[raisin]

_{Now the legal status of this practice is extremely varied based on your area, so as a disclaimer : I'm not advocating doing anything illegal.}

Either those still healing, or on occasions of accidental gluten-consumption; often prone to difficult menstruation, digestive/joint/muscle pains, loss of appetite, migraines, extreme stress, inability to sleep, depression, and many other problems marijuana has been used to treat.

Have there been any studies done on the potential benefits/harms of Medical Marijuana for Celiacs? Does any do/has anyone tried this, and if so, what was your conclusions?

[cat3883]

My conclusion is that I like to do everything drug free if possible. Just go on a gluten free diet and everything will get better.

[raisin]

It was a medical question, not a moral question.

Some of us can't cope without medical aid, like Ibuprofen, sleep medicine or caffeine, herbs like Slippery Elm, etc. If you don't need anything of the sort, good for you.

[luvthelake21]

Just my 2cents I think pot would make a lot of people feel better. I am sure it could be harmful but so is smoking cigaretts and you get no benefit from them. When I was young my Aunt had cancer and her husband would go buy her some pot in the city, after she smoked it she would be able to eat. All these years later I still think that is what saved her.

[maile]

luvthelake21, on Feb 19 2009, 07:30 PM, said:

When I was young my Aunt had cancer and her husband would go buy her some pot in the city, after she smoked it she would be able to eat. All these years later I still think that is what saved her.

this is quite a common reaction and also why the use for medicinal purposes is legal in Canada (it has to be prescribed and is supposed to come from gov't controlled source) I've seen it mentioned as a use for MS patients as well but never heard of it for celiac.

[Jestgar]

I think it would be hard to justify its use for celiac disease, since the treatment is just 'don't eat gluten'.

[dilettantesteph]

I hear that you should use a pipe and not rolling papers as the adhesive contains gluten. Just in case.

[ravenwoodglass]

There is actually quite a bit on the net about it. It can be quite helpful it seems for a lot of things. Although it wouldn't be appropriate as a substitute for the diet it could help when folks were glutened. In states where it can be prescibed it appears celiac is one of the things they prescribe it for.
Unfortunately even in states where the state has legalized it for medical use it is still illegal under Federal Law.

[GFqueen17]

Jestgar, on Feb 19 2009, 10:41 PM, said:

I think it would be hard to justify its use for celiac disease, since the treatment is just 'don't eat gluten'.

The poster said "for those still healing or for accidental gluten consumption"


I think it would be extremely helpful but I dont think that people who dont have celiac disease would understand and therefor it would be very difficult to make legal for us.

[Jestgar]

GFqueen17, on Feb 20 2009, 09:49 AM, said:

The poster said "for those still healing or for accidental gluten consumption"

I understand. I just don't think you could make a viable legal argument for it's use.

[julirama723]

Medical marijuana does help with nausea and it does give users an appetite. I knew a woman with cancer who used marijuana as a last resort because she absolutely could NOT eat anything.

However, I think it might not be the best idea for a celiac patient to use it, just because of the specific dietary needs of the patient. I'm not saying that every celiac would do this, but I think good judgement seems to fly out the window under the influence of controlled substances. Or, maybe not a lapse in judgement, but the inability to think clearly--what if someone who has just been glutened uses marijuana to assist with appetite, only to accidentally eat something with more gluten?

I'm not saying it would happen, but look at all the times people have accidentally eaten gluten, being of sound mind and body. I can see where the chance of that happening would increase dramatically, smoking pot.

[elonwy]

I smoke, so I'll pipe up here. (pun not intended, but enjoyed)
I get a definite benefit from smoking when I have gluten symptoms. It calms the raging belly storm and eases the pain. It affects my appetite in the opposite way, when I get glutened I want to eat constantly, and the weed actually chills that out.
As for the judgement issues... I think there is a big difference between getting stoned out of your gourd and smoking some medical marijuana to ease your pain. When you're smoking it for pain relief, its like any other pain reliever, you don't get as "high" on it when its working on the pain, where as when you do it symptom free, you get baked.
I wouldn't go driving a car or anything, but I find the weed actually makes me less manic and less prone to eating everything in sight. It is however, a distinct possibility that I'm just weird.

[maile]

elonwy, on Feb 20 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

When you're smoking it for pain relief, its like any other pain reliever, you don't get as "high" on it when its working on the pain, where as when you do it symptom free, you get baked..I wouldn't go driving a car or anything, but I find the weed actually makes me less manic and less prone to eating everything in sight. It is however, a distinct possibility that I'm just weird.

I think you've got a very good point! I'm not a user but I have watched someone in palliative care for a long time and was able to observe the effect of drugs on people in pain. In this person's case she was on Fentynl (sp? ....and yes, not anything like weed) and it was the drug that made her lucid and as normal as she could be under the circumstances. So I could certainly see the benefits for some!

[ravenwoodglass]

elonwy, on Feb 20 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

As for the judgement issues... I think there is a big difference between getting stoned out of your gourd and smoking some medical marijuana to ease your pain. When you're smoking it for pain relief, its like any other pain reliever, you don't get as "high" on it when its working on the pain, where as when you do it symptom free, you get baked.

This is a very valid point that actually applies to a lot of drugs. Also I think when folks use it to relieve symptoms they don't always consume like the folks that are doing it to get 'high'. Most people think of the 'pot head' sort of thing where folks smoke themselves into a stupor and just sit around all day. When folks are using it as a medicine they generally use much smaller amounts.
People don't think of the person who has a glass of wine with every dinner as having a drinking problem, they can see the difference between them and the person who downs a bottle or a 12 pack a night. But those same folks can't see the difference between the person who smokes a couple hits for symptom relief and the guy who smokes 3 joints and just sits in the corner or even the person in the alley shooting heroin.

[luvthelake21]

I know of Lawyers, Business people, and Working people who smoke and live a very productive life. I think if it was good enough for the Indians it should be good enough for us. At least its natural. I also beleive used in moderation it would help for many medical uses including Celiac.