Medical marijuana

[Fiending_the_freedom]

I've been trying to look on google for who is eligable in CANADA for medical marijuana, but all they tell me is that there is two categories, #1 which is life ending pain relief, epilepsy and anorexia and #2 which is
Category 2:

This category is for applicants who have debilitating symptom(s) of medical condition(s), other than those described in Category 1.

well, thats not very helpful AT ALL, am I right? Thats what it says on every site, it's so stupid, they make it legal for certain people but make it impossible to find out if you qualify.

Could someone whos better than me at searching the web find out the details of category 2 for me please? Some where from a reliable site please!
thank you!

[INFERNO]

Category 1 includes more things: cancer, HIV/AIDS, MS, spinal cord injury/disease, severe arthritis and epilepsy. Category 2 is something that is quite common in law and in medical diagnosing and policies. It's there as a fall-back so as to not discriminate and to be fair. They don't state particular diseases because it's for people whose diseases should be treated by a certain way and no matter what is done, the symptoms are still there and very bothersome or painful. So in an indirect way, they have said what diseases are for this: all them except category 1 diseases.

The subjectivity occurs in what the doctor who is qualified to make this sort of decision thinks and there's no way to give a list of policies one-by-one for each disease known to humankind.

Taken from: HERE (http://www.medicalmarijuanainformation.com/legal/eligible.php)

[llamabox]

Join up and post your questions here... http://www.treatingyourself.com/vbulletin/index.php It is a medical cannabis magazine based in Canada, and they have a forum dedicated to medical cannabis. Many of the folks there would be more than willing to help.

That's where I got the link for this Health Canada's Cannabis section (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/how-comment/applicant-demandeur/index-eng.php)

For either category you must have a doctors referral, or "prescription". Check out the Applicant's Guide (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/how-comment/applicant-demandeur/applicant-guide-demandeur-eng.php) it will help you get started.

[Fiending_the_freedom]

Thank you I will look on that site.
What I am really saying is I want to know when it is ok to ask my doctor to consider medical marijuana except he can only do it for certain things.

[INFERNO]

Thank you I will look on that site.
What I am really saying is I want to know when it is ok to ask my doctor to consider medical marijuana except he can only do it for certain things.

If you have the diseases mentioned in Category 1, then it would be easier to ask than if what you have is in Category 2. When you should ask is up to you and on the severity. I know that's subjective and not answering your question but there's no other reasonable answer I can give.

[The Joker]

What is your medical problem that you think you need pot for?

[Fiending_the_freedom]

Its not that I think I need pot to colve my problem, but I have generlized anxiety disorder, and have some appatite problems and I smoke pot anyway and it helps me eat and relax very much.
I've tried anxitey medication, I really don't like them just like I didn't like anti-depressants, and smoking pot works much better than any medication I've been on.
I just think it would be a lot easier to smoke legally to help myself.

[INFERNO]

Its not that I think I need pot to colve my problem, but I have generlized anxiety disorder, and have some appatite problems and I smoke pot anyway and it helps me eat and relax very much.
I've tried anxitey medication, I really don't like them just like I didn't like anti-depressants, and smoking pot works much better than any medication I've been on.
I just think it would be a lot easier to smoke legally to help myself.

If it's for GAD, then I don't think so because you admit that you don't take medications for it simply because you don't like it, not because they don't work. I'm very doubtful you'll get permission from a doctor to get medical marijuana because it's meant to be for people whose symptoms are for some reason untreatable by conventional methods and practically all options (i.e. various medications) have been tried. You can try if you want but I'd be amazed if you got permission because you don't like the side-effects of the medications, not because they don't work.

[CaptainObvious]

Its not that I think I need pot to colve my problem, but I have generlized anxiety disorder, and have some appatite problems and I smoke pot anyway and it helps me eat and relax very much.
I've tried anxitey medication, I really don't like them just like I didn't like anti-depressants, and smoking pot works much better than any medication I've been on.
I just think it would be a lot easier to smoke legally to help myself.

So go talk to your doctor about it. The worst thing he/she can do is say no. And if that happens... you can find another. Doctor shopping isn't a good thing but many doctors will flat out not prescribe medical marijuana for anything, so it's not like going to find a doctor who's more friendly to the idea is unprecedented or something.

If it's for GAD, then I don't think so because you admit that you don't take medications for it simply because you don't like it, not because they don't work. I'm very doubtful you'll get permission from a doctor to get medical marijuana because it's meant to be for people whose symptoms are for some reason untreatable by conventional methods and practically all options (i.e. various medications) have been tried. You can try if you want but I'd be amazed if you got permission because you don't like the side-effects of the medications, not because they don't work.

This is how it's supposed to be by the letter/spirit of the law, though I don't think it's justified. Why should marijuana be a drug of last resort? It does a heck of a lot better job at treating many diseases than conventional treatment options.

Incidentally, managing the side effects of medications is often as important as managing their actual treatment effects. I could give myriad examples, from chemotherapy destroying blood counts to long-term NSAID use screwing up the GI tract, but sufficed to say deleterious side effects are often in and of themselves enough to merit a medication change.

[INFERNO]

This is how it's supposed to be by the letter/spirit of the law, though I don't think it's justified. Why should marijuana be a drug of last resort? It does a heck of a lot better job at treating many diseases than conventional treatment options.

You're correct, it is quite effective, however, as it currently stands, it's illegal so only very specific instances are allowed. I don't intend to debate whether I think it should or should not be illegal as this isn't the place for it, however, if marijuana was legalized, then I suspect it would be used a lot more.


Incidentally, managing the side effects of medications is often as important as managing their actual treatment effects. I could give myriad examples, from chemotherapy destroying blood counts to long-term NSAID use screwing up the GI tract, but sufficed to say deleterious side effects are often in and of themselves enough to merit a medication change.

Agreed but when the medication being used is illegal, then that generally puts a stop to it regardless of the side-effects. Marijuana does have some fairly nasty side-effects, especially if smoked but of course if not smoked then some of them are eliminated. Other medications also have pretty harmful effects but what it boils down to is that those medications, despite how harmful they can be, are legal.

[CaptainObvious]

You're correct, it is quite effective, however, as it currently stands, it's illegal so only very specific instances are allowed. I don't intend to debate whether I think it should or should not be illegal as this isn't the place for it, however, if marijuana was legalized, then I suspect it would be used a lot more.

Agreed but when the medication being used is illegal, then that generally puts a stop to it regardless of the side-effects. Marijuana does have some fairly nasty side-effects, especially if smoked but of course if not smoked then some of them are eliminated. Other medications also have pretty harmful effects but what it boils down to is that those medications, despite how harmful they can be, are legal.

What you said is all pretty reasonable... except that a great many pharmaceutical drugs are illegal if not prescribed (ADD drugs, anti-depressants, opioid painkillers, the list goes on). How is marijuana any different in that sense?

[INFERNO]

What you said is all pretty reasonable... except that a great many pharmaceutical drugs are illegal if not prescribed (ADD drugs, anti-depressants, opioid painkillers, the list goes on). How is marijuana any different in that sense?

I'm not sure what it is you're trying to get at. If prescribed medications are used when not prescribed, then it's illegal, yes. Marijuana is illegal except when prescribed. So both depending on the context can be illegal. What's your point because it seems like you're grasping at straws?

[homerallii1]

Old thread, sorry. as time progresses, countries are becoming more tolerant to medical marijuana use. Like said before, talk to your doctor all he can do is say no. But many liberal doctors will prescribe for things such as anorexia, insomnia, and severe nausea. Just askk your doc. :)

[Kaius]

This is 3 months old, please don't bump old threads :locked: