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You’re sick. Someone offers you marijuana, saying that it will alleviate your suffering. Do you take it? Many patients and doctors have insisted that marijuana is uniquely beneficial, while others say the dangers of cannabis far outweigh the benefits. We know that marijuana is a drug, but is it a medicine?
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It works
Cannabis works differently, not better than, speed.
I have ADHD, and I take both cannabis and dextroamphetamine (aka dexedrine, also half the contents of Adderal). Both are very useful but in different ways, although it's worth noting that neither makes me behave as if I did not have the condition.
Dexedrine works by giving me a lot of extra energy and mental focus; it works synergistically with the "hyperfocus" part of ADHD, changing it from a situation in which I hyperfocus on a very few things to a situation in which I can hyperfocus on quite a lot of things. That means I'm going to be far more productive, because I'll see something that needs doing and just go for it until it's done.
Cannabis works by making certain activities more enjoyable, stimulating the imagination and creativity. A lot of the time the problem I have is simply lack of inspiration... I might be interested in a topic but my hyperfocus has given way to apathy. If I take cannabis, it's like injecting life into the situation, it becomes fun and experimental again, and I can make lots of new things I might not have bothered with otherwise.
Thus, each in its own place. If I'm writing a paper, for instance, I might take dexedrine at the start so I'll really hone in and get lots written, have an eye to detail and be extremely thorough. Once I'm finished, I'll probably be pretty relieved and feel a desire to relax, so I'll hit the bong, which will take the stress off and facilitate a much needed break... and then I'll go back to the paper and do revisions, now looking at things in a more textural, structure-oriented way, opening me up to new ideas about how the rigorous data the dexedrine helped me to output can be ordered and phrased. Whereas speed produces content, then, cannabis improves form. Both are important, and their combination (not at the same time, but cannabis after dexedrine has worn off) radically boosts productivity, something that's very important for somebody, like me, whose ADHD makes it difficult to be productive.
- Michael Vipperman
October 19, 2009 3:58PM
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re: Cannabis works differently, not better than, speed
Thank you, Michael, for your description of how these medicines are used. We're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and cannabis will return to it's proper place in medical practice.
Arthur
- Arthur Livermore
October 21, 2009 3:52PM
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re: Cannabis works differently, not better than, speed
You're very welcome. Whether we've seen the light at the end of the tunnel is hard to say; as this site proves, the drug authorities in the United States are still in the old, absurd position. I am not in the United States, and I am actively involved in the literature development but from an ethnographic perspective (my training is as a Sociologist) in a way that I might not be allowed to in the United States, and in a way which is also far from the mainstream here in Canada.
Recently I wrote harm reduction articles about cannabis and about " sex and drugs " for Toronto harm reduction group TRIP! Project, and I'm going to be leading an advanced seminar on lesser-known drugs for their new volunteers. So I am trying to get a balanced, ethical, sane position out there... but so far I've been lacking any real funding for it; TRIP can give me tiny honorariums from time to time and that's good, but there's only so much pro bono I have the time for. But if I'm not doing it, then who will be?
Anyway, related to the topic, I figure I should state for the record that cannabis has a potentiating effect on a great many drugs. I specified in my post that while I use both to treat ADHD, I do not do so at the same time, but I didn't stress the importance or explain why. Weed makes other drugs hit harder. So if you get stoned while already somewhat high on dex, it's going to be like you're REALLY high on dex, which might not be what you wanted. Same goes for alcohol , psychedelics, K, etc. With alcohol I always advise people to smoke first and then drink, because that tends to result in a more easily controlled inebriation and also generally less alcohol consumed, therefore less liver damage, whereas smoking after you're already drunk tends to result in getting way too fucked up, having "the spins" and desperately needing a toilet. Bad idea: don't smoke when you're drunk unless you're sure you can handle it. With dex, though, just know that smoking up can kick it into a higher gear, so don't unless you're prepared for that.
and, as always, your mileage may vary.
- Michael Vipperman
October 22, 2009 12:56AM
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