Cannabis Revealed: How the World’s Most Misunderstood Plant is Healing Everything from Chronic Pain to Epilepsy -
By Sponsored Post on February 24th, 2017 at 3:51 pm | Updated: February 24th, 2017 at 5:19 pm
Did you know you have a widespread receptor system that interacts with the compounds in cannabis?
The impact of marijuana prohibition has been stifling, particularly within the medical community. Thousands of new medical doctors graduate each year without the most basic understanding of the human endocannabinoid system or the medical conditions associated with its dysfunction.
Because the vast majority of our nation’s medical professionals are still being taught that cannabis is a harmful substance with high potential for addiction, it has remained difficult for the average patient to understand the immense value of cannabis medicine and how it could be used to improve the quality of live. As medical cannabis laws continue to evolve, it is more vital than ever for patients suffering from life-changing medical conditions to understand the benefits of this plant in an honest, medicine-based perspective. While Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s first “Weed” documentary was instrumental in showing the the mainstream how valuable cannabis medicine is for some severe medical conditions, we’ve only scratched the surface of cannabis medicine’s true potential.
Cannabis Revealed is the only book written by a medical cannabis specialist that explains the science behind the use of this amazingly therapeutic plant in easy-to-understand details of the recently discovered endocannabinoid system; a system involved in almost every human physiologic process. Going beyond the science, Dr. Bonni shares real patient stories from her medical practice in California that paint a clear picture of modern cannabis medicine:
Sophie’s Story
I went to medical school from 1986 to 1990 and did an internship from 1990-1993, completely unaware of the incredible discoveries of the cannabinoid receptor and the endocannabinoid system. By 1995, the first two endocannabinoids were discovered, but cannabis medicine was still unknown to most physicians.
When three-month-old Sophie was diagnosed with infantile spasms, a rare seizure disorder with a particularly grim prognosis, in June of that year, the neurologists began a course of high dosage steroids and benzodiazepines. By the time she was nine months old, Sophie’s development had plateaued, she was on three anti-epileptic medications and the seizures kept coming. The neurologists in New York City could find no reason for her epilepsy and diagnosed her with cryptogenic infantile spasms. Over the next 19 years, Sophie was treated with 22 drugs and two courses of the ketogenic diet, along with countless alternative therapies, including osteopathy, Chinese herbs and acupuncture. Her spasms evolved into mixed seizures but no medication helped stop them. She suffered from serious side effects, and her quality of life was sometimes unbearable.
Sophie’s mother Elizabeth told me that her old life ended on the day Sophie was diagnosed: her new life began on that day: a life of sleepless nights and days filled with intense caregiving, witnessing the constant suffering of her daughter, and navigating all the systems of care that having a sick and disabled child demanded. Sophie is severely disabled as a result of the seizures and the medications. While she can walk, she needs complete assistance with all life tasks, including feeding and diapering. She is non-verbal and needs a wheelchair because she tires easily and has seizures unexpectedly. She has hurt herself countless times, knocked out permanent teeth, gotten stitches, broken her leg and hand and nose, as well as suffered contusions and scrapes.
Even as her mother became a nationally recognized advocate for children with special healthcare needs, she never gave up hope that there was something that might help her daughter and, as the years went by, she became more and more convinced the traditional treatments for refractory epilepsy were nothing but a crapshoot. When she started hearing about cannabis and its effects on seizures, she began to explore the cannabis laws in California and eventually found her way to a well-trusted cannabis provider.
In December of 2013, Sophie was one of my first patients to get tested quality CBD-rich oil. Within two weeks of starting the oil, Sophie had the first seizure-free day of her life, followed by a period of several weeks with no seizures. She began to smile and appeared relaxed and comfortable for the first time in decades.
It’s been two years since Sophie first began taking cannabis and, while not seizure-free, she has at least 90% fewer seizures and those she does have are shorter and less intense. Sophie recovers from them more quickly and hasn’t needed a rescue medication since she began taking cannabis. Her mother reports that they are slowly weaning Sophie off of the two medications she’s been on for eight years, and while withdrawal is difficult, the cannabis and added THC-rich oil has lessened those symptoms.
I think often about the birth of and then early diagnosis of Sophie – how her life and treatment virtually coincided with our initial forays into researching and learning about the cannabinoid system. Elizabeth doesn’t waste time thinking what Sophie’s life and the life of her family might have been if they had been able to try cannabis back when she was a baby and first diagnosed.
While she shared with me how angry she feels when she’s contacted by parents of young children on four and five medications yet still seizing, she is encouraged that more and more families in the epilepsy community are seeing the effects of cannabis medicine and fighting for access to it. She is at peace knowing Sophie’s quality of life is now dramatically better and that her whole family rests easier.
A guidebook for how the world’s most misunderstood plant is healing everything from chronic pain to epilepsy, Cannabis Revealed is the ultimate desktop companion for those whose work touches any part of the medical marijuana industry. Written by Bonni Goldstein, M.D., a well-respected practicing physician in California, and owner and Medical Director of Canna-Centers, this book explains the scientific research for over 28 chronic medical conditions for which cannabis is being used with positive results. Having helped thousands of suffering patients – including children – find relief with cannabis, Dr. Goldstein shares her expertise and years of clinical hands-on experience in chapters like How to Use Cannabis as Medicine, The Safety Profile of Cannabis, and Medical Risks of Using Cannabis, and more stories like Sophie’s that demonstrate how cannabis medicine has improved the lives of many seriously ill patients.
Educational, practical and comprehensive, Cannabis Revealed exposes the truth behind cannabis so patients can make informed decisions and improve the quality of their lives.
