Gryphonn
Well-Known Member
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 2002, Australian woman Pauline Reilly was over 80 years old and had written a book about her late husband's pain therapy using cannabis. This is a must read. The book is still available if you search for the thread title...(here, I did it for you):
Amazon.com: Cannabis and Cancer: Arthur's Story: Pauline Reilly: Books
While reading this, keep in mind that this lady and her husband were in their eighties...
Pauline Reilly: I wrote Cannabis and Cancer: Arthurs Story for two reasons. First, my intention was to present an alternative method of pain relief to those patients unable to tolerate the medication, frequently morphine, normally given to sufferers from cancer and other dread diseases. Secondly, I wanted to set out the reasons why cannabis ought to be made available to sufferers without the present necessity of breaking the law.
Always my intention was to further the cause of medical cannabis and not the recreational use. These two uses have, quite wrongly, always been considered together. Few medical personnel dealing with cancer patients to whom I and many others have spoken, have disputed the positive value of this natural herb. And in case you are wondering, cannabis and marijuana are the same thing. Cannabis indica is the plant, but the more generally used name is marijuana. Hemp, which has a multitude of commercial uses, but that is another story altogether.
Professor David Penington wrote the foreword to my book. As Chairman of the Drug Policy Expert Committee of the Victorian Government, who better would know the truth about the so-called war on drugs. Professor Penington puts cannabis into perspective in quoting a 1997 Commonwealth Report. Of 22,700 deaths attributable to drugs, tobacco claimed 18,200, alcohol 3,700, illicit drugs around 800 and cannabis, only one. Excessive cannabis use does cause problems, but serious consequences are rare. Just note that almost 21,000 of those 22,700 deaths were caused by the legal drugs of tobacco and alcohol, while only one was ascribed to cannabis. I read recently on the Internet an even more impressive American report of some 22-million deaths of all sorts in one year with none from cannabis. And just to get the addiction scale right: nicotine heads the list, with cannabis on the bottom, probably in line with caffeine.
My acquaintance with cannabis came about on Easter Monday, 1999. My husband of 57 years, Arthur, and I were both in our 80s when on that day we became nervous lawbreakers. He had had low-grade cancer of the prostate for nearly ten years but it had lost that status and become terminal. He was able, on prescription, to obtain unlimited amounts of morphine to control the pain, but this had horrible side effects: nausea, lack of appetite and either constipation or diarrhoea. Radiation therapy relieved the pain but he was still unable to eat.
Friends suggested he try cannabis which they knew would bring on the munchies. A supply duly arrived. The most usual way to get a result is by smoking the leaf but Arthur was a non-smoker. So a family member prepared it and incorporated it in a batch of biscuits. Not too long after eating his first biscuit, he called out, Will somebody please make me a cheese sandwich? I still get goose bumps remembering this. He actually wanted something to eat!
From then onwards, with the help of a cannabis biscuit each morning, he continued to eat, with the result that he slowly regained 6 kilograms in weight. He also regained a desire to keep on living. From a miserable man huddled in a chair for most of the day, he now acted much more like his previous vigorous self. Instead of having to be cajoled into taking even the most minimal amount of exercise, he would take himself and our dog out for a walk without assistance. Most important of all, he regained his sense of humour. In other words, his quality of life was vastly improved.
We knew this improvement would not continue indefinitely. Cannabis was no cure but had he not had it, he certainly would not have survived for another six months in reasonable comfort. He became less active with time and the intake of biscuits increased, plus the application of fentanyl patches during his last few weeks. I was able to care for him at home, his wish, and he needed little outside help other than supportive friends and family.
I believe one of the most important attributes when caring for someone sick is a sense of humour. Even in the most difficult circumstances, it is generally possible to find some diversion. For instance, a good deal of our time was absorbed by doctors appointments in the provincial city 50 kilometres distant. On most of these trips, our dog, Bianca, travelled on the back seat, sleeping most of the time. Also on the back seat was a basket with anything we needed for that day. On one particular day, while Arthur kept one of his appointments, I also left the car for a few minutes. On returning, I found Bianca demolishing the last of a cannabis biscuit that Arthur had placed deep down in the basket to eat on his way home. She was licking her lips, the shredded plastic bag testimony to her thieving. She was scrabbling in the rumpled blanket for the last few crumbs, which I tried to swish out onto the street, not worrying a bit about their possible effect on the omnipresent sparrows. Bianca couldnt smile or laugh or frown, so how could she tell me if she felt euphoric, peaceful, or sick?
I sat in the front anxiously watching her through the rear vision mirror, wondering if she would throw up, have a fit or suffer any other violent reaction, because I knew that human medicine can have a dangerous effect on an animal. All she did was doze. About an hour later, I let her out of the car. She walked in a splay-footed manner and bumped into a post. Back in the car, after a bit of sleep, she was wide awake, quite unlike her usual self. At home, I buried the shredded bag deep in the wastepaper basket in my study, but she unearthed it next day. The remaining smell must have been very strong.
I later heard of a dog which had demolished a whole chocolate cake well-laced with cannabis without ill-effect. Researchers found it possible to kill a cat with an overdose, but not a dog. A lethal human overdose appears also to be impossible.
All the time I was making biscuits for Arthur, I desisted from tasting them and wouldnt even lick the spoon. I had no personal need, until some months after his death, I broke a molar. The roots remained and had to be extracted. After the anaesthetic wore off, I felt desolate. Arthur had always been there to help me through personal problems but now I was alone. I did need help. Unearthing half a biscuit from the deep freeze and being ignorant as to how I would react, I went to bed and ate it. Listening to music on the radio, I lost all sense of pain and time, until Bianca barked reminding me to let her in. Very warily, clinging to the bannister, I went downstairs, let her in and returned to bed without mishap, and had an excellent nights sleep, waking next morning without pain or hangover. I had no further desire for this soothing herb but will have no hesitation in finding a supply should I ever need it again.
Cannabis has been used throughout the ages and its medical properties well-known. The ancient Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and East Indians used it to treat certain illnesses. It was a common folk medicine in Africa and Asia and used as incense. Many different cultures used it in religious ceremonies and to promote mystical experiences. Mohammed allowed the use of cannabis while outlawing alcohol. Buddha ate hemp seed to help him survive. Victoria, Queen of England, that patrician model of honesty, devoted wife and mother of nine children, smoked cannabis for its soothing relief from muscle cramps. President John Kennedy used cannabis as a pain relief. President Carter thought it should be legalised. President Clinton admitted he smoked it but did not inhale. Stephen J. Gould, one of the worlds foremost scientists, used cannabis to relieve the effects of chemotherapy. A recent study in India revealed that where cannabis had been the drug of choice, for both recreational and medicinal use, for hundreds of years, there was no problem.
Reasons for the prohibition of cannabis vary. It was lumped in with other illicit drugs in the USA in the 1930s and we followed suit. The decision to prohibit was both political and commercial. Prohibition laws vary from country to country. Canada is acting compassionately in trying to sort out its laws so that people may use cannabis medically. Patients with terminal illness, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, spinal-cord injuries, epilepsy and other serious conditions, and those reacting badly to chemotherapy are permitted to use the drug if it eases their symptoms.
In the USA, some nine or so States allow compassion clubs to supply cannabis to those where it is effectual for medical conditions. Yet the Federal authorities can, and do, override these local State laws and there are some appalling miscarriages of justice. One man with a few plants to meet his medical needs was imprisoned for 93 years! In Europe, in increasing numbers of countries, the laws allow for a few plants and in some places cannabis is freely available. In the Netherlands, it is available in 800 coffee shops. In Australia, the laws vary from State to State. Some States have relaxed their laws to allow medical use, others still ban it though often turning a blind eye to its use. Because there is no clear legislation, the position is somewhat confusing at present. This hypocritical situation needs to be exposed and decisions based on evidence, not prejudice, should be the criterion for legislation. Compassion for those in need would help too.
After Arthurs death Ive had to rebuild my life, just as we had to rebuild our home after the 1983 bushfires. I have time and energy to pursue my interests, not the least of which is my desire for rational, unemotional, well-informed discussion of cannabis for medical use. Inevitably such rational discussion must lead to legalisation. My book has been sent into government circles but I doubt that it would have raised more than a ripple of interest. It is a given of politics that the impetus for change must come from the public. Ive presented the facts but it needs a great groundswell of demand for change: demand from those who care for others but, even more importantly, those who may have need of it someday themselves. Who, amongst us, is invulnerable to the ravages of disease?[/FONT]
Amazon.com: Cannabis and Cancer: Arthur's Story: Pauline Reilly: Books
While reading this, keep in mind that this lady and her husband were in their eighties...
Pauline Reilly: I wrote Cannabis and Cancer: Arthurs Story for two reasons. First, my intention was to present an alternative method of pain relief to those patients unable to tolerate the medication, frequently morphine, normally given to sufferers from cancer and other dread diseases. Secondly, I wanted to set out the reasons why cannabis ought to be made available to sufferers without the present necessity of breaking the law.
Always my intention was to further the cause of medical cannabis and not the recreational use. These two uses have, quite wrongly, always been considered together. Few medical personnel dealing with cancer patients to whom I and many others have spoken, have disputed the positive value of this natural herb. And in case you are wondering, cannabis and marijuana are the same thing. Cannabis indica is the plant, but the more generally used name is marijuana. Hemp, which has a multitude of commercial uses, but that is another story altogether.
Professor David Penington wrote the foreword to my book. As Chairman of the Drug Policy Expert Committee of the Victorian Government, who better would know the truth about the so-called war on drugs. Professor Penington puts cannabis into perspective in quoting a 1997 Commonwealth Report. Of 22,700 deaths attributable to drugs, tobacco claimed 18,200, alcohol 3,700, illicit drugs around 800 and cannabis, only one. Excessive cannabis use does cause problems, but serious consequences are rare. Just note that almost 21,000 of those 22,700 deaths were caused by the legal drugs of tobacco and alcohol, while only one was ascribed to cannabis. I read recently on the Internet an even more impressive American report of some 22-million deaths of all sorts in one year with none from cannabis. And just to get the addiction scale right: nicotine heads the list, with cannabis on the bottom, probably in line with caffeine.
My acquaintance with cannabis came about on Easter Monday, 1999. My husband of 57 years, Arthur, and I were both in our 80s when on that day we became nervous lawbreakers. He had had low-grade cancer of the prostate for nearly ten years but it had lost that status and become terminal. He was able, on prescription, to obtain unlimited amounts of morphine to control the pain, but this had horrible side effects: nausea, lack of appetite and either constipation or diarrhoea. Radiation therapy relieved the pain but he was still unable to eat.
Friends suggested he try cannabis which they knew would bring on the munchies. A supply duly arrived. The most usual way to get a result is by smoking the leaf but Arthur was a non-smoker. So a family member prepared it and incorporated it in a batch of biscuits. Not too long after eating his first biscuit, he called out, Will somebody please make me a cheese sandwich? I still get goose bumps remembering this. He actually wanted something to eat!
From then onwards, with the help of a cannabis biscuit each morning, he continued to eat, with the result that he slowly regained 6 kilograms in weight. He also regained a desire to keep on living. From a miserable man huddled in a chair for most of the day, he now acted much more like his previous vigorous self. Instead of having to be cajoled into taking even the most minimal amount of exercise, he would take himself and our dog out for a walk without assistance. Most important of all, he regained his sense of humour. In other words, his quality of life was vastly improved.
We knew this improvement would not continue indefinitely. Cannabis was no cure but had he not had it, he certainly would not have survived for another six months in reasonable comfort. He became less active with time and the intake of biscuits increased, plus the application of fentanyl patches during his last few weeks. I was able to care for him at home, his wish, and he needed little outside help other than supportive friends and family.
I believe one of the most important attributes when caring for someone sick is a sense of humour. Even in the most difficult circumstances, it is generally possible to find some diversion. For instance, a good deal of our time was absorbed by doctors appointments in the provincial city 50 kilometres distant. On most of these trips, our dog, Bianca, travelled on the back seat, sleeping most of the time. Also on the back seat was a basket with anything we needed for that day. On one particular day, while Arthur kept one of his appointments, I also left the car for a few minutes. On returning, I found Bianca demolishing the last of a cannabis biscuit that Arthur had placed deep down in the basket to eat on his way home. She was licking her lips, the shredded plastic bag testimony to her thieving. She was scrabbling in the rumpled blanket for the last few crumbs, which I tried to swish out onto the street, not worrying a bit about their possible effect on the omnipresent sparrows. Bianca couldnt smile or laugh or frown, so how could she tell me if she felt euphoric, peaceful, or sick?
I sat in the front anxiously watching her through the rear vision mirror, wondering if she would throw up, have a fit or suffer any other violent reaction, because I knew that human medicine can have a dangerous effect on an animal. All she did was doze. About an hour later, I let her out of the car. She walked in a splay-footed manner and bumped into a post. Back in the car, after a bit of sleep, she was wide awake, quite unlike her usual self. At home, I buried the shredded bag deep in the wastepaper basket in my study, but she unearthed it next day. The remaining smell must have been very strong.
I later heard of a dog which had demolished a whole chocolate cake well-laced with cannabis without ill-effect. Researchers found it possible to kill a cat with an overdose, but not a dog. A lethal human overdose appears also to be impossible.
All the time I was making biscuits for Arthur, I desisted from tasting them and wouldnt even lick the spoon. I had no personal need, until some months after his death, I broke a molar. The roots remained and had to be extracted. After the anaesthetic wore off, I felt desolate. Arthur had always been there to help me through personal problems but now I was alone. I did need help. Unearthing half a biscuit from the deep freeze and being ignorant as to how I would react, I went to bed and ate it. Listening to music on the radio, I lost all sense of pain and time, until Bianca barked reminding me to let her in. Very warily, clinging to the bannister, I went downstairs, let her in and returned to bed without mishap, and had an excellent nights sleep, waking next morning without pain or hangover. I had no further desire for this soothing herb but will have no hesitation in finding a supply should I ever need it again.
Cannabis has been used throughout the ages and its medical properties well-known. The ancient Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and East Indians used it to treat certain illnesses. It was a common folk medicine in Africa and Asia and used as incense. Many different cultures used it in religious ceremonies and to promote mystical experiences. Mohammed allowed the use of cannabis while outlawing alcohol. Buddha ate hemp seed to help him survive. Victoria, Queen of England, that patrician model of honesty, devoted wife and mother of nine children, smoked cannabis for its soothing relief from muscle cramps. President John Kennedy used cannabis as a pain relief. President Carter thought it should be legalised. President Clinton admitted he smoked it but did not inhale. Stephen J. Gould, one of the worlds foremost scientists, used cannabis to relieve the effects of chemotherapy. A recent study in India revealed that where cannabis had been the drug of choice, for both recreational and medicinal use, for hundreds of years, there was no problem.
Reasons for the prohibition of cannabis vary. It was lumped in with other illicit drugs in the USA in the 1930s and we followed suit. The decision to prohibit was both political and commercial. Prohibition laws vary from country to country. Canada is acting compassionately in trying to sort out its laws so that people may use cannabis medically. Patients with terminal illness, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, spinal-cord injuries, epilepsy and other serious conditions, and those reacting badly to chemotherapy are permitted to use the drug if it eases their symptoms.
In the USA, some nine or so States allow compassion clubs to supply cannabis to those where it is effectual for medical conditions. Yet the Federal authorities can, and do, override these local State laws and there are some appalling miscarriages of justice. One man with a few plants to meet his medical needs was imprisoned for 93 years! In Europe, in increasing numbers of countries, the laws allow for a few plants and in some places cannabis is freely available. In the Netherlands, it is available in 800 coffee shops. In Australia, the laws vary from State to State. Some States have relaxed their laws to allow medical use, others still ban it though often turning a blind eye to its use. Because there is no clear legislation, the position is somewhat confusing at present. This hypocritical situation needs to be exposed and decisions based on evidence, not prejudice, should be the criterion for legislation. Compassion for those in need would help too.
After Arthurs death Ive had to rebuild my life, just as we had to rebuild our home after the 1983 bushfires. I have time and energy to pursue my interests, not the least of which is my desire for rational, unemotional, well-informed discussion of cannabis for medical use. Inevitably such rational discussion must lead to legalisation. My book has been sent into government circles but I doubt that it would have raised more than a ripple of interest. It is a given of politics that the impetus for change must come from the public. Ive presented the facts but it needs a great groundswell of demand for change: demand from those who care for others but, even more importantly, those who may have need of it someday themselves. Who, amongst us, is invulnerable to the ravages of disease?[/FONT]