Medical Marijuana Clinics - Conquering Fame And Demand

Tracing back to its legislation in 2002, a new type of clinic has broke the silence and began offering services to the chronically and terminally ill patients in the area. The la medical marijuana clinics are lawfully allowed to dispense  legal amounts of cannabis sativa to patients based on doctor's prescription, diagnoses, observations, and thorough reasoning to prove the existing need. To avoid disputes and controversies, patient identification, conditions to support the need, strength and amount of drug, and diagnoses are to be recorded prior to dispensing the drug.

It is necessary to note new additions or deletions in the legislation in order to maintain compliance and avoid infringements. Today, revisions are made in order to fortify the movements against wide-spread abuse of medical marijuana clinics for self-medication purposes and as well as bountiful profits due to illegal selling of the drug.  Medical marijuana clinics and their employees are under close monitoring to ensure that no abuse will jeopardize or revert the progressing legistlation process.

To further intensify the battle against abuse, not only patients are being tested but as well as the strength of the contents of THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol are being noted by dispensaries. Medical marijuana clinics are tasked to closely keep in track of their patients for any possibilities of adverse effects of the drug thus providing safety measures to consider during the treatment program. As a medical precaution, physicians recommend vital signs taking and THC blood monitoring to ensure that the patent's consumption of the drug is under control.

Patients are also given teachings by the medical marijuana clinics regarding  proper use and consumption of the drug along with the suggestion of obtaining the same drug from legally  recognized dispensaries and  not from the streets for these might contain other illicit drugs or chemicals are detrimental to the patients' physical and mental health. In order to prevent conflicts with authorities, patients are advised to carry their prescription identification cards with them for everyone's attention that they are needing medical marijuana or THC pills as part of their treatment regimen.

Is Medical Marijuana A Cure To Glaucoma?

After affecting almost 60 million people worldwide, glaucoma remains second to cataract as the common cause of blindness. A terrible decrease in intra-ocular pressure due to marijuana in la and THC use has been studied as major causes of glaucoma.

Primary open angle glaucoma is most common form characterized by progressive destruction of the retina and the optic nerve. A person's visual field undergoes constriction and eventually disappears. The person is now considered blind.

Risk factors for glaucoma are consisted of three factors to consider. The first two are predisposing factors namely race and age. The third, increased intra-ocular pressure, is under a person's control whatever mode could that be.

Intra-ocular pressure is  being maintained by aqueous humor, which is considered as the fluid in the eye giving it its shape. The fluid is said to flow with the direction between the front of the eye and the back of the cornea. An  increase in  intraocular pressure would lead to restriction of  the flow of fluid from the front of the eye and the pressure rises within the eye as well. Optic nerve is somehow deprived of nutrition due to the limited flow of the fluid.

Intra-ocular pressure when reduced doesn't totally guarantee glaucoma prevention but having it as the  only controllable risk factor, we should utilize medications to sustain it.

Medications significantly reduce intraocular pressure in two principles:

1) Lessening aqueous fluid production 3) Easy flow of the aqueous humor out of the front eye

A few surgical options are otherwise recommended by doctors to achieve the same objective.

Recent studies have concluded that mairjuana and THC have shows effects in lessening intraocular pressure. Regardless if  THC is smoked, inhaled, or eaten, the goal of reducing  intraocular pressure is achieved. However direct application of cannabinoids to the eye was proven inefficient.

There's no existing study to prove that cannabinoids can really reduce IOP. Given 4 hours, IOP can be reduced using this treatment. Nevertheless consuming it 4 to 8 times a day would be effective than other medications taken only twice a day.

Psychoactive effects being a potent side-effect in long-term use of  medical marijuana in la may be difficult for the elderly to tolerate. The patient may experience "racing" beat of the heart as anxiety sets in. There is an urgency in controlling the IOP consistently to retard the progression of glaucoma.

Marijuana to date is not the first line of treatment for glaucoma due to the rising efficiency of new medications. Marijuana was found to be of lesser effectively compared to these newly developed medications. But once the need for a second or third choice of drug arises, doctors can actually resort to marijuana as needed.

The Wonders Of Medical Marijuana To Chronic Pain

Chronic pain has really multiplied fast reaching epidemic proportions in this country. Chronic pain is commonly described as pain that lasts three months or longer. Though experienced by older adults more than anyone else, but still manages to affects all ages. Chronic pain affects almost 50 million people while acute pain due to surgery and accidents hits 25 million of people.

Treatment usually imposes he great problem when dealing with chronic pain. The National Chronic Pain Outreach Association accounts seven million people are claimed that opiate medications are needed to relieve their pain while only 4,000 doctors are eager to prescribe it. What threatens these doctors' licenses are the negative publicity, erroneous views about addiction, or the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) scrutiny. Prescribing opiods entails these doctors to consider tolerance to the drug thus affecting the adequate dosage to totally knock off the pain felt. Living a painful life triggers depression to set in which will compel one to resort to suicide if prolonged.

I am strictly against usage of marijuana medical weed for recreation but studies show its many beneficial effects on the  treatment of chronic pain. Marijuana is gifted with two main effects: it's predominant analgesic effect and its anti-inflammatory capacity. Though opiod medications are proven effective in pain management in the beginning, tolerance can develop over time and cancel its main purpose as well. Research claimed that marijuana use can impose more benefits than other legal pain relievers aside from it threat to the lungs. According to researches on animal models, legal overdose is out of the story.

Marijuana treats pain and as well as nausea associated with opiod medication usage. Compared to the synthetic form of marijuana which is Marinol,  inhaled marijuana renders  immediate relief because it is absorbed into the blood at a faster rate, and it contains more cabbinoids than Marinol. Marijuana brings about lesser side-effects than Marinol.

Recently, the United State's government has expressed its outmoded  testimonies on marijuana. Being classified as a Class A schedule I drug with no  medicinal value at all, it is highly considered dangerous and nevertheless illegal. Point of views are gradually fluctuating in time. Though medical marijuana in la is now accepted in treating chronic pain, it would still encounter criticisms nationwide just like the opiates before.

Marijuana for medical use has been legally accepted in thirteen states for the year 2008 if done with doctor's recommendation. Way back October of 2009, the Obama Administration developed  guidelines to propose that  medical marijuana patients will not be arrested or prosecuted as long as their caregivers are aware of their duties and obligations to the state.

Is Marijuana Really A Gateway To Other Drugs?

The existing gateway theory regarding marijuana has paved the way for the stepping theory theory to step into the scene. This marijuana as stated in the theory is not potentially dangerous, but consumption of it will lead to other detrimental drugs. Through the years, marijuana has been thought to pave way for Heroin, Cocaine, or LSD. Should we accept this gateway theory then?

Congress will never allow the acceptance of such theory. Those cocaine-users likely tried using marijuana, which is more popular by far than cocaine, as a start-off drug. The medical marijuana in ca on the other hand never urged people to use LSD, heroin, or cocaine.

One simple analogy would be comparing bicycle riding versus motorcycle riding. Bicycle riding (in this example this is marijuana  use) has gained more popularity than motorcycle riding (in this case using cocaine). The amount of people who consequently rides a  motorcycle (use cocaine) and at the same time tries out riding a bicycle (smoked marijuana) is very high. Bicycle riding doesn't give birth to motorcycle riding as well as a drastic increase in bicycle riding doesn't necessarily prompt a relative increase in motorcycle riding. We can readily relate the analogy that an increase in medical marijuana usage will not increase as well the usage of hard drugs and cocaine.

The analogy stresses the occurrence of events but not the causation. Riding a bicycle will not provoke one to ride a  motorcycle as well as medical cannabis usage will not coerce one to use cocaine -  a typical illustrative sequence based on a high prevalence activity (smoking marijuana) versus a low prevalence activity (heroin, cocaine, or lsd use).

Some studies in animals are considering an  association between THC and the increase of dopamine availability. Studies have suggested that marijuana functions by "priming" the brain for cocaine and heroin use. But there has been no adequate research conducted to conclude that animals "primed" with THC injections are strongly desiring to self-administer heroin or cocaine. This is not obviously not reality-based.

Out of the 72 million Americans who used marijuana (about 100 million since the study has started), about 17% only have confessed to have tried out cocaine more than a hundred times according to facts presented by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. For every 100 marijuana users, only one currently uses cocaine as of the moment.

Marijuana is without a doubt the widely used illegal drug in the US today. It is believed that people who have used the less popular unlawful drugs like cocaine, LSD, and or cocaine started out with marijuana as well. Many  marijuana users never never resorted to any other illegal drug at all but identified  marijuana as an end drug, not a gateway drug.

Medical Marijuana: Advantages And Disadvantages

What is very intriguing with medical marijuana which makes it a controversial topic? Why is the distribution of cannabis to doctor approved patients now facing restrictions despite of its decriminalization is a few states way back? For the loyal supporters of such intriguing business and for the ones who wishes the legalization of its cessation, there might have existed a small issue on what can be allowed and disallowed by the state.

LA Lottery Over

After California permitted the controversial sale of medical marijuana, it consequently urged  800 storefronts  to open and serve as public dispensaries.  Ordinances on the other hand ordered the closure of 439 stored by June 7 out of the 439 last May of 2010. Due to proximity to the public especially children in parks and schools and unmet registration deadlines prompted authorities to close these stores.

The aftermath  involved a citywide lottery for the remaining unclosed dispensaries. Specifications like dispensaries and collectives which initially started from Sept. 14, 2007 together with its retention were promoted for the lottery. Owners of the other 140 stores were informed by LA officials to shut down to settle to only 100 dispensaries within the city.

How did the situation shifted drastically knowing that the state still collected sales tax from these medical marijuana cooperatives and dispensaries as well?

New Mexico: No Measure Yet

A motion to revoke the medical marijuana legislation is being brought up by Governor Susana Martinez - R of New Mexico to refute the voters this year. Party lines are obviously observed here. House Memorial 53 encouraged the Department of Health to conduct an impact study on medical marijuana usage in replacement of the bill sponsored by Rep. James Smith - R. The residents of New mexico can nevertheless obtain medical marijuana legally as of the moment.

Business Restrictions

Though the opening of los angeles dispensaries has been decriminalized, this hasn't provided the cure to the never-ending to issues regarding business transactions. These dispensary must  function on a "cash only" basis to avoid any conflict with acquiring the  needed commercial accounts, merchant accounts and insurance coverage. Worded applications imposed on medical marijuana as  "supplements" and "health care accessories" are being red flagged.

The quandary includes these banks and other financial institutions. Dealing with medical marijuana is dramatically a huge market where there is an obvious difficulty in obtaining needed accounts due to possible federal prosecution.

One thought has emerged: standards are to be constructed not only relating to the ones having a bailiwick  over the sale of marijuana for medical purposes, but whether or not these eager business holders  with the actual purveyors will be secured from unmerited punishments.