As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients who had used cannabis extensively for a long period of time prior to using is as a medication. Many of these patients do in fact discuss similar withdrawal symptoms if they abruptly stop medicating. Common complaints are irritability, anxiety, insomnia and difficulty focusing. Although cannabis as a medication is generally very safe I think these withdrawal symptoms warrant discussion.

Today I spoke with two female patients who were taking anti-depressants (SSRI’s) for depression and experiencing significant sexual side effects. In both cases, their lack of libido and inability to orgasm were causing significant challenges in their relationships. They came to me to use medical marijuana to help their depression and anxiety and also in turn repair their sex lives.

Today at my Irvine office I evaluated a 51 year old women who wanted an evaluation to see if medical marijuana could provide relief for some of the symptoms she has been experience as a result of menopause. Specifically she had been suffering from severe hot flashes which caused secondary insomnia. As a result of not being able to sleep well she was “always tired” during the day. Her ob/gyn had tried prescribing paxil and ambien to help relieve her symptoms but the side effects were worse than what she was trying to relieve. A few weeks back a friend of hers that had a medical marijuana card for chronic pain gave her some marijuana to try to improve her sleep. The results “were amazing” she told me.

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:

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate women who suffer from pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)/premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). They often complain of headache, pelvic pain, breast pain, difficulty sleeping, bloating, irritability, anxiety, depression and an inability to concentrate. Typically the standard treatment that their doctors prescribe do not work well enough and they would like to try cannabis. I have seen amazing results with women who vaporize cannabis to treat their PMS.

How often do you do a complete skin exam? For most people the answer is rare to never. Unfortunately for many patients like Jackie they do not notice the irregularly shaped and colored lesion on their skin until it has already spread to other parts of the body. Jackie is a patient of mine who discovered a melanoma on the upper right side of her back just next to her armpit. It “was a fluke as I was putting on deodorant and twisted my body a certain way and “just happened to notice a smudge of dirt”. Unfortunately as she went to wipe it off she realized it was not in fact dirt. It was melanoma, a deadly skin cancer.

People often wonder what “types” of patients come in for cannabis (marijuana) recommendations. Today I was honored to be able to meet Heather. She is a 24 year old female who suffers from psoriases. Psoriasis is a skin disorder characterized by large scaly red rashes (plaques) that is a result of excess inflammation. It can affect every area of the body to include the scalp. Interestingly Heather does not medicate with cannabis to treat her psoriasis but to treat the anxiety that comes from having visible skin lesions.

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I have many patients who are combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Unfortunately the military has a ZERO tolerance towards any drug use and does not recognize cannabis as a medicine. The majority of these patients have made the decision to use medicine for one of two things:

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.

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I frequently evaluate women who suffer from the symptoms of perimenopause. Fortunately cannabis can be a great alternative treatment for many of the symptoms women experience during this time.