This is actually something I was bitching about the other day, but not really sure if I feel like sharing it on AC.
For the record, I am for the legalization of EVERYTHING. Keep your laws away from my bod.
HOWEVER,
I am SICK AND TIRED of trying to measure how much of a hit I need of whichever hybrid sounds like it might work so that I can actually get some goddamn sleep and break out of this insomnia bullshit, only to accidentally get TOO stoned, which makes my head totally chatty so that I cannot sleep at all. If this is supposed to be medicine, it sure as fuck would be nice to have SOME fucking standard.
Do I bring a prescription for antidepressants to walgreens and ask them "whatever good stuff you have today?" no. You get a scrip for x mg of x medication however many times a day. There is a specific prescription, and instructions on dosage.
My friend went to green relief in san francisco and the doc suggested a hybrid for his bipolar. That's it? A hybrid. Hey fucknut, do you have any idea how many fucking hybrids are out there? Each one consisting of a different indica/sativa ratio, THC/canniboid ratio, and, as a result, each one having a severely different effect on MOOD??? Can I shoot you now, please?
If we are to going to have medicinal marijuana, and SERIOUSLY consider it a method of treatment, there has to be some level of accountability, here. When you go into the doctor for any other ailment. He/she will talk to you about options of a particular type of med, and recommend a dosage to start out on. Especially because the wrong meds can cause serious problems.
The thing is, this shouldnt be TOO hard to do. The brilliant thing about weed is that AAA Perps in California will be pretty much the same botanical makeup as a AAA Perps in amsterdam. (maybe some differences in quality.) Growers are anal as all hell about cultivation, whether it be THC content, hybrid specifics, indoor/outdoor, etc.
The other issue is dosage. I know, its fun to get stoned, and smoking is the best way to get there. (for me, anyway.) However, it normally SUCKS when it comes to using it as medication. I saw a great BBC docu, one part of which interviewed a chemo patient who takes weed for her nausea. She opened up a can of chocolates, and gave a specific dosage, i.e. "I take three chocolates three times a day of x strain of weed. Ive found that this is pretty much the only way it works consistently."
My god, if I could have something like that for my insomnia, (i.e. more specific than just taking a baked good at face value) I would be loving life. Especially since I won't be BURNING HOLES IN MY LUNGS any more. (I know that thc pills have existed for years, but I also know that most patients who have used them say that they dont help much.)
In order for medical marijuana to REALLY be helpful in consistently (and effectively) treating symptoms, there needs to be some fucking standard regarding prescription, dosages and method of dispensing, and the only way this can REALLY happen, IMO, is if the drug becomes legal for ALL uses.
As of now, I think that the issue of recreational vs. medicinal is muddy, and that can be dangerous when people need to use a drug as treatment. (especially if its for things such as mood disorders). Medicinal marijuana cannot be used as a "stepping stone" to getting it legalized entirely. Using something as a medicine requires something a lot more accurate than getting a bag of whatever looks the most purple and dense. It needs to be legal entirely first.
Probably unrealistic.
