Today in my Irvine office I had a follow up appointment with a 54 year old male who suffers from Restless Leg Syndrome. He had been using a medication called Requip (ropinirole) for the past 6 months without good results. His doctor recently switched him to a new medication called Mirapex (pramipexole) which has not been effective either. Both of those drugs work by stimulating dopamine receptors in the brain (dopamine is a neurotransmitter). They are drugs similar to those used to treat patients with parkinsons disease.

Patients looking to see a doctor for a medical cannabis evaluation need to read this article first! http://cbs2.com/local/Medical.Marijuana.Doctor.2.1529594.html

Be very careful about visiting clinics that are operating illegally. Unfortunately they are everywhere.

Medical Cannabis of Southern California has two clinics operated by Dr. Sean Breen. He is licensed California physician and a former US Navy doctor who served with the United States Marine Corp at Camp Pendeton, California.

As medical director of Medical Cannabis of Southern California I see patients who want to discuss the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal purposes.  We have two full time clinics located in Irvine, CA and Long Beach, CA. I am often asked by patients “when do I receive my card?”  There is a misconception about [...]

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.

Follow Dr. Sean Breen, medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California, on TWITTER!
UN: DrSeanBreen

As medical director for Medical Cannabis of Southern California I have had the opportunity to take care of a few patients with the diagnosis of dystonia. Dystonia is an extremely painful disorder that is characterized by severe muscle spasm. It can affect any muscle group in the body. One of my patients c/o cervical dystonia which affected the muscles in her neck. She would get severe neck spasms and terrible headaches. She described them as incapacitating. The pain was frequent, interrupted her sleep and was breaking her spirit.

Today in Irvine I had a 25 year old patient by the name of Naya. The reason why she is coming in is because a few weeks ago she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that effects the white blood cells called Lymphocytes. She is going to be starting chemotherapy shortly and is using cannabis for the nausea, pain and lack of appetite that comes from chemotherapy treatment. Cannabis is an amazing medication for cancer patients because it is the ONLY thing that will eliminate the nausea and improve a patients appetite. Unfortunately Naya is also 6 weeks pregnant and at the time of my appointment was losing her pregnancy due to her illness. So on top of dealing with a new diagnosis of cancer she is grieving the loss of her first child.

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.

Today I had the opportunity to take care of a 28 year old patient named Edgar who was diagnosed with a brain tumor called an oligodendroglioma in the temporal lobe of the right side of his brain. He was diagnosed in 2006 and had to have immediate surgery. Unfortunately it has come back and spread to his thyroid gland and other lymph nodes. It is incurable. No chemo, radiation or surgery is going to save Edgar. He is using cannabis to treat headaches, insomnia, poor appetite and pain.

As physicians we take an oath that states: “First do no harm.” Unfortunately as doctors we have to many times rely on data that has been produced and evaluated by drug companies that stand to make HUGE profits from the sale of these drugs. A 32 billion dollar per year company, named Pfizer, is just one of many that knowingly distributed a pill that was harmful to patients. It is for this reason that so many patients DO NOT WANT TO TAKE PILLS and rely on a more natural remedy like cannabis.