Marijuana.com

CaptainHawkins

I recently got a scope surgury done to my knee. Like the day after i had it done i got some grass and smoked it..and for some reason it made my knee hurt extremely bad...like to the point to where i had to take 3 or 4 of my pain pills to make it go away, when i shouldnt have had to take any. I did the same thing the next day and the day after, and the had the same effect. Isnt pot supposed to relieve pain, or could it have been from the schwag that i was smokin?? Maybe better pot would have made it not hurt?? What is goin on??

 

DataMatrix

Could be that they screwed up the operation.

Buzzby

I think it has to do with where you focus your attention. We all know that marijuana can intensify sensations - that's one of the things we like about it. If something hurts and you focus on it you'll experience more hurt. If you focus your attention on something else you'll be so occupied with it that you'll notice the pain less. The marijuana facilitates an intense focus.

Marijuana is especially good for joint pain because it has excellent anti-inflammatory properties.

__________________

Tokamak

I think it has to do with where you focus your attention. We all know that marijuana can intensify sensations - that's one of the things we like about it. If something hurts and you focus on it you'll experience more hurt. If you focus your attention on something else you'll be so occupied with it that you'll notice the pain less. The marijuana facilitates an intense focus.

So you're saying that the pain relieving effects are tied to the psychoactive effects, eh Buzzby? You're contradicting what you wrote here. Just because someone may "develop a tolerance to the euphoric and soporific effects" of marijuana, doesn't mean that they aren't experiencing some form of psychedelia. Furthermore, my assertion that the pain relieving abilities of pot are inextricably tied to its psychoactive effects is supported, ironically, by the article you posted, 'Cannabis Eases Pain Of Arthritis'.

Peace.

__________________
"He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know."
- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

ChronicSmoke7

OHHHHHHH! My Knee!!!

 

Buzzby

Increased ability to focus on one thing while ignoring something else isn't what I'd call "psychedelia". Medical marijuana users who develop a tolerance from high-level use don't get "high" (or as you called it "knocked sideways") but retain the enhanced ability to exclude some sensations from consciousness by focusing on something else. Read the accounts from serious medical marijuana users like Angel Raich and Montel Williams. Almost all of them say that they don't get high

In the case of pain caused by inflammation, such as arthritis, there is also a direct pain-relieving effect because cannabis reduces inflammation.

king cola

"I think it has to do with where you focus your attention. We all know that marijuana can intensify sensations - that's one of the things we like about it. If something hurts and you focus on it you'll experience more hurt. If you focus your attention on something else you'll be so occupied with it that you'll notice the pain less. The marijuana facilitates an intense focus."

Someone told me awhile back that they smoked some pot while having pain problems and it made it worse. They just said how they were more focused on the pain. Some people claim that after smoking they have a tingly feeling all over, i had that happen a few times too, if i had that feeling in my arms and legs, if i focused on either my arms or legs the sensations would decrease in one area and increase in the area i focused on.

Buzzby

My back hurts more when I get high. At least that's how it feels. What I think is happening is that I've learned to ignore the chronic pain in my back so I can keep functioning. When I get high I pay more attention to such things. This is good, because I can feel exactly which muscles are tight and which vertebrae are out of line. Then I can do stretches and yoga to fix things up. After getting everything properly stretched and aligned I feel much better. Marijuana serves as my internal "medical imaging system".

Tokamak

Increased ability to focus on one thing while ignoring something else isn't what I'd call "psychedelia". Medical marijuana users who develop a tolerance from high-level use don't get "high" (or as you called it "knocked sideways") but retain the enhanced ability to exclude some sensations from consciousness by focusing on something else. Read the accounts from serious medical marijuana users like Angel Raich and Montel Williams. Almost all of them say that they don't get high

I would call any substance that alters normal perception psychedelic. This would certainly include many prescription and OTC drugs. Perhaps medical users don't feel the extreme high that infrequent recreational users experience after smoking, but I contend that the essence of pot's ability to relieve pain is centered on its ability to alter one's perception of pain, either by changing the feeling of the pain (as opiates seem to do), or by allowing the mind to wander away from the painful location. This seems to be what you are saying. So far as what Angel Raich, Montel Williams, and other medical marijuana patients have said, I'm not doubting that they don't get seriously impared from smoking, but their perceptions are being altered. I would qualify that as being high, even if only slightly so. So far as the term "knocked sideways," that was quoted from the member's question I was responding to. I wouldn't have put it that way in my own words.

I come to my conclusion from my own personal experience with using pot medically. When I had phlebitis in my right leg, the constant throbing pain was intensified after smoking. At that time, I was a daily smoker, so my tolerance was not low. I did notice that it was easier, as you said, to focus on bodily sensations other than the pain. Once ignored, the pain ceased to bother me, until I thought about it again, or the marijuana wore off. Nevertheless, I felt relief because my perceptions were altered. It was not a separate pain relief mechanism, it was the high itself that helped me block out the sensation.

Peace.

Buzzby

That would include beer, tobacco, aspirin, chiles, Valium, Ambien, and a glass of cold water on a hot day, i.e. yours is not the standard definition of "psychedelic".


I'm glad that you know more about what's going on inside these complete strangers than they themselves do. How do you do that? They say that they don't get high. But then most people don't equate having altered perceptions with being "high", so this is more of a misunderstanding about the definitions of words.