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Nov-18-2010 00:22printcomments

Marijuana: Miracle Painkiller Better Than Almost All Opiates

This natural remedy has been used with success through the ages.

marijuana
Salem-News.com

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - First of all, primum non nocere. In other words, from the Latin, primarily do no harm.

I use the term “marijuana” preferentially because almost everyone over 12 knows what I am talking about. Cannabis. Why it is referred to as marijuana in the United States is another story. Getting to the subject at hand, whether opium came first or cannabis/marijuana (C/MJ) I’m not sure. Some references say opium seeds from the white poppy plant were used as food in Neolithic times which seems to put them in use maybe 5,000 years before C/MJ, about 3000 BC in China. It makes little difference to what I am writing about.

The opiates, that is, from opium, are Heroin (diacetyl morphine), very highly soluble, quick acting and very addicting. Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) is very potent and very much like Heroin.

Oxycodone is notorious for Oxycontin, which is a semi-synthetic opioid, infamous for its long-acting form which is ground up so a patient gets an immediate, massive, lethal dose. It is one of the most dangerous and lethal drugs on the market.

Fully synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl and Methadone, hardly fit in this class. Only two species of poppy out of 120 produce morphine, etc.

All of the above classes are highly addictive and frequently lethal by accidental or purposeful overdose, which often cause death. Even the lower potency opiates such as Codeine can cause death.

These are a mean bunch of drugs.

While all this was going on, marijuana might have been accidentally found to be a great pain killer. Most of the aficionados discovered the euphoria or exalted good feeling and equated that with analgesia.

Euphoria is also produced by strong opiates. Queen Victoria used C/MJ rather than morphine for obstetrical analgesia. She had 11 children so she became the first westerner practical pharmacologist (read article from Oct-16-2009).

It is probable that our Vietnam veterans were among the first to bring marijuana “out of the closet” as an effective medicine for pain, battle exhaustion, battle terrors and PTSD.

Almost nobody would believe them when they came home with this information! In 1968, John Steinbeck IV shocked America with an article he wrote for the Washingtonian magazine entitled, "The Importance of Being Stoned in Vietnam".

After two million Vietnam veterans came home and continued to spread the word, the use of marijuana for a whole variety of ills literally exploded. The latest estimate by the US government is that maybe as much as 77,000,000 have used marijuana and maybe 10,000,000 use it daily.

Jack Dalton, a Marine captain helicopter pilot was shot down 7 times in Vietnam. The last time he was in the hospital 31 months getting put together. He developed tolerance to morphine and was up to 460 mgs per day which is enough to stop an elephant (the usual dose is no more than 10 mg every six hours).

He wanted to use Marijuana because of the horrible adverse side effects of morphine. The VA doctors refused to allow it, and were going to deny him further care if he used it. He demanded that he use it. He found me and by using marijuana was able to drop his morphine use from 460 mgs to 60 mg per day.

I have heard similar stories by about 70% of my 5,000+ patients.

It is most likely that marijuana, not Marinol, will supplant all but the most powerful opiates such as Heroin, Dilaudid, lethal Oxycontin and possibly Morphine.

All of those in the above sentence cause severe addiction, and the adverse side effects are almost worse than their disease processes.

MARIJUANA IS THE BEST, SAFEST PAIN KILLER.

__________________
Got a question or comment for Dr. Leveque?
Email him: Newsroom@Salem-News.com

More information on the history of Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of Phil Leveque about his experiences in WWII.
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier.

If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.<

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com: Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES





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All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.



Jim February 8, 2014 1:56 pm (Pacific time)

Why would anyone believe a website that openly says,"All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied"? So its only the truth if it agrees with your opinion? Talk about propaganda, I guess if it makes money its the new truth these days, sad. Your bias is obvious. It discounts your whole claim..

You think our adherence to the truth about subjects like this has made us money?  Please, that is far from the case, however we see a brighter future due to the acceptance that MMJ has seen on a public level.  Why don't you launch a news organization and hang in there for ten years and publish 30k articles, several of which literally saved human lives, and then come back and tell me how you see it.  

 


Shorty December 16, 2010 3:59 pm (Pacific time)

Is it because the government can't make a profit from the legalization of Cannabis?? That's why they are all against making it legal??


Jim Rhodes November 26, 2010 12:30 pm (Pacific time)

I am an advocate in PA for medical use of Marijuanna. I personally can testify to it's benefits through use and helping my wife to get herself off of Oxycotin/Percocet and her mg. being total of 325mg a day down to @600mg per month! Our gov. wouldnt Patent MJ as a medical use product if there was no truth backing it up. GOOGLE IT AND THERE LIE TO YOU ALL WILL COME OUT !! Thanks Doc. You are benefiting us all by speaking truth!! Truly, J.Rhodes


Jean Marlowe November 23, 2010 2:05 pm (Pacific time)

The patients have known this all along. Maybe now, our medical community and government are finally beginning to catch up. I certainly hope this is a good sign for upcoming medical marijuana legislation in our state.


W November 22, 2010 1:23 pm (Pacific time)

Cannabis, like opium, is ours to use...not abuse! W :)


Nedra Ruiz November 20, 2010 9:12 pm (Pacific time)

Humandkind has ingested so much cannabis over the millenium that we have canibinoid recepters in our brain. No phamacopeia compiled by humans has ever omitted marijuana. Let's get rational about marijuana and legalize it.


a regular joe November 21, 2010 11:43 pm (Pacific time)

They wont legalize because thousands of jobs depend on imprisoning 800k people a year for marijuana. The FDA knows there is benefits to it so they deny it because it would hurt a lot of pharmaceutical companies who stand to profit off of unsafe garbage. Billions of dollars are at stake. Our politicians chose the rich and their coffers over their people. Who else would allow their fellow citizens to suffer the indignity of injustice?


possom November 19, 2010 6:15 am (Pacific time)

I'm glad too hear a Dr. who isn't affraid too admitt that cannabis is an excellent drug with many uses!!thank's again &keep on keepin' on!!(~};}


possom November 19, 2010 6:18 am (Pacific time)

thank u for the honest info--it's refreshing too know that someone isn't affraid too come clean about the true bennifits of Cannabis!!it's about time!!thank u again and I can only hope other's will come foward and change are reduclous laws!!keep on keepin' on!!


Leonard Krivitsky, MD November 19, 2010 5:53 am (Pacific time)

Cannabis plant was considered medicine for thousands of years, and rightly so. It is very effective in a variety of medical conditions, not just chronic pain. Yet, it is not physically addictive, and the whole talk about "gateway drug" theory is nonsense. Legalization of Medicinal Cannabis in all 50 States ASAP is not a partisan issue, because all of us, regardless of political beliefs (and our loved ones), can get sick and may be able to benefit from the remarkable medicinal properties of Medicinal Cannabis; I was very impressed with Arizona voters, many of whom are Conservative, but who rejected many politicians' urgings to keep the "dogma" alive and Medicinal Cannabis illegal, Arizona voters still chose to vote in their own interests! To say that marijuana is a "dangerous drug" without an "accepted medical use" is the same as to say that the earth is flat, and that the sun rotated around it. Just like the "Holy Inquisition" in the Dark Ages, current DEA prohibitionists insist on suppressing the science, but just like the Holy Inquisition of the Dark Ages, they will not succeed in the long run!


Old timer stoner November 18, 2010 4:53 pm (Pacific time)

Thanks Doc for all you do. I like to see you are still out there helping people understand the good side of cannabis. Its not the reefer madness they were taught!

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