Good article by the wonderful Maia Szalavitz in the New York Times: The War on Drugs Has a Warning for Post-Roe America
Under Roe, most obstetricians and gynecologists didn’t face this level of legal peril. But this isn’t the first time America has criminalized aspects of medicine. Physicians who prescribe controlled substances like opioids carry a similar burden. They can face decades in prison if prosecutors target them for overprescribing. Although there are cases of bad actors who prescribed opioids for profit, even legitimate physicians may fear being targeted by law enforcement, and research shows that the threat of legal action has a broad chilling effect on the way doctors provide care. The war on drugs shows that when medicine is criminalized and politicized, harm to patients and doctors increases, while the activities that the laws are intended to curb continue or even increase.[…]
Terrified of legal action, some physicians are already taking extreme measures to protect themselves from abortion prosecutions, such as ending women’s prescriptions for an immune disorder treatment, methotrexate, because if they get pregnant, it can cause miscarriage.
It’s not only doctors who are legally driven to prioritize their careers over their patients’ healthcare as it’s been with cannabinoids, opioids, and the drug war.
People will now want to read the fine print in their new health insurance contract that may be depriving them of the optimum medical care they need, something that’s happened before with contraceptives. Hospital staff with a moral agenda will add to the confusion of where to find legally available health care that includes abortifacients. Staffing conflicts in hospitals will intensify. Catholicism could finally succeed in taking condoms off the market.
The Justices already know they’re about to receive a flurry of litigations for their decision. It’s always useful to look at the probability of future legal problems with the Roe v Wade reversal. And Dodd v United States gives new meaning to the idea of legal confusion.
Given a very small group seriously ignorant of the life sciences comprising boundary value problems or sophisms concerning abortion, how will the Supreme Six rule on cases like these? Suppose for whatever reason a police raid on a location causes a woman to go into severe shock and suffer a miscarriage. Can police now be charged with a crime like manslaughter or 2nd degree murder? Can or will they be immune from being sued? Good luck on finding a solution.
The15th World Congress on Polyphenols (AKA cannabinoids) is set to convene at “ADEIT ‘Fundación Universitat’, Valencia, Spain, & Online.” On September 30 it will address cannabinoids:
Psychedelics use in the US now stands at 5.5 million adults per year and is on the rise according to an NIDA funded report that recommends preventive strategies for what’s being called a health risk involving “unsupervised hallucinogen use”:
Exactly the kind of fear mongering one would expect from a journal called “Addiction.” According to the link, age 12-to-17 use of psychedelics is down, as is all use of PCP and Ecstasy.
News Flash! Actual microdosing of psychedelics needs supervision about as much as one needs supervision to chew and/or drink a glass of water. Very large doses of psychedelics like psilocybin for depression or end-of-life anxiety are probably best handled in a clinical setting, IF, that individual is naive or lacks knowledgable support from a trusted friend.
Folks who make a living in the addiction field need a strong authoritarian Preznit who wants to execute dealers. If their hero doesn’t show up soon Americans will continue to chip away at their Schedule I game.
In the spirt of rebellion, this article made me consume a piece of psilocybin about one-quarter the size of the nail on my pinky.
Another pillar supporting cannabis consumer stereotypes has fallen. Researchers at the University of Cambridge debunked the stereotypical myth of the unengaged and lazy stoner:
The University of Exeter has many good things to say about internet forums designed for those recovering from opioid use disorder:
Australian cocaine is plagued by low quality products:
DEA agents are investigating a medical clinic whose physicians were allegedly being pressured to over prescribe Adderall, a stimulant used to treat ADHD:
For those dog owners whose pet is suffering from osteoarthritis a remedy may be found in cannabis oil and Boswellia serrata:
A new therapy based on cannabinoid biochemistry proves effective and with no adverse side effects to countering amyopathic dermatomyositis:
New use is discovered for leftover hemp products normally disposed of after extraction of CBD:
Cannabis succeeds as a pain reliever for replacing opioids:
Cannabis succeeds as a pain reliever for replacing opiates…
No argument here, but it’s complicated. Cannabis has analgesic properties but it’s not in the class with opiates. I used cannabis to replace Morphine in 2013, on my own, before the health care field starting dumping most opiate patients so I know it’s a doable thing. My docs would have removed the opiates, I just beat them to the punch.
However, despite my medical knowledge and stable access to cannabis products there are times when I wish I could purchase opiates because cannabis doesn’t always control or manage pain from osteoarthritis and neuropathy. It would have happened already , but I’m too damn scared of fentanyl-laced street drugs.
In truth, the best analgesic is cannabis and opiates combined. Just cuz inattentive docs didn’t manage their opiate patients and allowed them to sell or give their medicine away isn’t a good reason for discontinuing appropriate opiate prescribing. Drug testing and pill counting are useful (invasive) tools to keep opiates from becoming street drugs. I know, I was piss tested many times. I didn’t like it but I understood why docs would do it.
Transdermal patches, RSO, concentrates, tinctures, and flower in that order is my medical list. Suffering is the flip side of the “pain” coin, and that’s where cannabis shines. It’s not pain until it reaches the brain. That makes pain an emotional experience. Same level of pain, but LESS suffering with weed is a BFD. It’s said that laughter is the best medicine and its all about the mental distraction. Cannabis serves to help distract the mind from pain and allows better functioning.
Interesting that the best pain relief found in nature produces euphoria. Euphoric distraction matters to patients in pain. It’s a quality-of-life thing.
OT. I use to follow former? couch mate DdC on twitter and another internet forum where he posted. His twitter account was last used on March 21 of this year and his other thing (tapa-something) went silent as well. Hope he’s okay.
Yeah, DdC is doing well. He still lurks here as well. I hear from him regularly on face crack.
Opioid receptors react to daylight hours in strange ways:
Researchers in Australia will select children as participants to determine the medical effects of medicinal cannabis in children under palliative care:
A Big Pharma product designed to identify those who might have a genetic propensity to develop opioid use disorder has been shot down by an FDA advisory committee: