What are the facts on medical cannabis?

[OriginalGeek]

Medical usage is allowed in Florida and my wife and I are thinking of going down Saturday to see about getting cards. I know my employer doesn't see it as legit but I'll deal with that as needed - I'm getting fairly close to retirement anyway so it won't matter much longer.

Straight up I wanna get high. I liked smoking in my youth and I want to do it again because it's fun. I do have some mild, long-term back pain but I am not even trying to pretend I want it for that.

My wife, on the other hand, recently started taking Ozempic and has a lot of other issues that could benefit from medical cannabis including severe back pain (therapy, steroids, pain pills have all been ineffective) and restless leg syndrome and other things.

What I don't know is does Florida still only do edibles or oils? I don't know anything about CDB except that it comes from hemp. I think it doesn't get you high but shows up in a pee test just like weed would. How trustworthy are dispensaries? IS it something I need to research locally and/or is there a governing body that regulates it so we don't get ripped off like my idiot buddy in college who bought a bag of spanish moss from a street dealer?

I mean, I want to do bong rips from a Tommy Chong bong but my wife probably only wants edibles at most. Not sure what I should even be looking for though.

Who can tell me the scoop on all this in general and anyone in Florida particularly.

Meanwhile I got Led Zep II queued up and my receiver goes to 11.

[yonder]

1. Can't help you with your questions but you're headed in the right direction with LZ.

[CentralMass]

2. "CBD" :-)

[underpants]

3. CBD is for sale most anywhere.

No it doesn’t get you high at all. No pee test worry either.

It works. My wife takes it and I take it mostly when I need to relax a bit. Melatonin works too.

There different CBD for sale but we tend to get ours from a compounding pharmacy. Not sure if that’s a common element but those do tend to have better products.

[mudge]

4. What we have learned

My wife is entering year 4 in managing Liver Cancer. Her diagnosis put her
on a path of discovery looking for any alternatives in fighting this evil MF'er.
She had already turned to CBD to help manage severe back pain (broke her back in 72 as a teenager).
Four spine surgeries later, she relies on pain creams to keep neck, back and leg pain in check
without having to ingest a mountain of narcotics.
A daily dose of top of the line Full Spectrum Oil ( now 1500mgs ) along with this effective pain cream
has kept her right in the game. Though she has had some weight lose its been manageable.
The big thing here is no surgery and no treatments.
She has gone 100% Holistic along with the inclusion of the CBD to complete her own treatment program.
Her doctors did strongly recommend at least some minimal treatment options but she has been steadfast
in her commitment to Holistic approach.
My girl is still right here with me.
Geek, please feel free to contact me. [e-mail]

[OriginalGeek]

11. Thank you and continued success to your wife

I hope you get many happy and pain-free years together!

[AmyStrange]

5. CBD doesn't only come from hemp.

-

It's a substance that's in almost all the different cannabis plants, but...

and this is an important but...

not all cannabinoids work the same way.

Hemp is used because it has a very low THC content.

As for Florida, it's still illegal to smoke it, but I may be wrong.

ETA: Also, hemp has more CBD than the other kind.

https://www.health.com/condition/pain/what-is-cbd
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[mentalsolstice]

7. You can now buy whole flower in FL

However, your Dr. has to approve it, ours didn’t. But we can still buy tinctures, capsules and vapes. We vape, the others take too much time to take effect.

[AmyStrange]

8. Vaping is faster...

-

than edibles.

Sorry for being wrong, and thank you for the correction.
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[mentalsolstice]

9. Yes it is.

We’ve vaped whole flower before we moved to FL. The vape cartridges (oil) we get now through our MME approval pretty much does the job for us. We pretty much go for indica strains, Grandaddy Purple is tops. And the cartridges last a long time, as we use only during late afternoon and evening.

[AmyStrange]

10. I know, that always amazed me about vapes, especially with flower.

-

It last longer then when you use a bowl, and you don't ALWAYS have to constantly relight it.

Not always, but enough, ya know?
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[AmyStrange]

6. Here's some of the scientific research on cannabis and cancer:

-

THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH:

https://www.leafly.com/news/health/cannabis-and-cancer

(The third one specifically deals with THC and Liver Cancer)

A 1996 study discovered the protective effects of cannabinoids on the development of certain types of tumors. Cannabinoids were observed causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and preventing the development of the blood vessels tumors needed to grow — suggesting cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8662742/

In 2011, the American Association for Cancer Research revealed CBD kills cells associated with breast cancer while having little to no effect on normal breast cells. When studied in mice, CBD reduced the growth, number, and spread of tumors.
https://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/10/7/1161.full

The National Institute of Health published a study in 2011, Cell Death & Differentiation, that demonstrates THC and JWH-015 (a cannabinoid receptor), decreased the viability of liver cancer cells. Cannabinoids were also shown to inhibit tumor growth and the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. These are significant findings as they may be helpful in the design of therapeutic strategies to manage liver cancer.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3131949/

A study published in February 2015 found rates of bladder cancer are 45% lower in cannabis users, compared to those who do not use it.
https://www.goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295%2814%2901206-0/fulltext

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), preclinical studies demonstrate the efficacy of cannabinoids to inhibit tumor growth by protecting healthy cells while killing cancer cells and obstructing the growth of cells and blood vessels needed for tumors to grow. The NCI also claims that a lab study of THC killed or damaged cancer cells, and when the study was repeated in mouse models, showed it had anti-tumor effects that could aid in the fight against lung and breast cancer.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/cannabis-pdq#link/_13
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[OriginalGeek]

12. Thank you everyone!

We went down Saturday and applied for her card and the Doctor approved her for all forms. We are just waiting for the state to give final approval but I got the impression that since she wasn't rejected immediately then it's just a formality at this point.

I didn't apply at this time as I am still working and just can't afford to get fired.

Our primary care physician didn't think she would qualify BUT gave us the names of a couple places to go get a second opinion and we tried the one with the best reviews and they seemed happy to help us.

I was very happy to see Florida does indeed now allow the flower as that is what I will eventually want. But for now she is deciding between vape and tincture - I think both appeal to her although she is a also a fan of gummy bears lol.

I sure hope this works for her. I makes me cry to hear her in pain and there's nothing I can do to help.

[OriginalGeek]

13. Update Monday!

Got her final approval and I paid an extra 75 bucks to get approved by the state to be her caregiver so I can pick up her prescriptions. She can drive when push comes to shove but mostly she would rather not and won' t go out after dark at all. I pass 5or 10 places just on the way home from work so I can get her topped up whenever she needs it.

We went down to a dispensary on Saturday and picked out a few different things for her to try. Man that smell opening the little canister sure brought back memories lol. Got her some Bubble Gum flower, a vape pen of Gorilla Glue and a syringe of Oregon Lemons so she can see how each thing reacts and how long it takes and what feels best. She's going to keep a diary to remember which things help there most.

Lol, She has always loved antiquing and collecting and decided now she might want to collect glass pipes. I wanted her to get a Tommy Chong bong but them shits are expensive so we started low with a little colorful glass one at the local shop. I thought it was weird they STILL have signs up saying you can only refer to any pipe as a tobacco pipe. I understood it back in the day but come on. We are legal for medical now and recreational shouldn't be too far away. It's fucking ridiculous for a conversation about the various features of a given pipe to take 3 times as long because both the seller and the buyer have to stop themselves from saying "bong" and "bud" every 15 seconds.

[geomon666]

14. It's too expensive for me to think about.

I'm on disability and it's like $200 just to get the card, then you have to pay for the cannabis and after all of that you have to renew your card every other month, which costs even more money.

Oh but I can get opioids for free just fine... Figure that one out.

[OriginalGeek]

15. Yeah it was pricy to get set up

175 for the initial Dr consult plus another 75 I think for the state to process the application and then 75 for me to be an approved caregiver but we only have to renew every 7 months and that's just the state I think. Not sure if we have to see the Doc again. I guess we better find that out before our term is over.

The dispensary we went to gave us 75 dollars off (First timer discount) if we spent 150 dollars so we ended up getting twice as much stuff as we had planned and she was able to get the three different mediums with the intent of narrowing that down so future purchases can be more focused and cost-effective.

Yeah it is just plain cruel to make people take opioids when safer alternatives are right here in front of us. My wife is retired so she doesn't have to worry about it but I still can get randomly drug tested and I can't afford to lose my job so I get to take "approved" opioids too. But i generally do not like their effect and just drink instead. Thanks a lot shit for brains government that won't declassify weed.

[geomon666]

16. They're horrible. I take them only when the pain becomes too unbearable.

So most of the time, I'm always in pain. Oh how I miss Oregon. Being able to just walk into a dispensary and get whatever I needed. So barbaric here in Florida. I can't wait to leave again.