ulcerative colitis

[Storm Crow]

Darlin', you need a vaporizer! You can vape the pot-way easier on the lungs- and you can skip the addictive, carcinogenic, tobacco! Then you can use the left-overs in brownies! It takes a larger amount compared to just adding cannabis to brownies, but once or twice a month, I make "special" brownies. Yeah, you can get stoned twice off the same pot!:thumbsup:

My little Vapor Brothers was the best money I've spent in quite a while. Very little odor, uses less for the same level of high, easier on the lungs, and if you get interrupted, it will sit and wait for you to take the next puff without losing any THC! Believe me, IT IS WORTH IT! Get one!

Granny:hippy:

[humedi]

nice one sky valley - I am thinking of compiling testimonies from fellow ibd sufferers who can validate my claims to show them to the doctor. pretty funny we're on opposite ends of the world, got the same thing, found the same herb, and face the same fucking problems..

yea a crystal catcher is not a bad idea. there was so much THC on this indica i got in last time... i'll miss this batch definately works a treat for colitis lol

i am lookin at gettin a vape- was lookin at The Extreme Vapouriser seems an alright one. very nice you can bake with the left overs too

i do like ma spliffs tho

[beginerbuddah]

i do like ma spliffs tho

same you cant beat a nice skunky joint :jointsmile:

[humedi]

"Cannabis May Soothe Inflamed Bowels" (University of Bath and Bristol study - New Scientist)
'... There is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence that using cannabis seems to reduce the pain and frequency of Crohnâ??s disease and ulcerative colitis... Historically, it was smoked in India and China centuries ago for its gastrointestinal properties... â??The gut started to heal: the broken cells were repaired and brought back closer together to mend the tears,â?�... natural endogenous cannabinoids are released from endothelial cells when they are injured... a wound-healing reaction... slowing gut motility, therefore reducing the painful muscle contractions associated with diarrhoea... her team also discovered another cannabinoid receptor, CB2, in the guts of IBD sufferers, which was not present in healthy guts... may have a role in suppressing the overactive immune system and reducing inflammation by moping up excess cells'

"In the Human Colon: Cannabinoids Promote Epithelial Wound Healing"
'... Cannabinoids enhanced epithelial wound closure either alone or in combination... colonic epithelium is responsive biochemically and functionally to cannabinoids... Increased epithelial CB2-receptor expression in human inflammatory bowel disease tissue implies an immunomodulatory role that may impact on mucosal immunity'

"Crohn's Patients Report Symptomatic Relief From Cannabis"
'... Beneficial effects were reported for appetite, pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, activity, and depression. Patients also reported that cannabis use resulted in weight gain, fewer stools per day and fewer flare-ups of less severity... patients' use of cannabis was associated with a decrease in their use of other pharmaceutical medicines... cannabinoids may promote healing of the gastrointestinal membrane... activation of cannabinoid receptors in the gastrointestinal tract protects the body from inflammation and modulates gastric secretions and intestinal motility'

"Endocannabinoids and the Gastrointestinal Tract: What Are The Key Questions?" (British Journal of Pharmacology)
'... Cannabinoid (CB1) receptor activation acts neuronally, reducing GI motility, diarrhoea, pain, transient lower oesophageal sphincter relaxations and emesis, and promoting eating... CB2 receptor activation acts mostly via immune cells to reduce inflammation'

"Cannabis and Crohnâ??s Disease" (anecdotal)
'... I began experimenting with the use of marihuana to ease the intestinal spasms. It worked better than the prescribed drugs... Using a regular supply of medicinal marihuana I was able to discontinue all of the prescriptions that had allowed me to just survive with the pain... When will the government realize the value of these natural herbs?'

"Cannabis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome" (anecdotal)
'... I first tried using marijuana for my IBS about six months ago and found that a few puffs on a joint would give me immediate relief from both the urgent diarrhea and the nausea... Nothing else has been as effective, has as few side effects, works as quickly when I need it'

Cannabis and Ulcerative Colitis (anecdotal) (scroll to where it is headed 'Mr. Marc Scott Emery,')
'... doctors tried every medicine known to man. Unfortunately, every one of them seemed to do more damage... When I smoked pot, I still felt everything that was going on in my intestines, but it didnâ??t hurt... Over the next few months, I ate only natural foods and stopped taking my prescriptions (which my doctors said I had to have, or I would be back in the hospital). And I smoked a lot of weed. I got better... Iâ??ve beaten an incurable disease'

"Cannabis and Gastrointestinal Disorders"
includes scientific explanations; cannabis vs current medication for IBD; patient testimonials

[humedi]

research reported 24 jun 2008 by Swiss scientists

source

Anti-inflammatory compound from cannabis found in herbs.

A compound found in cannabis as well as in herbs such as basil and oregano could help to treat inflammatory bowel diseases and arthritis, Swiss scientists believe.
(E)-beta-caryophyllene (BCP) is an aromatic sesquiterpene that has used for many years as a food additive because of its peppery flavour. The researchers now say that it interacts selectively with one of two cannabinoid receptors, CB2, blocking the chemical signals that lead to inflammation without triggering cannabis's mood-altering effects.

Many cannabinoids bind to the CB2 receptor, but few target it selectively. Most also interact with CB1, which is responsible for cannabis' psychoactive properties. CB1 is found in brain tissue, whereas CB2 is found only in cells elsewhere in the body.

The compound is the only product identified in nature that activates CB2 selectively. 'There are many compounds that have been designed synthetically that are CB2 selective, but they are made in the lab,' says Jürg Gertsch, who led the study at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

According to Gretsch, BCP is potent enough to have an impact at normal dietary levels. Herbs such as basil and oregano contain large amounts of the compound, he says, suggesting that the Mediterranean diet may protect against Crohn's disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases. 'If somebody eats a lot of herbs containing essential oils then it's possible they could get enough to reach a therapeutic dose,' Gertsch says.

The team screened a whole library of natural products for cannabinoid activity, which led finally to fractionation of Cannibis sativa essential oil and identification of (E)-beta-caryophyllene as the active component. They then tested the compound's anti-inflammatory effects on mice and found it to be surprisingly potent at low concentrations. It may also account for the anti-inflammatory properties of copaiba oil, an essential oil prescribed by doctors and healers in Brazil, which contains large quantities of the compound.

Birgit Kraft, who studies the therapeutic effects of marijuana at the Medical University of Vienna, says selective CB2 agonists are keenly sought after by clinicians, as they may be candidates for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as bowel disease.

[Storm Crow]

I just added that one to my master list! Good on you for posting it! - Granny:hippy:

[humedi]

have a look at this post i made to see if there are any new links to add to your list click
the hostility from other posters is puzzling

[Storm Crow]

They have been taught that "big pharma = good, alternate herbs/illegal drugs= bad. "If it ain't scientific, it ain't good- the guv'ment tells me so!" Keep plugging it! You will be reaching at least SOME of the readers!

I noted that the resistance came from one idiot guy. How about you tell him a little old granny-lady "double dog dares" him to read my whole post- just the titles, at least. If you don't think he is ready for C.com, it is also over at treating yourself .com - all one word- which is a nice, quiet, little Canadian MMJ site. Might be better if the dude didn't see that I just called him an idiot.

http://www..com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=23136

He is coming from a place of ignorance- he can't help that he has been seduced into believing the lies. Just be polite to him and educate him! We win the war on prohibition, one mind at a time! :thumbsup:

Granny:hippy:

[humedi]

source

Big Pharma Is in a Frenzy to Bring Cannabis-Based Medicines to Market

The US government's longstanding denial of medical marijuana research and use is an irrational and morally bankrupt public policy. On this point, few Americans disagree. As for the question of "why" federal officials maintain this inflexible and inhumane policy, well that's another story

One of the more popular theories seeking to explain the Feds' seemingly inexplicable ban on medical pot goes like this: Neither the US government nor the pharmaceutical industry will allow for the use of medical marijuana because they can't patent it or profit from it.

It's an appealing theory, yet I've found it to be neither accurate nor persuasive. Here's why.

First, let me state the obvious. Big Pharma is busily applying for -- and has already received -- multiple patents for the medical properties of pot. These include patents for synthetic pot derivatives (such as the oral THC pill Marinol), cannabinoid agonists (synthetic agents that bind to the brain's endocannabinoid receptors) like HU-210 and cannabis antagonists such as Rimonabant. This trend was most recently summarized in the NIH paper (pdf), "The endocannabinoid system as an emerging target of pharmacotherapy," which concluded, "The growing interest in the underlying science has been matched by a growth in the number of cannabinoid drugs in pharmaceutical development from two in 1995 to 27 in 2004." In other words, at the same time the American Medical Association is proclaiming that pot has no medical value, Big Pharma is in a frenzy to bring dozens of new, cannabis-based medicines to market.

Not all of these medicines will be synthetic pills either. Most notably, GW Pharmaceutical's oral marijuana spray, Sativex, is a patented standardized dose of natural cannabis extracts. (The extracts, primarily THC and the non-psychoactive, anxiolytic compound CBD, are taken directly from marijuana plants grown at an undisclosed, company warehouse.)

Does Big Pharma's sudden and growing interest in the research and development of pot-based medicines mean that the industry is proactively supporting marijuana prohibition? Not if they know what's good for them. Let me explain.

First, any and all cannabis-based medicines must be granted approval from federal regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration -- a process that remains as much based on politics as it is on scientific merit. Chances are that a government that is unreasonably hostile toward the marijuana plant will also be unreasonably hostile toward sanctioning cannabis-based pharmaceuticals.

A recent example of this may be found in the Medicine and Health Products Regulatory Agency's recent denial of Sativex as a prescription drug in the United Kingdom. (Sativex's parent company, GW Pharmaceuticals, is based in London.) In recent years, British politicians have taken an atypically hard-line against the recreational use of marijuana -- culminating in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's declaration that today's pot is now of "lethal quality." (Shortly thereafter, Parliament elected to stiffen criminal penalties on the possession of the drug from a verbal warning to up to five years in jail.) In such an environment is it any wonder that British regulators have steadfastly refused to legalize a pot-based medicine, even one with an impeccable safety record like Sativex? Conversely, Canadian health regulators -- who take a much more liberal view toward the use of natural cannabis and oversee its distribution to authorized patients -- recently approved Sativex as a prescription drug.

Of course, gaining regulatory approval is only half the battle. The real hurdle for Big Pharma is finding customers for its product. Here again, a culture that is familiar with and educated to the use therapeutic cannabis is likely going to be far more open to the use of pot-based medicines than a population still stuck in the grip of "Reefer Madness."

Will those patients who already have first-hand experience with the use of medical pot switch to a cannabis-based pharmaceutical if one becomes legally available? Maybe not, but these individuals comprise only a fraction of the US population. Certainly many others will -- including many older patients who would never the desire to try or the access to obtain natural cannabis. Bottom line: regardless of whether pot is legal or not, cannabis-based pharmaceuticals will no doubt have a broad appeal.

But wouldn't the legal availability of pot encourage patients to use fewer pharmaceuticals overall? Perhaps, though likely not to any degree that adversely impacts Big Pharma's bottom line. Certainly most individuals in the Netherlands, Canada, and in California -- three regions where medical pot is both legal and easily accessible on the open market -- use prescription drugs, not cannabis for their ailments. Further, despite the availability of numerous legal healing herbs and traditional medicines such as Echinacea, Witch Hazel, and Eastern hemlock most Americans continue to turn to pharmaceutical preparations as their remedies of choice.

Should the advent of legal, alternative pot-based medicines ever warrant or justify the criminalization of patients who find superior relief from natural cannabis? Certainly not. But, as the private sector continues to move forward with research into the safety and efficacy of marijuana-based pharmaceuticals, it will become harder and harder for the government and law enforcement to maintain their absurd and illogical policy of total pot prohibition.

Of course, were it not for advocates having worked for four decades to legalize medical cannabis, it's unlikely that anyone -- most especially the pharmaceutical industry -- would be turning their attention toward the development and marketing of cannabis-based therapeutics. That said, I won't be holding my breath waiting for any royalty checks.

Oh yeah, and as for those who claim that the US government can't patent medical pot, check out the assignee for US Patent #6630507.

[Kandii]

Hi! Have been looking on the www to find info. Im 40 (you wouldnt know ;o) female and from UK. I have had UC (colitis) 18 odd years am a tad fed up with it. Huge flare 16 years ago, then another a year later, this was when I had my children. Settled ok since until 2 years ago, made the mistake of holiday in Tunisia, its outside Europe so coli different....since then been on and off steriods, take azacol all the time, tried azathioprine (yuk) Anyways, getting very sick of looking for answers, so thought I may try a bit of this! Have access to vaporiser. What sort of amount should i be thinking about using how many times a week?? I had some on Saturday but was wiped all Sunday as had too much, even tho it was fun! Do work, so need to be practical! Lol. Dont smoke and never have and dont want to. Wouldnt mind cooking with it, dont really care as long as it works. How long is it til you notice any change? Thanks for listening and hopefully I'll get some answers! Kandii 'Im a Newbie'