Didn't realize when I started reading this that is was an OLD thread, and it was revived today with ... a very eloquent post by a brand-new member?
I read a bit, didn't have time to read it all.
If I am not mistaken, drug companies MUST extract something, change it, synthesize it, or whatever in order to patent it. Without patents, they can't charge the $$ and make profit. Drug companies (in the US) won't be marketing pure herbs.
So what you get as far as "medicinal marijuana" isn't going to be a plant that you can do with as you please. If my understanding of the drug industry is right. They are in it for the money .... believe ME they are in it for the money!!! And there's no BIG money in unadulterated herbs.
I can't say much about it. My mother died of cancer some years ago. She was given the THC pills (whatever the proper name for them is supposed to be) before she died. She would rarely take them. (She had glaucoma too, and I think had already been prescribed some for that.) She had ongoing nausea for the last half-year of her life, and was in tremendous pain. For whatever reason, she didn't take the pills. (I suspect they did not work for her, or at least not to the level she hoped ... she was a medical professional, and had nothing against pharmaceuticals at all.)
I would have concerns about simply legalizing it for anyone to do with as they please. It's true, even if it IS illegal and were impossible to find, the people out there who are going to misuse it will find other ways to do so. The REAL problem to address would be why people do that in the first place, but that's a HUGE social problem including people who abuse all SORTS of things, not only drugs and alcohol but compulsive gamblers/shoppers/overeaters, and those who become "addicted" to a wide variety of things.
At the same time, I'm not going to pass judgment myself on anyone who finds it helpful and has a way to acquire it for external use or whatever. I wouldn't be reporting someone I knew who did that. I would hope they wouldn't make it widely known, though, so as not to invite people who may crave it for other reasons. (And I'm not saying the OP would do that, just talking in generalities here.)
I have a problem with pain meds myself. NOTHING works for me, as far as alleviating pain. It often does make me nauseated, or I can feel my normal mental function being impaired (and I HATE that feeling!!!). But nothing much touches pain. I have had to rely on massage, essential oils, and better yet identifying the cause of the pain and preventing it.
I once had some extensive procedures done and the doctor was writing me pain prescriptions, I told him not to bother ... the first one he suggested I am deathly allergic to. He suggested something stronger, and I said, no, that's ok, I won't be filling it anyway. The man thought I was actually hoping for him to write STRONGER prescriptions and got suspicious of me, but honestly, I don't take anything for pain since it only makes me vomit or foggy-headed and does nothing to help me feel better.
So I am not one to condemn someone else for what works. But I am not in favor of general legalization either. I've seen too many things happen over the years, and I have to say when I ask myself if I would want my child to start using it, the answer is no, I would be heartbroken.
There are pros and cons to almost every drug we use....most of the cons are the type of folks using for the wrong reasons.
