Today in Irvine I followed up with a 31 year old women who has been using medical marijuana to treat severe pelvic pain secondary to endometriosis for the past year.   She told me she has had her “period” for the past 179 days, has become anemic and the lupron that she is taking makes [...]

My name is Marie and I am a medical marijuana patient.  I am 63 years old and have suffer from severe arthritis in both my hips.  I am mother of 4, grandmother of 10 and live in a small retirement community in southern California. I use medical marijuana twice per day.  Once when I wake [...]

Yesterday in my Long Beach office I took care of a 64 year old man who was diagnosed with early onset dementia (Alzheimer’s Type).   He came in to see if medical marijuana can help slow down the progress of his disease and improve cognitive function. He cited a study published in the Journal of [...]

Last year a 73 year old man named Robert came to me asking to use medical marijuana to help him deal with Kidney cancer that had spread to his lungs.    At that time he needed help with his appetite, sleep and back pain and wanted to try marijuana.   I remember him leaving and [...]

One of my biggest concerns for elderly patients who want to try medical marijuana for any reason is the risk of falls.   Marijuana is a psychoactive drug and will affect a patients balance and coordination.  Combine that with mobility issues for a variety of reasons and you have situation that warrants discussion.  The following [...]

Yesterday I took care of a 24 year old female who manages all her symptoms of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA)with medical marijuana.    Many people do not realize that children can develop arthritis but like my patient, who was diagnosed at the age of 7, there are thousands of kids who suffer.    JRA is [...]

One of the amazing things about being a doctor is you get to minister to your patients.   Because I routinely recommend medical marijuana to patients I often come across patients at the end of their life, mostly battling cancer.  Yesterday was one of those days where God allowed me to pray with 4 patients [...]

Over the past 4 years I have spoken to thousands of couples who come in to use medical marijuana for a variety of reasons.    Most commonly they complain of pain, sleep, anxiety, nausea or headaches.     One of the things that many patients tell me is that since they started using medical marijuana [...]

Yesterday in my Long Beach office I tool care of a 31 year old women who was diagnosed with Sjogren Syndrome.    Specifically, she was using medical marijuana to treat joint pain in her hips, knees and shoulders which is very common in this illness.   She stated that for the past three months she [...]

One of the most incredible things about being a physician is that I regularly meet people who have stories that inspire me.   When faced with adversity they show incredible courage, determination and perseverance.   There stories lift me up and make me reflect on how I deal with adveristy in my own life. This [...]