Prompted by “Solanezumab: Is the first disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s on the horizon?”: http://www.dementiablog.org/solanezumab/
We’re hearing in the news that a new treatment designed to slow Alzheimer’s has shown benefit in one of the final stages of testing in people.
Feel free to read the prompting piece, but if you want helpful information, then keep your attentive eyes (or screen reader) upon this post.
What we’re disgustingly not hearing in the news (or even from dementia organizations) is the highly competitive cannabis (the scientific term for marijuana) option is scientifically vastly superior — including being the only drug showing signs of working against the disease with little to no harsh side effects.
With millions of people suffering from dementia (and millions more heading towards that terrifying target sight), a serious crime is publicly ignoring the (at least arguably) dominant and current option of cannabis.
Moreover, my personal “caregivee” (that really should be a word, linguists, btw/fwiw/imho) was formally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) roughly a year ago.
Since my “caregivee” is concerned about the AD stigma (but is thankfully showing signs of willingness to come out of that protective shell to help other people), I’ll use the fictitious name Anna here.
With concerns of being dumped in a nursing home (despite my honest reassurances to the contrary) and lacking confidence in current medical application (including what she called “hell” in her 2009 extensive mental testing), Anna reluctantly agreed to even go to receive that confirming diagnosis (she hid those extensive test results from me, but I was with her during her last visit to a new neurologist). I convinced her on the basis that having that formal diagnosis would be helpful (and would end her need to visit neurologists whom clearly are just beginning to get some grip on this disease anyways).
Likely harmed by serious anxiety, Anna struggled with the hour and a half long testing.
To give you a sense of her condition, she clearly had some serious memory issues (e.g. she wasn’t even close, when asked what year it was), but was still then capable of bathing, putting on clothes, and performing other common tasks.
Her neurologist was clearly baffled by her ability to even understand the diagnosis (the test results were that poor), and even though I asked twice, she refused to provide us a stage number (AD is measured in seven stages). When I explained the need to move to another town (albeit one familiar to Anna) to eliminate a serious stressor, her neurologist expressed concern over Anna becoming seriously confused upon that move. Finally, she prescribed Namenda (Aricept wasn’t an option due to minor inflammatory bowel disease), but we held off for many reasons.
Given research, anecdotal evidence (including someone never using illicit drugs before becoming a cannabis believer in the Alzheimer’s Association forums), cost, and all other factors, we decided the cannabis option would be best in Anna’s case.
Even just after a few months, the results have been truly astonishing. Noticeable and continuous improvement has occurred (family and friends — a couple of them with ample AD witness elsewhere — have expressed positive surprise). While I’m not ready to claim a cure has been achieved, the results equally and brilliantly match the best claims made by all other available drugs — without any observable side effects.
Cannabis has also eliminated Anna’s complaints over mild inflammatory bowel disease (eliminating the need for another prescription), even despite questionable eating habits (everyone has at least one vice).
Anna was a “worrywart”, according to her last primary care physician — who spent several years changing up anxiety/depression prescriptions (noting Anna often complained about the heavy side effects) while outright condemning medical cannabis.
Upon carefully ending twice-daily Lorazepam medication (redundant with cannabis), Anna then brilliantly shined — and has a new primary care physician unfamiliar with medical cannabis, but appreciative of the positive results (and encourages staying the course). Her only remaining traditional western medicine prescription is Losartan for high blood pressure (which works well, but I need to start recording Anna’s blood pressure regularly to ensure its need).
Anna now walks for over an hour daily (weather permitting) without getting lost (which happened once last fall, and began my concern over the inability to walk without company). Walking is a serious deal for Anna (it’s her only exercise these days, and she loves it). She’s not into academic exercise, but prefers social intellect and other mental and physical exercises tuned in with her personality.
Anna now goes to bed at 8:00pm, instead of the worrisome 6-7pm time slot for roughly the past year before cannabis use. She consistently respectably gets up around 7:00am and seems nicely fresh and ready for the day.
Anna is much more coherent. There has been no decline in speech capability (something I’m meticulously observing), and she doesn’t abnormally repeat herself as much.
Anna was a homemaker, so now voluntarily (and thankfully) finds value in cleaning our humble apartment.
Anna has concerns (we all do), especially financial ones (we’re both stable with a very detailed budget, but even modestly more resources would be wonderful — something I’m working very hard to help us remedy right). However, Anna no longer demonstrates “worrywart” behavior. Her demeanor is brilliant now, and we continue to work on enhancing faith against fear for better sleep and diet.
Meticulously applied medical cannabis as a part of palliative care to maximally reduce unhealthy stress has been the full formula. Cannabis alone will not suffice, if the stressors causing brain inflammation excessively continue. A healthy relaxation ethic is needed to minimize (if not eliminate) that problematic mental distortion.
Granted, cannabis isn’t for everyone, so if other drugs work, then great!
Consuming cannabis (especially economically) is not as simple as taking a pill, and many (if not overwhelmingly most) strains could become problematic due to facilitating hallucinations (already a concern with dementia sufferers). Recklessly abusing cannabis is extremely discouraged, and even cannabis experts don’t have a solid grip in this mentality case. We’re like the American frontier folks pressing westward to uncover new settlements (and my journal here chronicles our experiences — like sending messages back east — for hopefully societal benefit).
In the morning, Anna takes one puff of a small pinch of the strain named “Cheese” (simple, uplifting, and Zen-like effects — named for its cheese-like bouquet) in an electronic vaporizer with temperature control (set high for now, but may be reduced for healthier impact). Because one puff does not exhaust that pinch, Anna takes another puff in the afternoon of that same pinch. Right before going to bed, Anna takes two puffs of “San Fernando OG Kush”, which has equally simple texture, but a gentle ‘lullaby’ weight to facilitate sleep. Anna never appears stoned (or such) — just normal and healthy (the dose is very mild but wonderfully effective).
By using such small pinches, a quarter ounce of each strain shows signs of lasting roughly a year (for $100 each without insurance helping out). Compare that cost with other AD drugs with no promise of working against the disease itself. Note the electronic vaporizer (Puffit-X) costs less than $200, but the device (which looks like a standard Asthma inhaler — so familiar to Anna whom has never used illicit drugs before — and has a small enough chamber to work with small pinches) is well worth it. At least according to state medical cannabis literature, such mild dosage remains fixed and effective without increasing tolerance.
If you’re not allergic to cannabis, then you should definitely consider the cannabis option. While I’m unable to be a professional caregiver, this entertainer will do whatever I lawfully can to help people use medical (and even recreational) cannabis for positive health. While cannabis effects can be strongly controlled for responsible use, the set of possible effects to choose from is truly oceanic — some strains challenge the mind (basically like rock music does), while others facilitate relaxation and other mind-friendly results — all with a wide variety of styles to likely fit the complex uniqueness amongst the masses.
Anna has a state-sanctioned medical cannabis license, so we’re in compliance with state and local law — but on behalf of the roughly millions of non-violent people harshly impacted by another demonstrably failed prohibition — we choose to righteously apply the ‘sometimes you gotta break the rules’ mindset in the form of standing bravely firm against federal law (which isn’t really law, according to a legally restored Commerce Clause in constitutional fact — not blatantly corrupt judicial opinion).
I sincerely appreciate the honest efforts of the dementia-opposing community, but ignoring the cannabis option is simply intolerable — and despite my best efforts, I cannot hide my outrage over the severely obscene public attitude against this amazing plant. The fact is there’s no experimental science proving any harm from moderate use (moderate meaning any use without objectively proven harm). Cannabis Prohibition (like Alcohol Prohibition that “mysteriously” required a federal constitutional amendment) is reckless, liberty-infringing, and outright wrong — based upon the whole truth and nothing but.
I’ll do my best to bring the cannabis option into proper light for people dealing with dementia with reasonable confidence that the cure (or at least prevention) of dementia has already been discovered.
My sincerest hope is readers will spread the word. “Say Cheese” is one of my programs designed to raise public awareness of this excellent strain for both medical and recreational use (a nicely mild vaporized intake of Cheese would at least likely healthily crush the alcohol nightcap). The Cheese strain may be too difficult to find in many places, and that problem needs prompt and widespread remedy.
Cannabis does so much for the body, so it’s easy to see why people consider it “snake oil”.
How does cannabis deliver such amazing healthy remedy?
The body is purely energetic, according to mainstream physics. Healthy living is all about healthy energetic tuning (hint to anyone in the medical community still operating as if unaware of that fact). Your body has an endocannabinoid system that plays a serious role in your health (scientists are still beginning to understand this system), and cannabis works like a complex and symphonic set of filters for improved energy flow (when used right — riskily, if not dangerously, the opposite when abused). Cannabis takes advantage of the Placebo effect without being a placebo (it helps the user’s brain energetically flow healthier, so wields that effect to heal the body).
The result is a powerful and seriously flexible symphonic tuning agent for greatly harmonizing your body.
Even the memory and cognitive impairment claims (which are severely exaggerated for demonization sake) actually hold at least hypothetical promise for dementia sufferers, because such “impairment” also prevents overdriving those areas of the brain, which logically wears down those mental parts to the point of breakage.
While traditional prescriptions serve to scientifically target specific areas (a resonating solution often with serious side effects due to unintended consequences), cannabis’ strength is the medically counterintuitive symphonic approach — a wonderful effect used by millions, if not billions, of people for thousands of years without actual harm — and a good thing for the still-largely misunderstood brain with an estimated 100 billion neurons orchestrating your thoughts and actions.
What are your thoughts and actions now with respect to cannabis?
If this post isn’t long enough for you, then I have much more reading (all free and conveniently accessible — no registration required) to fully honestly meet that satisfaction…
Mind Always Matters campaign (especially the Heads Up program)
Respect Cannabis campaign (leveraging cannabis popularity to focus upon intentional perception alteration itself)
…and if you care about law (and you should due to the serious societal concern of law abuse)…
Liberty Shield project (defining scientific constitutionalism to righteously prevent judicial entrenchment of unethical favoritism by law and end governmental madness against public safety overall)
I am an honest freak (or reasonably responsibly balanced "misfit", if you prefer) of an artist working and resting to best carefully contribute towards helping society. Too many people abuse reasoning (e.g. 'partial truth = whole truth' scam), while I exercise reason to explore and express whole truth without any conflict-of-interest -- all within a sometimes offbeat style of psychedelic artistry.
Spirit Wave Journal 
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