Today in Irvine I had a 12 month follow up visit with a 57 year old patient named Tom who has been successfully using Medical Marijuana to remain sober from both Alcohol and Nitrous Oxide Abuse. To give you an idea of how bad his addictions were at one point he was completely homeless living in San Diego without a dime to his name. Currently, he has a wife and three children and has been sober for 10 years! He attributes his sobriety to ” a lot of prayer and medical marijuana” READ ON….

In the past 3 years I have discussed the medical use of cannabis with many patients. I have spoken to many who have used cannabis to decrease their use of alcohol with good results. From purely a medical standpoint this is beneficial. Alcohol strains and depletes the liver, increase blood pressure, alters mood adversely and generally leads to high risk or criminal behavior. For many of my patients they have a lot of insight into the damage that alcohol is doing not only to their bodies but their lives. Many explain how they are aggressive to their spouse, have short tempers/anger management issue and are just “not as good a person” as they want to be. READ ON…

As medical director of Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often meet patients who are combat veterans and are in need of help. One of the blessings in my life was the opportunity to serve along side the Marines of 1st Battalion 4th Marines in Iraq from January-September 2003. I witnessed combat from the front lines and experienced the buffet of emotions that our troops go through on a daily basis. Now that I am honorably discharged I can openly discuss the benefits of using cannabis to take care of:

Today I evaluated a 59 year old male patient who has been sober for the past 15 years. He still routinely takes Antabuse 250 mg which is a drug that will cause severe nausea and vomiting if he consumes alcohol. Unfortunately he developed permanent nerve damage to his right arm as a result of his Antabuse medication. So he only uses it in emergency situations.

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients who want to stop drinking alcohol. Alcoholism obviously destroys the life of the patient and the people they have relationships with. I have had several patients who have been able to stop drinking and instead have substituted with cannabis.