Medical Marijuana Council - Marijuana Information

Medical marijuana is used to treat a variety of health conditions.  Over the years many famous people have smoked marijuana.  Cannabis is the real name for marijuana, which got the name marijuana in the 1930's when it was thought to be renamed by a group of men in competing industries who wanted it to sound "foreign," so when testifying before Congress, or writing ridiculously exaggerated negative newspaper articles, nobody would realize they were really talking about cannabis, which was widely used in medicine during that time period of the 1930's, and the name that people were familiar with.  But why would they do such a thing?  The answer is simple.  Competing industries.  Hemp was widely used during that time period and poised to be a BILLION dollar crop. 

 

Stories were sensationalized and fabricated using the name marijuana that mostly nobody had heard, to make marijuana sound dangerous, and foreign.  Newspapers used the foreign sounding name to gain an upper hand in their competing industries.  Those competing industries wanted to squash their natural competitor by the name of cannabis which they were unable to patent.   They did a good job of it until recently.  Millions of people  have come to realize mother nature made a more effective and safer drug for many conditions, and her real name is cannabis.   When the head of the American Medical Association heard testimony he asked why they were calling it "marijuana" and not cannabis, which is the true name.  Many were familiar with cannabis, since it was used in a wide array of medicines.  The American Medical Association was AGAINST the banning of cannabis as medicine aka marijuana. 

Fast forward approximately 70 years, and it is now realized, there are many ailments and conditions that greatly benefit from the use of marijuana / cannabis as medicine, without the toxicity and dangerous side effects often encountered with other medicines.   And the effectiveness as medicine goes far beyond what is commonly thought.  Some medical marijuana card holders report that their use of medical marijuana is more effective for their medical condition, than typically prescribed pharmaceutical drugs.   Medical Marijuana is certainly less toxic.  And many who have become addicted to pharmaceuticals have found marijuana / cannabis to be a good alternative without the dangerous side effects.  In fact marijuana is non-toxic. 

Each  medical marijuana patient is required to present a Dr. recommendation to their Department of Health to obtain a medical marijuana card, in states with a medical marijuana card program.  In some states registering for the card is not mandatory.  However, in ALL medical marijuana states, you MUST have a Dr. recommendation or certification.  For instance, in California a patient can merely keep their medical marijuana doctor recommendation in their purse or wallet as proof that they are allowed to possess and use marijuana as medicine.    

Throughout this website the word cannabis and marijuana are used interchangeably,  they are the same thing.   For medical purposes marijuana aka cannabis, comes from two basic types of plants.  Indica and Sativa.  Those different combinations that are a result of cross breeding, are referred to as "strains".  Cross breeding has resulted in hundreds of combinations of  strains, from various regions of the World.   Sativa marijuana strains generally result in a more alert, happy, thought provoking, focused, and a sometimes energetic effect.  Indica marijuana strains generally result in a more sedative, sleepy effect, often referred to as "couch lock".  Most marijuana strains are a combination of some sativa, and some indica influence.  The nuances of the effects between various strains (of which there are hundreds), varies from strain to strain.  The nuances of effects also vary from patient to patient as well.  A strain that may have a mildly calming effect for a seizure patient, may be an excellent sleep inducer for another.  There is not an exact science in picking the strain that best suits a patient.  Just like picking a certain pharmaceutical drug is not an exact science, and several are often tried.  However, in your search for the most effective strain for your medical condition, you can rest assured that marijuana is remarkably safe, and nobody has ever died from using marijuana.  If you try a strain of marijuana that is not as effective as you'd expect, talking with a knowledgeable budtender, or grower should help guide you to strains that have been reported by patients with similar conditions to be effective.  As a potential medical marijuana patient, it is important you understand that marijuana is non-toxic, and the most widely reported side effects are a happy cheerful uplifting mood enhancer, increased appetite, and drowsiness. 

It is these marijuana side effects that often provide excellent treatment for various health conditions, and is safely used in conjunction with other treatments.  For instance as an appetite inducer for a patient receiving chemotherapy.  However, scientific studies have found that the potential of marijuana goes far beyond the obvious benefits.  Marijuana has been surprisingly found to NOT cause lung cancer, in fact it has been found to have a protective effect for heavy smokers, who also are smokers of tobacco.  Marijuana has been found to kill cancer cells.  Marijuana has been found to be an effective pain reliever.  Marijuana has been found to be an excellent anti-seizure medicine.  The potential of marijuana goes far beyond helping a patient get better sleep, more nutrition, and an uplifted mood.

Another side effect of marijuana is paranoia.  Some regular users believe the paranoia is associated with the illegality of marijuana.  However, in states where adult marijuana use is legal, those who have experienced feelings of paranoia in the past report that the feeling was not relieved after the laws changed.  It is believed that users of marijuana who have mental health issues are at far greater risk of increasing their mental health problems with marijuana use. Interestingly, there is a compound in marijuana called cannabidiol aka CBD, which has been found to counteract the THC in marijuana.  A small German study found that CBD was as effective at treating schizophrenics as their typical pharmaceuticals, however without the side effects.  The higher the CBD ratio to THC in marijuana reduces the high effect.  In other words CBD counteracts THC.  Both THC and CBD have been found to have medical benefits.  There are dozens more compounds in marijuana, each has been found to some medical benefit.  The new thinking however is that the interactions of all these compounds working together is the most beneficial, rather than trying to extract just one compound and synthesize it to be used independently.  Focusing on the main compounds and gearing the strain choice based on the disease being treated and the level of CBD, or THC is a good place to start.  Some patients will benefit more from very little THC, and more CBD, while others will benefit more from higher THC and some THC. 

The citizens of numerous States have voted to allow residents who are sick, injured, dying or in pain the ability to choose marijuana as an option in treating their medical condition.  The Medical Marijuana Council helps patients with a variety of conditions by offering Doctor Recommendations and information to help patients obtain a Medical Marijuana card.  To obtain your Doctor Recommendation for a medical marijuana card fill out the form here.  Once you have your Medical Marijuana Card, it will be legal for you to use marijuana for medical conditions according to State law. 

Medical marijuana is very popular, due to its remarkable non-toxicity and effectiveness.  More detailed information about medical marijuana and various case studies, and laboratory experiments showing the safety and effects can be found on various pages throughout this website.  The Medical Marijuana Council provides additional answers to patient questions when meeting with one of the medical marijuana counselors, or medical marijuana Doctors. 

A medical marijuana patient can choose from different forms of ingestion.   Smoking, eating or vaporizing are the common ingestion methods of using medical marijuana.  Surprisingly, smoking marijuana was not shown to cause lung cancer in recent studies.  UCLA's Dr. Donald Tashkin performed a study in which marijuana appeared to not only NOT cause lung cancer, but also in fact appeared to form a protective benefit to tobacco smokers.  In several studies marijuana was found to actually kill cancer cells without damaging the surrounding tissue.  However, depending on your medical condition the method by which you ingest marijuana should be discussed with your Medical Marijuana Doctor.    Due to the popularity of medical marijuana, and to help serve as many patients seeking medical marijuana as possible, in an efficient manner, we ask that you complete our online new patient form so we can help you as quickly as possible.  The Medical Marijuana Council assures medical marijuana scheduling is flexible to accommodate medical marijuana patients quickly and efficiently.

Please fill out the medical marijuana card appointment form to obtain a medical marijuana Dr. recommendation, and free medical marijuana information to get your Medical Marijuana card.