Sorry. I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just saying, you should focus on the practicalities here before things get worse. Your Sister? She’ll get over it. I’m a sister, too, so I know how it goes.
And this here -
- is the honest truth.
Sorry, I can’t know exactly how evil you are until I get a chance to visit you, and learn whether you’re the type to share when you spark up…
If you’re still getting the same relief from the same dose, the big problems for you are the fact that it’s an illegal drug that has certain consequences for jobs, licenses, relationships, etc. should you run afoul of the standard mores. Rightly or wrongly, this happens.
You may also be at greater risk for accident and injury, as a recent study indicates that marijuana is present in a dysproportionately higher number of people than the usual general population for folks in fatal car crashes. (this is the ‘safety’ part that’s missing from ‘safe and effective’ clearance that I mentioned earlier.)
It’s not good for the lungs (though not as bad as tobacco) if you smoke it.
It’s a drug that stays in the system for a long time, and affects a person’s physiology in many ways, even when the person believes they’re over the effects of the last dose. And the proper effective dosage to ameliorate your type of symptoms while minimizing side-effects is largely unknown.
So basically it’s hard to give you an accurate risk/benefit assessment for this drug, because it’s not been well-studied for the purpose you’re taking it.
You’re free to decide if the perceived benefits outweigh the perceived risks, or if perhaps it would be better to pursue other more proven therapies for your symptoms which don’t have these same risks.
sigh
Ok, look. You’ve posted this in The Pit and so far there hasn’t really been any political discourse or flames or really anything amounting to much more than a polite request for more information from a medical professional regarding a mild disconnect between a number of observations. I admit my guilt in perpetuating this faux pas but lest this thread fail to get completely out of hand, I would be willing to prime the flamethrower with the following:
Why so coy, OP? Why make us drag out of you the circumstances of you getting outed as law-breaker and social dissident? And now this obliquely titlating gem of “a family secret” that just begs for more detail?
There. That’ll larn her.
(sorry, I’m really not good at Pit threads)
not what you’d expect, I feel your pain. I have been suffering with menopause for over 2 years now. The insomnia is what’s killing me. I just need more sleep than I’m getting.
I wish MM was legal in Georgia. It’s not and never will be, at least not in my lifetime. The rare occasion when I get a little smoke ends up with being a lovely night’s sleep.
Do get your card legally.
And as far as your sister - well, until she’s walked in your shoes she really doesn’t have the right to be judgmental. I’m sure you are disappointed your sister is so hateful to you. Remember, you can choose your friends; you don’t get to choose your relatives.
Don’t let her attitude ruin your life.
Not exactly paranoid, but your guilt feelings may be a variant of that effect.
Merneith, I know you were not being mean. The truth hurts, so I said ouch. :0) I really do appreciate all the input. You all have made a tough morning a little better.
Kaylasdad, if you head up north, I’d be happy to share.
QTM, ok, thanks for the information. I do need to assess this. One final question, other than hormone replacement therapy, what other options are there? In general, I don’t want to abuse your expertise.
Inigo, I put it here because I just had no idea what to expect. An abundance of caution…in case someone wants to tell me I’m a stupid fucking pothead poopyface. Or something.
And I’m not trying to be coy. Really, I’m not. Just trying to retain a smidge of dignity.
SnakesCatLady, Thanks for your response. I feel your pain. I don’t know what is worse, the extreme hot flashing, the insomnia or the night sweats that leave everything too gross to stay in/on.
Oh and Diosa, thanks again for the information.
What I’m proposing is a different tack from that. Your sister probably didn’t buy it, as you were probably a little uncomfortable knowing a secret concerning her. She was picking up that vibe, without knowing the truth behind it.
Turn the tables on her, is what I’m proposing. Sit her down and tell her you’re upset because of the unease between you. Say you’ve thought about it and want to own your part in it, in the name of restoring harmony. Say you’re only reacting to the slight of your mother preferring to see the more important people in her life later, getting you out of the way early. Tell her you were deeply hurt by this and that you have resented her ever since. That you feel it’s negatively affecting your relationship, that you know you need to get over it, and grow up. Ask for her forgiveness.
See how neat and tidy that is? And different, entirely from, “But she only wanted to ask me to look after you, always!” That doesn’t address the feeling she got from you at the time adequately at all, only leaves her wondering what she’s missing.
Family secrets are a bitch!
Okay, that is probably the most profound thing I have ever read on this message board. I have always been against little social lies, but that is just too amazing. Completely and totally inverting the problem. Wow. I will have to remember that.
Havent read the whole thread but I’d like my confusion over some aspects of it cleared:
-I understand from threads here than in the US your employer can demand drug tests on you. How does that work when you have a Pot Card (yeah I dont remember the real name)?
-from the OP, apparently she is being prescribed pot but does not have an active doctor to which she reports. How is that even possible?
-Presciptions are limited in time, even renewable ones. Does that mean pot clinics (I assume that’s where the OP gets her pot) only pay lip service to the legalities that cover their practice?
Undetermined. States have their own laws, but medicinal marijuana is not legal under federal law. It’s a mess.
I’m not clear on whether the OP has a prescription, but I understand many of these clinics aren’t really using pharmacy standards for distribution. And you can get pot almost anywhere in the US pretty easily.
In California, it isn’t a prescription- it’s a recommendation. A doctor is recommending that pot may fix you and with that, you can go to a dispensary and get pot. I think you have to renew your recommendation once a year or something like that. Certainly, there are sketchy places that will give a recommendation to anyone, but then there are also more legitimate places that do deny people unless the doctor actually thinks the pot will be medically beneficial to the user.
From what I’m taking away from the OP: while pot is medicinally “legal” where she lives (California), she doesn’t have a medical card. Which would imply to me that she’s just illegally buying drugs, rather than going through the proper, legal channel. Her vagueness is probably because we on the Dope are not supposed to talk about illegal activities. What some of us are saying is that her getting a card would add some legitimacy to her use, not only legally (most important), but perhaps also in the eyes of her employer.
She was pretty clear that she does not.
Just for some clarification here: there is a big difference between a clinic and a dispensary in California (where the OP resides). These two places can not be related to one another in any way, because of the big ol’ jumble of State vs Federal legality.
A clinic will under no circumstances have pot on the premises. It’s just a medical office where a doctor evaluates a patient and decides whether or not to give the patient a recommendation for marijuana. Some clinics are sketchy and will give a recommendation to any body who pays the fee ($50-$250)-- so, all you have to do is come in and say you have social anxiety or trouble sleeping, and they’ll give it to you. Then, there are more legitimate clinics (like where my friend’s boyfriend worked) that do more comprehensive medical diagnostics on people and quite often give them different (actual pharmaceutical) prescriptions to cure whatever is wrong with them.
A clinic doctor can’t do anything pertaining to marijuana other than write a pot recommendation. That’s it. If the patient asks where they can get pot, the doctor can’t answer that question (lest they get busted for helping distribute pot). If a patient asks about one dispensary vs another, the doctor cannot answer that question. If the patient asks if pot will definitively help them, the doctor can’t answer that either. On and on. Lots of technicalities (which I’m only hip to because my friend’s boyfriend took a special class on the legality of working at these places and was talking to us about it)
A dispensary sells pot in all kinds of forms— they have different strains for different ailments, baked goods, candy, lollipops, etc. You can’t go into a dispensary unless you have a doctor’s recommendation. There are sketchy gross dispensaries in bad parts of town, then there are upscale “boutique” dispensaries with all kinds of fancy pants things (really high end chocolates/baked goods, etc).
I really dont understand the logic of a medical protocol (would that be the right word?) where you have a doctor that can prescribe you pot, you have legal pot dispensaries, but the doctor cant direct you to them? Where’s the sense in that?
I agree with you completely, but there it is.
I dunno if this will make you feel better, but I’ve known more than one person (including my own mother) who have converted from outright evangelical sanctimony about my past weed-smoking to asking me for some. I don’t smoke it anymore (due to lack of access), and wouldn’t be able to get it for them anyway, but it made me feel smug that their attitude had done such a 180 when they actually fucking needed it. It’s like the young assholes who make fun of handicapped people until they themselves become handicapped. Then whoa, watch their activism. :rolleyes:
Get a card. Show it to your employer. And tell your sister you’d love to talk to her when she pulls her head out of her ass someday. If this causes you to lose your job, it’s the fault of the times we live in and the small-mindedness of your employers, not you. That doesn’t get your job back, of course, but I hope it makes you feel better. By the time I’m old and moldy, I’m sure it will be legal everywhere. It’s just not there yet.
From Tripolar’s post, I would have thought only remote places wouldnt have an easy access to pot.
Update: It has cost me my job. I suspected it might.
Yes, I’m being vague Capitaine (or not TDN) trying to abide by the rules of the board.
It’s probably the best outcome so long as I don’t get run out town. 
Thanks everyone.
Probably one good long cry in the shower and I’ll be all ready to get past this and start our business venture and be a huge success and then I’ll host the next dopefest at a wonderful exotic location. And we’ll all live happily ever after. Or I’ll end up homeless and toothless. Only time will tell.
If you don’t have a state sanctioned dispensary system available (sorry, used the wrong term before), you do have to know somebody. By easy I didn’t mean you can pick it up at the mall, it’s just that there are millions of people who smoke marijuana in the US, and there is plenty of it available. It’s still illegal for the most part, so it’s difficult to get if you don’t know someone who is connected, and I assume embarassing for some people to ask about it. Depending where you are located, there may not be much enforcement of the laws. In some states it’s decriminalized, possession of small amounts is a misdemeanor. In remote places it can be easier because you can grow it and nobody will know.