Cannabis for treating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain

Disclaimer: It is important to note that consulting with your doctor/physician should take precedence and come first when deciding upon treating any ailment or disease. Additionally, research into cannabis, while the field is indeed growing, is still limited and the need for clinical trials and experiments is a topic that society needs to collectively address. Proper and effective dosing, for example, is a facet of medical marijuana that has been difficult to establish due to restrictions our governments have in place.The potential for cannabis’ ability to save lives is one that cannot be overlooked, but unfortunately still needs to be intensively studied.

The following is a collection of news articles, research literature, peer reviewed medical studies, resources, documentaries, interviews, and lecture clippings discussing cannabis as a medicine for treating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain.

Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain and Fibromyalgia Symptoms with Medical Marijuana – page on medicalmarijuana.net

Fibromyailgia and Medical Marijuana – Page on WebMD

Medical Marijuana May Help Fibromyalgia Pain – Feb 2010 article on Health.com

Fibromyalgia Chronic Pain and Medical Marijuana – Aug 2010 article on examiner.com

Scholarly Articles and Medical Studies:

Cannabis Use in Patients with Fibromyalgia: Effect on Symptoms Relief and Health-Related Quality of Life – Apr 2011 study US National Library of Public Medicine
Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD): can this concept explain the therapeutic benefits of cannabis in migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and other treatment-resistant conditions? – Feb 2004 study US National Library of Public Medicine
Smoked Cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain: a randomized controlled trial – Oct 2010 study CMAJ
Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain – Feb 2008 study US National Library of Public Medicine
Cannabinoids for treatment of chronic non-cancer pain; a systematic review of randomized trials – Nov 2011 study US National Library of Public Medicine
Cannabis for chronic pain: case series and implications for clinicians – Summer 2002 study US National Library of Public Medicine
Cannabis as an adjunct to or substitute for opiates in the treatment of chronic pain – Jun 2012 study US National Library of Public Medicine

Fibromyalgia Patient Eases Pain, Finds Peace (2 min)
Medical Marijuana user Bunny Hethcox describes her use of cannabis to treat her fibromyalgia, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. She shares her powerful story and urges for medical marijuana in her state.

Posted on youtube by Sam Sabzehzar

Pain Patient Says Marijuana Got Him Out of Wheelchair (2 min)
Patient Daniel Rivera of RI testifies to the Rhode Island House of Representatives Committee for medical marijuana legalization. Cannabis was able to make Mr. Rivera’s pain from fibromyalgia manageable and it gave him back the ability to walk.

Posted on youtube by ripatientsdotorg

Cannabis & Neuropathic Pain, Dr. Abrams, pt 1 (10 min)
Dr. Donald Abrams of UCSF gives an excellent in depth discussion on the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoids, and their role in several types of pain resulting from numerous ailments including AIDS/HIV, fibromyalgia, and more. From the Fourth Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics in 2006.

Posted on youtube by cannabistherapeutics

Cannabis & Neuropathic Pain, Dr. Abrams, pt 2 (10 min)

Second half of the above lecture.

Posted on youtube by cannabistherapeutics

Medical Marijuana (Cannabis) for Fibromyalgia (4 1/2 min)
Dr Rachna Patel discusses how cannabis can be effective for treating the symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

Posted on youtube by The Medical Marijuana Expert Dr Rachna Patel

Medical Marijuana – Fibromyalgia (4 min)
Clip from National Geographic’s Drug Inc. Medical Marijuana patient Juliet discusses and demonstrates her use of medical marijuana to treat her pain.

Posted on youtube by NullMonkey0

Can Marijuana Help Chronic Pain? | Marijuana (3 min)
Dr. Sunil Kumar Aggarwal gives a brief overview of how marijuana can be useful for treating various kinds of pain.

Posted on youtube by Howcast

Fibromyalgia and Cannabis: Donna Nelson of MO 2010 (7 min)
Cannabis user Donna Nelson describes how she was prescribed heavy doses of pain management medication, blood pressure medication, and how even with the side effects, she physically became dependent on them. Using cannabis has cut the costs of her medications, and has proven to be far more effective than all of them combined.

Posted on youtube by CannabisPatientNet

Cannabis for Fibromyalgia (2 min)
Concise slidesbow discussing how cannabis can be effective for treating Fibromyalgia. It delves into the science of the Endocannabinoid System, Cannabidiol (CBD), and more.

Posted on youtube by Australian Cannabis Council

Dr. Thomas Orvald – Cannabis in Pain Management (3 1/2 min)
Dr. Thomas Orvald discusses medical marijuana for treating pain. He also discusses the prescription pill epidemic in the United States.

Posted on youtube by Regulate Marijuana

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the recreational use of marijuana, after having reviewed the actual facts surrounding cannabis and it’s medical efficacy, it is quite clear that denying access to cannabis for anyone with a serious medical need is inhumane. Remember, out of the 50 US states only 20 have legalized cannabis for medicinal use, and less than 10 for recreational. Additionally, the rest of the world still views marijuana as a harmful narcotic that is worse than cocaine and heroin. Not looking into the medicinal benefits of marijuana and providing it to sick individuals is inhumane.

As some of the medical marijuana patients in the above videos explain, cannabis is able to replace so many dangerous prescription pills for a plethora of ailments. It can and has saved lives; it’s given individuals back their ability to physically function normally, in some cases their ability to walk; it’s given individuals the ability to manage severe traumas and pain, both physical and emotional; it’s given people back their dignity, their happiness, and an opportunity to live like a regular human being.

At the very least, medical cannabis should be accessible to individuals who need it in every US state, and throughout the rest of the world. Furthermore, medical patients should be allowed to travel with their medicine. It has already been established on numerous levels that marijuana is a non-toxic, far safer substance than virtually any prescription medication out there – the number of deaths caused by marijuana throughout history is zero.

Furthermore, remember that medical marijuana patients are still considered to be criminals according to US Federal law. There have been countless incidents where a medical marijuana patient has had their medication wrongfully taken away only to cause more harm to that individual and worse, cases where a patient has been arrested and put behind bars for simply attempting to medicate as is their natural human right to do so.

The war on marijuana is insane, the stigma on cannabis, it’s vilification, and the prejudicial inhumane treatment of those who choose to use it as a medicine are notions steeped in ignorance and stupidity, and billions, quite literally billions of individuals throughout the entire world suffer as a result of cannabis ignorance and prohibition.

Please, share this information and any research into cannabis you find on your own with the people you know. Cannabis can prove to be quite effective and even more cost effective in treating a sickness or ailment that afflicts you or someone close to you, and even if you may be healthy now, just remember that there is an alternative to dangerous, expensive, side-effect laden, possibly lethal medications should you ever get sick.

As always, thank you and best wishes.

– D