usages of cannabis dates all the way back to 10,000 years ago.
We hope that we've discussed some, if not all, of your concerns. Feel free to give us a call with more questions if you would like to further discuss is medical cannabis is right for you.
Update On Cannabis Program
We know that you have been patiently waiting. Soon, Pennsylvania's medical cannabis program will be ready to go. Now accepting appointment requests for this fall for all qualifying patients.
You've been e-mailing and calling us and we too are excited to get all of you your cannabis certifications.
The advocates at The Green Remedy simply want to give all of our new and existing patients an update on what is happening with the medical cannabis program here in Pennsylvania.
I'm sure you've all heard that cultivation and dispensary licenses have all been issued. These cultivation sites and dispensing stores have been working hard to ensure they will be 100% compliant and operating within the state laws.
With that being said, the next step is for the doctors that are willing write cannabis certifications to register with the Department of Health. However, in order to register with the DOH, they must complete a 4-hour state approved course. Two courses have already been approved and released. Our doctors are currently completing the training course.
We ask that everyone remain patient. As eager as we all are to obtain these certifications, it has been brought to our attention that there are "doctors" or "clinics" that are "pre-qualifying" patients for the program. Please keep in mind, the certification applications have not yet been released by the DOH. Please thoroughly do you research and ask the appropriate questions to avoid anyone billing you and not getting you certified.
Again, we thank you all for waiting and we will immediately let you know when we can get you certified. At this time, feel free to submit an appointment request. We will contact you to set up an appointment for this fall.
Kind regards,
Advocates at TGR
How Cannabis Helped My Anxiety & PTSD
My social anxiety had become a serious issue for me. Once I discovered cannabis,I found myself to be so much more relaxed in social settings.
About 7 years ago, I went through a very traumatic experience that really changed me. At the time, I decided not to seek help, because I thought that I was fine. It wasn't until 5 years after my traumatic experience that I decided to finally speak to someone.
After having several sessions with my therapist, she suggested that I was experiencing signs of PTSD. She then referred me to a psychiatrist who eventually gave me an official PTSD diagnosis. At first, I thought it was a little crazy. I assumed that PTSD was for veterans and people who've had close experiences with death. After researching, I realized that the nightmares I was having and the terrible anxiety I was dealing with was the result of my experience 7 years ago. I had PTSD.
Of course, the psychiatrist gave me a prescription for drugs. I was never the type of person to take meds unless it was totally necessary, but I was so eager to live a normal life again. A life without nightmares and severe anxiety. I took the drugs for about 2 months until I said "forget it". One of my best friends moved to Denver, and when I went to visit her, she took me to a dispensary. That changed my life, but for the better this time.
I learned about the different strains of cannabis, and which ones would work best for my social anxiety due to my PTSD. I felt so much better. I remember going to a bar for the first time, and not feeling nervous about the crowd being there. I remember not thinking about all the terrible things that could happen.
Cannabis helped me get my life back, and I will forever be grateful for it. The drugs that I was prescribed to take did absolutely nothing for me. However, a psychiatrist told me to take them, so I believed that maybe, eventually, it would help. Sativa helped me within 1 day.
I understand that cannabis is not meant for everyone, but it's definitely meant for me.