Today I evaluated a 54 year man who was suffering from chronic pelvic pain that he started having after receiving radiation treatment for his prostate cancer that developed 10 years prior. He stated that because he had developed bleeding as a result of taking too many NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like motrin he can no longer tolerate them. The other pain pills that he was prescribed cause chronic nausea and constipation. As a result he had been medicating with cannabis for the past 7 years with excellent results and wanted to become a legal patient.

As medical director of Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients who are taking Soma (carisoprodol) for muscle spasms. Typically they are frustrated because it not only is ineffective (for many patients) but they worry about being addicted and being on it for prolonged periods of time. Cannabis is a great alternative to Soma for patients who have muscle spasms.

As medical director for medical cannabis of southern california I provide medical marijuana recommendations for patients throughout Orange County and Long Beach. One of the most common complaints that I here from patients is that they are tired of taking Xanax to treat their anxiety because of all the side effects and want a safer more natural alternative. Marijuana has been shown to have incredible anxiolytic properties and has limited unwanted side effects.

I recently evaluated a 52 year old male patient who suffered from Nocturnal Seizures and had been placed on Dilantin (Phenytoin). He said that although the medication was working to reduce the amount of seizures he suffered from severe fatigue and “zero appetite”. He was coming for a recommendation to use medical cannabis as he has been using it with “amazing results” and wanted to “be legal”.

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California at San Diego is committed to studying the medical benefits of cannabis. It regularly conducts clinical trials for various medical conditions, most of the centered around pain and muscle spasticity. It findings clearly show that marijuana (cannabis) is effective in treating acute and chronic pain.

What is interesting is that researches found that patients do not have to get high in order to get pain relief. They found that cannabis used in smaller amounts was just as effective as patients who took larger doses.

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.

Last week in my Irvine office I had a mother and her 18 year old daughter named Jhenna come in for a cannabis recommendation. Jhenna stated that she had been suffering from anorexia for the past 4 years. Her weight had plummeted to 94 lbs 12 months and she is 5’8″ tall. It started while pursuing a modeling career upon entering high school. Amazingly for the past year she has controlled her appetite and weight loss by medicating with cannabis on a daily basis.

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I often evaluate patients suffering from fibromyalgia. The majority of my fibromyalgia patients are women in the >40 age group. Typically they present to me with a bag of prescription pain medications that they would like to stop.

For the past month I have been treating a 62 y/o women for chronic pain that had been taking 18 pain killers every day. (12 oxycontin!) Not only did they stop working but they made her nauseated, constipated and feeling “loopy” all day. She told me that her life felt like she was out of control. Her pain management doctor spends 6 minutes with her and hands her a re-fill prescription for oxycontin. I am happy to report that after one month of using cannabis to treat her pain she is completely off opiate narcotics! Congratulations. I am glad you have control of your life again. There is hope!

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.