Case of the Moment, Oct 7, 2006

Cannabis Totally Replaces High Dose Morphine For Relief of Serious Pain

     Jack Johnson (not his real name) was suffering very serious pain.  Eighteen years ago, he fell 60 feet at work and broke his back. the spine was fractured from L3 to S1.  He was initially paralyzed from the waist down.  Surgery helped him regain nerve function, but it took him five years to learn to walk.  He has been in constant pain ever since, severe constant pain.

     Essentially the only strong pain relievers known to modern medicine are opiates.  Opiates relieve pain, but the body develops a tolerance, so over time, more and more of the opiates are required to get the same effect.  When Jack first came to me a year ago, he was taking more than 900mg per day of morphine, a very high dose.  And this only relieved a relatively small amount of the pain.

     The high dose narcotics were causing a series of digestive problems, including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.  His doctors didn't realize that the digestive problems were caused the opiates, and trying to help him, removed his gall bladder, which turned out to be normal.  His symptoms continued.

     Prior to visiting me one year ago, Jack had recently tried cannabis once or twice, and had found great relief.  I issued him the Compassionate Use Act letter that enabled him to use cannabis as his treatment.  Following regular use of cannabis, Jack was able to gradually wean himself off the morphine totally.  The digestive symptoms mainly went away.  Although his is still in pain, even with cannabis, the cannabis is much more effective for Jack than the opiates, with no side effects and no addiction.