I agree with spendocrat, 2nd Sept!

But alas some of us with chronic illness such as I have also suffer
from severe sleep disorders where I find I can't get a good night
sleep without a little grass! Without it I just wake up feeling
like I haven't slept at all.

Also my CFS stops me from feeling hungry, & smoking a weak joint is
enough to give me the munchies so I don't lose weight!

On top of that is the pain factor! I've suffererd from CFS since I was
24yo & been housebound & on a dissability pension ever since, which is
now 11 years of constant never ending pain & fatigue, & many doctors
here in Oz STILL don't even believe the illness exists & is only in my
imagination!

And so far I've been unable to find a single doctor anywhere within my
area who's willing to adequately treat my pain & sleep symptoms long
term & I've seen more than 150+ doctors/specialists at this point!

So instead I've been forced to either use HUGE amounts of OTC codeine
based medication for pain relief & destroy my liver with Paracetamol
or risk ordering stronger pain meds from overseas pharmacies without
any prescription which is *VERY EXPENSIVE* given that my sole income
is only the measly $11,500 disability pension (which is only about 1/2
that of the Howard governments own official poverty line).

Plus I have to either pay street prices or grow my own cannabis in order
to get any proper sleep!

The governments policies FORCE me to act as a criminal & the doctors
only ever go on about dependency issues in prescribing sleep & pain meds
I've needed long term.

Yet without these I've *NO* quality of life! I've
had to break the law with cannabis for 11 years now just so I can get
up, have a shower, use the bathroom etc. & spent years destroying my
liver thanks to doctors not prescribing more than 20 Panadeine Forte
tablets every 4-6 weeks (only 2-3 days worth) & I've only for the past
two years started using IOPs for pain meds.

And FINALLLY I have a life outside my house again for the 1st time in a
decade!

Yet both are illegal. What a country where I must break the law to
purchase prescription med AND destroy internal organs just incase I
develope dependency on a med, or grow marijuana for personal medical
use, which makes such a *HUGE* difference to my life! But it's cost my
family almost $45,000 to improve my quality of life & reduce my pain,
allowing me to excercise a little & get back into life again!

The disability pension certainly doesn't look after ME! It leaves me
living in dire poverty, housebound 11 years & STILL a *virgin* at 35yo
with no friends, no money, no social life, ALOT of debt and no job! And
busted for trying to grow my own grass to give me some quality of life,
now stuck with a crimnal drug record!

Marijuana should be legalized for those who truly need it for medical
use, and the long-term disability pension when it's the *SOLE*
source of income should at least be at the official poverty line of
approx. $22,500 a year! My mother has had to sell her house to help
cover costs & Dad looks like having to do the same soon if the pension
isn't doubled soon! And the doctors attitide to treating chronic illness
such as CFS, I mean what difference does dependency have if I need to
keep using it for many years! Surely only after I'm over the CFS & no
longer need the medication would this ever become an issue, and I may
*NEVER* get over this as there's no cure for CFS/ME/FibroMyalgia!

Thanks for your post, CFS. You've highlighted a very important point, namely that people tend to forget about the positives whenever they think of an illegal drug. Marijuana has so many positives.

Once again, thanks for your excellent story. It hasn't gone unnoticed.

Actually, I've just thought of something to add to my 'to do' list this weekend!

yeh i think that dope (marajuna) should be leagal alchole is and that makes u dislousional and off ur face dope does the same thing but its ilegal..
ok im a skool student and ive smoked a few bongs here and there and ok im not claiming to be a straight a student but hey im doin oright and if a few pot heds r gonna use it like idiots well thats there problem i say let dope be legal and just put a few laws on it like dont driv while on it like we have on alchole

by MM

Hello there, I am also an ME/CFS sufferer. My joints hurt with almost every movement I make and my sleep patterns are all over the place which invariably makes me more exhausted and unable to take part in everyday life. I have had this since I was 8 and I am now 20. Since I was 16 I have smoked weed, instantly my pains are relieved and if I smoke in the evening I have no troubles getting to sleep and can regulate my body back into a routine of sleeping at the right hours. I am now able to study my uni degree in Biomedical Sciences, I am achieving an upper class 2nd honors at the moment and am showing no signs producing lower grades. Last exam period I went through a very rough patch (as usually happens with the increase in stress) so in order to get to sleep I would smoke a joint. I was not far off achieving a first in almost everything (overall about 3%), if i hadn't slept and got worse I'd be lucky to have been able to get to the toilet when i needed to let alone Pass! I have seen many ppl mess up their liver having to take painkillers all the time, whereas i can smoke a joint to sleep (when needed) and in this way improve in health so i can join in everyday life.

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I also smoke it recreationally since alcohol makes monsters of ppl and weed is far more enjoyable. but is it drug abuse smoking a couple of joints with friends at the weekend? what about a couple of beers? or what about those ppl who go out and binge drink and cause trouble? You wouldnt catch a stoned person in a fight. As for mental health - do you not obtain mental health problems with over use of any drug (cough cough alcohol)? And as someone has already mentioned... major health problems occur with over indulgence in food. The headline really is - all in moderation. Anyone who gets completely stoned every day is asking for trouble much as anyone who gets drunk everyday or eats far too many donuts.

As for anyone who drives under the influence of any drug, that is just stupid and quite frankly shouldn't be a part of this discussion as it is a separate issue, not used as an arguement against weed, if that is the case ban all the drugs....

The bottom line is that Cannabis has help improve my status of living where other drugs havent and cannot.