Earlier today I saw a chat started in an online Lyme discussion group on whether other’s with Lyme disease felt better or worse when they smoked pot – aka, Cannabis, marijuana, Mary Jane. Some were saying they felt worse from it, and others said it helped. While reading their comments, I remembered an article I had seen on Sciencedaily.com about a year ago discussing how Cannibus suppresses certain critical parts of the immune system, “How Cannabis Suppresses Immune Functions: Cannabis Compounds Found To Trigger Unique Immune Cells Which Promote Cancer Growth”.
**For further research, and a differing point of view (why Cannabis may be beneficial to one’s health), please check out the ‘comments’ in the comments section below as there is some great information.**
If this is the case, it would make sense that some people would “feel better” smoking pot if they have Lyme disease. The Cannabis would be suppressing an immune system on high alert – one that is mounting a persistent attack on organisms in the body, and has potentially started treating even “benign” things as a threat, even attacking one’s own tissues, leading to autoimmunity.
But at what cost?
I once had a discussion with a doctor friend who had treated close to 40,000 people over his career, and he would joke about how he wanted to write an article entitled “The benefits of poisoning”. He said that when you poison the body’s cells with toxic substances, such as when people are poisoned by micromercurialism via their mercury amalgam tooth fillings (“silver” fillings), or they are exposed to low levels of arsenic, their immune system is often rendered unable to mount a response to foreign threats as they are immuno-suppressed from the poisoning. Because of this, one may “feel better”, e.g., have less food allergies, but they may actually be in a worse state because their body is no longer able to fight off those things it should. And being immuno-suppressed means you are open to a host of other illnesses. This is why those with Lyme disease are cautioned to NEVER take steroids as it only suppresses the symptoms and makes it more difficult for your body to fight infections off.
These are my thoughts of the day.
For further reading on the toxins found even in medical marijuana go here
Well, I know that I have Lyme since more than 4 years and I must admit just after the infestation of it I could not tolerate to smoke any Cannabis at all, but I could ingest it without any problems.
This is because if you smoke it, it goes more or less directly into your brain and cause there a lot of trouble by the die off of bacteria. This is good on one side but on the other side this Herxheimer reaction is to harsh for many people.
So far so good, I use it since the beginning of Lyme against the neuropathic pain and it works fantastically, no prescription medication could save me from this pain but Cannabis does. Don’t forget the depresion induced by Lyme, I simply have none. As well, all the other devastating symptoms are gone by the time.
So why should the combination be deadly?
Another point why some people may react extreme is the strain of Cannabis they use, the usual homegrown ones are THC rich and CBD low.
For Lymies are the natural medical strains preferably with an equal ratio of these two cannabinoides, so called landraces, they produce no such thing as anxiety or heart palpitations, they just calm you down and give you a deep relaxing sleep which is the best for your immune system!
I use landraces from the Himalayan region and I honestly must admit that they have saved my life so far, and I could walk again without a cane, my life has regained dignity.
Hey Juergen!
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. If Cannabis does indeed suppress the immune system, as posited by the studies, then one may “feel better” using it, but may in fact be worse off. That was the point I was making. Are you saying that Cannabis acts as an antibiotic when you say that it causes a die off of bacteria when smoked?
Danielle
Hi Danielle, yes of course some cannabinoides have germ killing properties, they even kill the MRSA strains, so it is at least probable that they kill the borrelias too. So far for me it works, cause the intervals between the antibiotic circles are quite long, I stay well in remission over a long time period.
Regarding the suppression of the immune system, the cannabinoides does no harm to it at all, instead it harmonizes the natural immune reaction towards a normal reaction. This happens only if the plant has been grown naturally and absolutely organically without any synthetical fertilizer, herbicide or fungicide outdoors in the sun.
So to say: Don’t panic – it’s organic.
Juergen
Please don’t believe everything you read lol. Case in point, I have 3 friends cured of cancer and 3 friends children cured from Seizure disorders because of cannabis, nothing else. You get limited medicinal benefit from smoking it and if you are not vaporizing it and just smoking out of a glass piece then you are getting the toxins from burning it. The article you sited for their study have been known by many in the medical and cannabis community as being bought off by Big Pharma. I know this to be true after working for Big Pharma and the FDA as an RN for many years and being an advocate for medical cannabis
Cannabis contains cannabinoids which are NOT harmful. In fact our brain and body naturally make cannabinoids, but over time as we age and the more toxic we are from Chronic Illness such as Lyme like we all have then ability for our body to make them decreases. Medical Marijuana must be used in specific ways ritualistically in order for you to see the health benefits. Conversely it can be dangerous for some Lymies. Not because it causes toxins itself, but in how they use it and also if they have methylation issues(genetic detox issues which most Lymies have but most Docs are morons and do not recognize this or test for it, therefore you suffer thinking you are dying). I could not take cannabis for 2 years until my methylation protocol started ot work and now I can take my medicine with no issues. Again, the toxic effect is NOT the cannabis at all. It does NOT suppress the immune system. It tames the TH1 or TH2 immune dominance, but doesnt suppress.
You might be interested in reading the new book coming out by one of my mentors in medical cannabis use in cancer, autism and other chronic illnesses. Nothing has worked for my pain except cannabis. It saved my life. Please do diligent research before posting something like this on the internet. People if informed on the proper use can benefit, live and thrive. With misinformation out there like this it’s not cool. Below is a link to Dr. Sircus website. Mark A. Sircus, Ac., OMD, is director of the International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA) http://www.imva.info/.
He also is the author of this article on Natural News dot com.
http://www.naturalnews.com/034425_marijuana_cannabinoids_medicine.html
And here is the book he wrote
http://blog.imva.info/medicine/autism-spectrum-disorders
Here is another article by a well respected medical cannabis research MD on juicing the fresh leaves.
http://www.medicann.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Summer2010.pdf
And finally here is the medical abstract of what cannabis contains. It is an antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and much much more
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has long been known to contain antibacterial cannabinoids, whose potential to address antibiotic resistance has not yet been investigated. All five major cannabinoids (cannabidiol (1b), cannabichromene (2), cannabigerol (3b), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (4b), and cannabinol (5)) showed potent activity against a variety of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains of current clinical relevance. Activity was remarkably tolerant to the nature of the prenyl moiety, to its relative position compared to the n-pentyl moiety (abnormal cannabinoids), and to carboxylation of the resorcinyl moiety (pre-cannabinoids). Conversely, methylation and acetylation of the phenolic hydroxyls, esterification of the carboxylic group of pre-cannabinoids, and introduction of a second prenyl moiety were all detrimental for antibacterial activity. Taken together, these observations suggest that the prenyl moiety of cannabinoids serves mainly as a modulator of lipid affinity for the olivetol core, a per se poorly active antibacterial pharmacophore, while their high potency definitely suggests a specific, but yet elusive, mechanism of activity.
Also anything that isnt grown organically or handled by a reputable Dispensary can have mold or pesticides. The exact reason to know your grower or cannabis club.
I absolutely agree with you Devi, the fresh plant material has to be tried and maturated in an controlled atmosphere, the process is called fermentation.
The medicine has to be free of such things as mold, synth. pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. Only then it works without negative side effects.
I have to add a link:
http://www.canadiancoop.com/index.php/medical/medical-conditions
Look up there for further informations, please.
Hi guys, The sciencedaily article and discussion about Cannabis and Lyme inspired my article, which is just a discussion of “if” it suppresses the immune system then it would be harmful for those with Lyme. I am glad it subsequently inspired further debate, and I appreciate your knowledge and correction of points that you feel are biased and/or not true. I added this to the article above. **For further research, and a differing point of view (why Cannabis may be beneficial to one’s health), please check out the ‘comments’ in the comments section below as there is some great information.**
Thx for sharing on here and for the great dialogue.
Danielle
Im sorry but why hasnt my other comment been approved? With the links to disprove your theory? Again here it is….many people are not watching this blog who support medicinal marijuana and they want to know why. Here it is again just in case there was a glitch, but I dont thin so as my second comment above was posted and the other says awaiting approval from moderator. Thanks
Please don’t believe everything you read lol. Case in point, I have 3 friends cured of cancer and 3 friends children cured from Seizure disorders because of cannabis, nothing else. You get limited medicinal benefit from smoking it and if you are not vaporizing it and just smoking out of a glass piece then you are getting the toxins from burning it. The article you sited for their study have been known by many in the medical and cannabis community as being bought off by Big Pharma. I know this to be true after working for Big Pharma and the FDA as an RN for many years and being an advocate for medical cannabis
Cannabis contains cannabinoids which are NOT harmful. In fact our brain and body naturally make cannabinoids, but over time as we age and the more toxic we are from Chronic Illness such as Lyme like we all have then ability for our body to make them decreases. Medical Marijuana must be used in specific ways ritualistically in order for you to see the health benefits. Conversely it can be dangerous for some Lymies. Not because it causes toxins itself, but in how they use it and also if they have methylation issues(genetic detox issues which most Lymies have but most Docs are morons and do not recognize this or test for it, therefore you suffer thinking you are dying). I could not take cannabis for 2 years until my methylation protocol started ot work and now I can take my medicine with no issues. Again, the toxic effect is NOT the cannabis at all. It does NOT suppress the immune system. It tames the TH1 or TH2 immune dominance, but doesnt suppress.
You might be interested in reading the new book coming out by one of my mentors in medical cannabis use in cancer, autism and other chronic illnesses. Nothing has worked for my pain except cannabis. It saved my life. Please do diligent research before posting something like this on the internet. People if informed on the proper use can benefit, live and thrive. With misinformation out there like this it’s not cool. Below is a link to Dr. Sircus website. Mark A. Sircus, Ac., OMD, is director of the International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA) http://www.imva.info/.
He also is the author of this article on Natural News dot com.
http://www.naturalnews.com/034425_marijuana_cannabinoids_medicine.html
And here is the book he wrote
http://blog.imva.info/medicine/autism-spectrum-disorders
Here is another article by a well respected medical cannabis research MD on juicing the fresh leaves.
http://www.medicann.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Summer2010.pdf
And finally here is the medical abstract of what cannabis contains. It is an antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and much much more
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has long been known to contain antibacterial cannabinoids, whose potential to address antibiotic resistance has not yet been investigated. All five major cannabinoids (cannabidiol (1b), cannabichromene (2), cannabigerol (3b), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (4b), and cannabinol (5)) showed potent activity against a variety of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains of current clinical relevance. Activity was remarkably tolerant to the nature of the prenyl moiety, to its relative position compared to the n-pentyl moiety (abnormal cannabinoids), and to carboxylation of the resorcinyl moiety (pre-cannabinoids). Conversely, methylation and acetylation of the phenolic hydroxyls, esterification of the carboxylic group of pre-cannabinoids, and introduction of a second prenyl moiety were all detrimental for antibacterial activity. Taken together, these observations suggest that the prenyl moiety of cannabinoids serves mainly as a modulator of lipid affinity for the olivetol core, a per se poorly active antibacterial pharmacophore, while their high potency definitely suggests a specific, but yet elusive, mechanism of activity.
I apologize, my blog has a spam filter on and it held this for approval. I don’t have time to respond now, but I appreciate your comments and insights and think it is a great discussion. I only put forth a theory, and if my posited conclusion is based on a false premise, then I would happily concede your points. I don’t believe everything I read
But I will have to read what you have all written more carefully when I can in the next day or so. Thanks!
Thank you