Marijuana Vs. Methadone

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Audit the Audit

Welcome Home, Tom

Remember when L. Paul Jerry Bremer, of Kissinger and Associates, had those pallets of cash flown into Iraq? I think we know where all THAT cash ended up don't we. After he came back home from Iraq and he got a medal from Bush for his eftfros, one of the first things he did was remodel his house. You can bet that Ben Bernanke, Paulson, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and the other members of the gang of thieves got a lot of that two trillion dollars. If there's anyone left who doesn't think these people are the worst criminals in the world, they haven't been paying attention.

Dr. Leveque, I am shocked at your lack of medical knowledge!

 Editor: I almost deleted this post from your first line.  Are you capable of reading his bio?  Do you have more medical experience in years or degrees?  Do you have the capability of understanding that you might be missing part of this?  There is probably not a medical expert alive who knows more than this Doctor.  What shocks me is that you or anyone else would be so indirectly boastful toward a person they should respect.  I suspect without reading all of this from you   that you are like the Oxycontin shills and trolls being paid to advocate for these deadly drugs.  I sincerely doubt you know much except how to advocate for drugs, this crap kill.  I suspect you really are off keel by educating Dr. Leveque about this history of marijuana, that is simply outrageous.  You are off track and I am going to publish this, people see your attempt to tell Dr. Leveque what he has written about hundreds of times will be comedic for our readers.

It's shameful! Methadone was FIRST AND FOREMOST used to treat pain! It was later used to treat addiction, as a means to get patients off of other drugs, namely heroin. Methadone has been a pain medication for so long, it's very inexpensive. And sadly, the rise in Methadone use is attributable to the government's request for doctors to use Methadone as a firstline treatment for severe pain in their Medicaid patients. The patients that lost their lives were the unfortunate victims of an overburdened Medicaid system forcing the hands of physicians who were NOT given any training on use of a complex medication like Methadone. Please see http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016987032_silent11.html.

With proper education, this drug saves so many lives--hundreds of thousands each year. It's irresponsible to make this pain med seem dangerous when it is truly not what you're making it out to be. It's not bad, dangerous or evil. In the wrong hands, it is a huge problem and I am sorry that anyone was hurt by an overburdened system like Medicaid. (I know the feeling, having been permanently disabled by Worker's Comp!)

WHAT I WISH YOU'D UNDERSTAND, ABOVE ALL: Marijuana is a good treatment for some people with pain. But, it doesn't work for everyone. That's why there are so many different pain medications in the first place. There is no ONE treatment for everyone. We're all different and I am happy that some people benefit from marijuana, and wish it was a safe and legal treatment everywhere. However, I cannot use this treatment--it does not work for me. I am one of many who take prescription pain medications safely, as intended. And, I've been using opioids for over a decade. Please don't go around touting your treatment, implying that another treatment is somehow wrong and less safe unless you know the story. You don't! Clearly, as someone saying one drug is "better" than another, you know very little about moderate-severe pain. Or any pain, for that matter. If only pain care were that simple!

Further, you say that marijuana wasn't used for pain until the Vietnam War? WRONG! It's first recorded use was in China *centuries ago* ! I am appalled that you don't even know the history of the treatment you are so in favor of! Here's an easy site to read the details on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis#History. You will see there that the first recorded use of marijuana as an analgesic was in the early 3rd century CE! This fact can be found all over the place, if you'd just look.

Chronic pain is a very complex condition. Intractable Pain is even moreso. It's sad that you feel you had to resort to cheap ploys like mudslinging and deliberate controversy. You could've just touted the benefits of the treatment you believe in, even if you don't have any facts whatsoever to back up what you're saying.

What's even more sad is that you've chosen to attack a treatment that has saved so many lives. And, by doing so, you're also attacking the pain sufferers nationwide who use this treatment! Really, doctor, I think you can do better than this! And you really should!

Even if I am dubious of your supposed pain care background, I still think you and the ENTIRE pain community should stop taking jabs at one treatment vs. another and just agree that they all have merits. Doesn't make for juicy headlines, but it's the TRUTH!

Dr Phil gives true info, but too many cannott accept the truth because they think the government is here to help us, and if they actually had to think for themselves they would go ballistic. Another reason the welfare state does not work. Welfare states could work if the leaders were honest, but that aint gonna happen, so, the welfare state will be used to control and destroy us..Guaranteed.