Orangepants

Great article - brought tears to my eyes. Really hope that this pushes things in the right direction.

My sister during the mid stages of MS (in the UK) found it was the only thing that helped her deal with the effects. She made our Mum take a hit once - still makes me laugh thinking about it

Songbird

Yep I was hoping it would be included - I did stress it a LOT! Also they cut the stats I used re: the positive financial impact it would have for the State and the people that ultimately pick up the Medicaid / Medicare tab. How the revenue generated via taxation in this State (one of the the poorest) could be utilized for such things as AFFORDABLE rehab facilities to help those caught up in the prescription drug abuse cycle, an expansion of drug awareness / education programs in the schools and yes even expand the law enforcement task forces to help tackle the growing Meth problem here. Oh well I guess if we get on camera we can get to say those thing

Sally Redux

A very powerful lobby/advertisers.

Take a little placard

Steerpike

As much as what you say is true, and as annoying as it is that they cut it, the bigger picture is your message is getting out there and real change may occur soon. Don't be surprised if they cut the same content from any on-camera interviews also. I would think the fact this is being discussed at all in a place like West Virginia is a very positive step indeed.

I suspect the opportunity to raise those issues will present themselves. In fact, at some point, you should start your own blog on the topic (if you haven't done so already). Google offer free blogging tools (www.blogger.com), as do many other services. All you have to do is create an account and start typing. Provide links to the published newspaper articles, and try to get as many people as you can to view the pages and follow links. Pretty soon, your page could start showing up in search results.

Songbird

Sorry about your sister - but so glad she found some relief with MJ! Isn't crazy that people who need something medically are not allowed to have it! It makes me sooooo

I just been told about Bazedoxifene - an anti-osteoporosis drug that is available ( and has been been since 2009 in Europe) which may help stop the spread of estrogen positive cancer as a 'side effect'. It is not available here in the US why? well Pfizer (IIRC) who own the drug, are taking it through 'clinical' trials here which MAY be concluded by 2016, before they take it to the shelves. I mean really? Here is a drug that is KNOWN to be safe, it will cause no harm to women fighting stage 4 BC (if anything it could well help them based upon the positive reports) but nope Pfizer want to take it trial and hence more lives that may possibly have been saved will be lost. Now the cynic in me thinks... hmmmmm. So they make a drug to treat one condition, a side effect of that drug is possibly that it helps prevent ER+ breast cancer from metastasizing, could this maybe have something to do with the fact that as an anti-osteoporosis drug it's relatively cheap BUT as part of the treatment for Stage 4 BC it could be worth (and they could get) a LOT of $$$$$$$'s, Surely not!


PS... did your Mum like the MJ? LOL

Sally Redux

My husband meets a lot of resistance to suggesting treatment with vitamin D (cheap), however there is an expensive synthetic version which is pushed for dialysis patients. As you mentioned regarding the marijuana, this kind of thing drains money from the state through medicaid.

yellowroom

im afraid that's how pharma regulation works. Just because a drug has been shown to be safe for one illness in Europe does not mean that FDA would automatically grant Pfizer a license here for another illness. You have to show both safety and efficacy in big studies for the illness you want to treat. Plus EMA and FDA often disagree on what kind of study needs to be run to show safety and efficacy of a drug, so even for the same illness, you can't always take European data and get a US license.

Selling your drug for an illness where you haven't got FDA approval is a huge no-no.

Best of luck though in your campaign.

Songbird

True that! lol

Yes it is a HUGE step forward - you could have knocked me over with a feather when when I saw it on the front page of the Sunday edition.. and it took up nearly half of the page with the rest of the article on the inside! I thought it would be tucked away somewhere with maybe a few column inches. So yes the coverage is good and like you say a positive step

Good plan!

Ok heres a sample of the feedback today based on the article - it's only a small number that have voted so far but at least they took the time, so tiny though it is the results are positive. We will see how it develops

Studies show the extraordinary health benefits for those with chronic diseases and pain. We should consider it. 58.89% (53 votes)

There are already flaws with prescription medication and abuse. We shouldn’t open this door. 12.22% (11 votes)

Legalizing this type of drug shouldn’t even be considered. 28.89% (26 votes)

Songbird

I fully understand how they have to get approval - it's just so sad when I am talking to other sufferers - for whom this may literally be a lifesaver, and time is against them

yellowroom

have they tried getting themselves on the clinical trial, or getting their doctor to request the drug from Pfizer on an Expanded Access Program or compassionate use basis? Either is possible.

Songbird

Yes, they tried everything - this explains it better. Rather than me rambling on

http://www.inspire.com/groups/advanc...page=1#replies

oh and here

http://www.inspire.com/groups/advanc...page=1#replies

yellowroom

unfortunately I can't read those without registering on the site but I get the idea. Very sad.

Steerpike

Songbird ... Any update on this?

I just saw a documentary on CNN, hosted by Sanjay Gupta, called 'Weed'. Made me think of you and your situation.

Here's a link to a youtube of the show (this may only be a portion):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3IMfIQ_K6U

I think it aired first back in August but ... I just caught it for the first time tonight - fascinating. Sorry if it's already been posted here but wanted to provide the links before I forget ...

a few related links ...
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health...ind-marijuana/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3741256.html

Interestingly, focuses on Israel, in the 2nd half. Core story is about a 5 year old girl in Colorado who has hundreds of epileptic seizures a day, and nothing can stop her except ... marijuana.

Anyway - hope everything is going well for you and hubby.

Steerpike

And another hour-long, pro-medical marijuana documentary on CNN ...
http://insideman.blogs.cnn.com/2013/...cal-marijuana/
This one aired first in June but I just caught it tonight for the first time. Pretty interesting stuff. Sad to see the guy getting 5 years in jail at the end, but overall things seem to be moving in the right direction.

Pulaski

I find it paradoxical that society is at last marginalising one addictive and cancer-causing weed while the tolerance and acceptance of another is rapidly increasing.

Here is a lengthy but interesting article on the American cancer society's web site. There are a number of concerning medical conditions caused by the smoking/ consumption of cannabis, including cancers, circulatory problems, heart arrhythmias, and mental disturbances, none of which seem to be getting much coverage while the pro-legalisation band wagon rolls on.

The funny thing is that I have a strong libertarian streak, and so I really don't give a stuff (mostly) what people do in the privacy of their own homes, if they want to poison themselves then hey, have at it! But in legalizing cannabis we are encouraging the use of another product that is likely to increase cancer and several other harmful medical conditions, and therefore increase the number of people needing expensive medical treatment, leading to increased medical costs. The result of legalisation is likely to be higher medical insurance premiums and/or taxes in some combination, unless the taxes on cannabis are sufficient to offset the additional costs.

I for one, however, am glad that the places where tobacco smoking is now heavily restricted, such that if cannabis is legalized, as seems likely within my lifetime, I am unlikely to have to breath its smoke.