Jun 19, 2018
Transcript for the show is found below the pic:
In this episode we are first have a forum discussion covering the terms used in medical cannabis. The PodcastDX co-hosts will talk briefly about the terminology to familiarize you with some of the terms.
Then we move directly into an interview with a patient who has recently been prescribed medical cannabis. We get some background into how a new patient goes about applying for and finally obtaining the product for use. In Illinois this is not as simple as your doctor sending a prescription over to the local pharmacy as you will see.
In the next episode we speak with Dr. Bob Weil, a sports doctor, and Alex, a local budtender at a dispensary.
Episode 12 Medical Cannabis Part One (online-audio-converter.com).mp3
Ron [00:00:16] Hello and welcome to PodcastDX. The show that brings you interviews with people just like you whose lives were forever changed by a medical diagnosis.
Lita [00:00:25] I'm Lita.
Ron [00:00:26] I'm Ron.
Jean [00:00:27] And I'm high on life.
Lita [00:00:29] Or Jean.
Jean [00:00:31] Oh yeah that too.
Lita [00:00:32] we're collectively the hosts of podcast d x.
Jean [00:00:36] This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider for any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regime. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast.
Ron [00:01:01] Today's show on medical marijuana is broken down into segments. First we're going to quickly run through a bit of terminology and general information about cannabis. Then we'll interview Meg a patient for whom medical marijuana was recently prescribed.
Jean [00:01:15] The term medical marijuana or a medical cannabis as it's referred to in Illinois refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness or other medical conditions.
Lita [00:01:31] Although 28 states and at least one territory have legalized medical cannabis the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine. However the scientific study of the chemicals in marijuana called cannabinoids has led to at least two FDA approved medications that derived from the cannabis plant little hype, or hypocritical there. Additionally prescription medications derived from cannabis and synthetic forms of cannabinoids are available in other countries. The FDA requires carefully conducted studies called clinical trials in hundreds to thousands of human subjects to determine the benefits and risks of a possible medication. So far researchers haven't conducted enough large scale clinical trials that show that the benefits of the marijuana plant as opposed to its cannabinoid ingredients outweigh its risks in patients. It's meant to treat CBD based liquid drug to treat certain forms of childhood epilepsy is being tested in clinical trials but isn't yet FDA approved.
Ron [00:02:53] There are many chemicals in the plants that we use as medicine.
Lita [00:02:57] Examples; morphine, codeine, nicotine, quinine, caffeine, atropine, willow bark, aspirin just to name a few.
Ron [00:03:07] Nicotine is a medicine.
Lita [00:03:08] Well that's another whole subject but yes it can be.
Ron [00:03:12] Nabiximols or Sativex is just one prescription medication that was derived from the cannabis plant. It is an aerosolized mist for oral administration and contains a near 1 to 1 ratio of CBD and THC.
Jean [00:03:26] OK before we get into what CBD and THC are let's run through a few basics Cannabis Sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plants. Originally indigenous to Asia there's a bit of a controversy in terms of the scientific classification for our purposes. There are three subspecies of cannabis cannabis sativa cannabis indica and cannabis ruderalis and I may not pronounce it correctly. Each of these subspecies has its own characteristics.
Lita [00:03:59] Right Sativa strains are thought to be invigorating improve energy increase focus they tend to have a spicier and sweet smell. Generally they have a higher THC to CBD ratio.
Ron [00:04:14] On the other hand indica strains are thought to have a more sedative effect. They're said to reduce nausea increased appetite have a more skunky scent and typically have a higher CBD to THC percentage.
Lita [00:04:30] As with most things to learn about a subject you need to learn the specialized language and terminology associated with the subject. When it comes to cannabis medical or otherwise there are some terms that are good to know.
Jean [00:04:43] For example we've been mentioning CBD which is ummm cannabidiol which lacks the intoxicating effects of THC. Unlike THC, CBD is cannabinoid I can say that one that doesn't make people high. It may be useful in reducing pain and inflammation controlling epileptic seizures and possibly even treating mental illness and addictions.
Lita [00:05:08] So CBD is a good one.
Jean [00:05:10] Well yeah.
Lita [00:05:11] Well.
Jean [00:05:11] There. Yeah.
Lita [00:05:12] Yeah. Not as much of a high.
Jean [00:05:15] no, Yeah. It's not meant to give you a high.
Lita [00:05:16] It's only for the medicinal.
Jean [00:05:18] Right. Or that intoxicating effect.
Lita [00:05:20] Got it.
Lita [00:05:21] The body also produces its own cannabinoid chemicals. They play a role in regulating pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, body movement, awareness of time, appetite, pain, and the senses like taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight.
Jean [00:05:38] Right and THC which is a tetra hydro cannabinol THC is a lipid and it's finding cannabis THC can increase appetite and reduce nausea and it also can reduce or decrease pain and inflammation such as swelling and redness too and it can help with muscle control problems.
Ron [00:06:00] And intoxication is defined as a temporary state of diminished physical and mental control. Some typical intoxicating agents or alcohol liquor certain drug or other substances.
Jean [00:06:17] Right. So we said like THC has an intoxicating effect.
Lita [00:06:21] Right.
Jean [00:06:21] OK.
Lita [00:06:22] So the term mind altering refers to chemicals which produce mood changes or which give you a sense of heightened awareness.
Jean [00:06:32] OK. And to wrap our segment up psychoactive chemicals are substances which have a profound or significant effect on the mental processes.
Ron [00:06:42] You can take medicinal cannabis orally topically trans dermally or sub lingually which is under the tongue or can be inhaled. Allow me to introduce Meg. Meg is an artist who resides in Illinois. She has recently been prescribed medical marijuana.
Jean [00:07:01] Hi Meg.
Lita [00:07:03] Hi Meg.
Meg [00:07:03] Hi.
Lita [00:07:03] In some states you simply need to take your state issued I.D. card and a prescription to a dispensary in order to obtain medical cannabis. Is that the case in Illinois.
Meg [00:07:12] Not exactly the medical cannabis patient registry program allows people who are diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition and their caregivers to register with the Illinois Department of Public Health in order to obtain access to the cannabis for medical use. So in Illinois you need to apply for the medical cannabis registry I.D. card.
Lita [00:07:31] Oh ok.
Ron [00:07:32] Well how does somebody apply for the I.D. card.
Meg [00:07:34] There are five basic routs to which you can apply for the card. The process is a bit different for terminal patients minors and for veterans who are receiving treatment at a V.A. facility.
Jean [00:07:45] And you don't fall into any of those categories do you know.
Meg [00:07:48] No, I am in the third category of everyone else.
Ron [00:07:51] So what's the process like for everyone else.
Meg [00:07:54] Well you can either work through the paperwork on your own contact the center or your local health department for assistance to complete the process.
Lita [00:08:02] And what is that process like.
Meg [00:08:04] I went to with a company that walks you through the process. I had my first appointment with a physician on January 30th and from there I had to do a video appointment which I had on February 5th. The average wait time to receive the card once in the mail. Once you've completed all your paperwork is about eight to twelve weeks and mine took twelve weeks so I got my medical cannabis registry ID card on April 16.
Jean [00:08:27] OK. So it can take a while to have your paperwork processed by the state.
Meg [00:08:31] If you're working on the paperwork on your own it's a bit more complicated. First of all in Illinois you have to be a resident in Illinois.
Jean [00:08:38] The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about fight club.
Lita [00:08:41] OK. Go ahead Meg
Meg [00:08:42] You can not have any prior felony drug convictions. You cannot be a firefighter correctional officer active duty law enforcement officer or correctional probation officer. If you have a permit to drive a school bus or CDL you're not eligible for the current state program. And of course you must be diagnosed with the qualifying condition.
Jean [00:09:01] But you can you know,. That's not excluding too many things.
Lita [00:09:06] Ummm yeah laughing.
Jean [00:09:06] How can someone find out if they have a qualifying condition.
Meg [00:09:09] In Illinois you can find a list of qualifying conditions on the Illinois Department of Public Health web site which is a DPA. Illinois gov.
Ron [00:09:17] OK all right so what's next.
Meg [00:09:21] In Illinois you need to be a you need a physician licensed in the state of Illinois to complete the three page physician written certification form and here the states instructions are a bit hazy.
Jean [00:09:32] How do you mean.
Meg [00:09:33] Well on the physician written certification form it says the completed sign forms should be given to the patient and submitted along with their other paperwork by the patient.
Lita [00:09:42] OK.
Meg [00:09:43] But in the application for qualifying patient registry ID card instructions it states that the physician should complete their portion of the paperwork and mail it directly to the IDP wages Division of Medical Cannabis.
Lita [00:09:57] That's conflicting so within what's next.
Meg [00:09:59] You need to complete the applications form selected dispensary and fill out the medical cannabis dispensary selection form. Pay an application fee which varies from 50 to 250.
Lita [00:10:10] ohhh.
Meg [00:10:10] Mail the completed forms along with a color copy of your Illinois state and federal. Issued I.D. color photographs similar to a passport photo. A copy of two documents let establish your residency like utilities bills and leases and get a fingerprint based background check and submit the receipt for the fingerprint scan along with everything else to the DP H.
Lita [00:10:32] huhhh wow, the grass is certainly greener in states that only require a state I.D. and a prescription.
Jean [00:10:37] But-tum bum.
Lita [00:10:39] laughter.
Jean [00:10:39] Yeah you do the hokey pokey.
Ron [00:10:41] So then you take your card to the dispensary and pick up your medical cannabis.
Meg [00:10:46] Yeah. Basically I'm allotted two and a half ounces every two weeks so they keep track of it on their computers. What I've purchased. How much. The amount is and it tracks the weeks.
Jean [00:11:01] OK sure. Sure.
Lita [00:11:03] See I'm exhausted just hearing about the process. I mean seriously that's a lot of steps to go through.
Ron [00:11:09] It's the state of Illinois.
Lita [00:11:10] Illinois. Yeah I get us has the medical cannabis help ease the symptoms of your medical condition.
Meg [00:11:17] Yeah I part of why I started to do it was I was having trouble sleeping and with my doctor we decided that the first priority would be to get me a full night's sleep.
Jean [00:11:29] That sounds nice.
Meg [00:11:30] It would be beneficial especially since at the time I was going through my final call my semester.
Lita [00:11:35] Finals in college yeah.
Meg [00:11:36] And no sleep would be very nice.
Jean [00:11:38] Yeah!
Meg [00:11:38] . And then from there it also just it helps with my pain, my depression and anxiety. I mean just kind of everything I call it the wonder wonder wonder plant.
Jean [00:11:48] Great.
Lita [00:11:49] Right now. Yeah.
Ron [00:11:50] Glad to hear that. Thank you for joining us today Meg and for the insight into this incredibly difficult application process in the state of Illinois.
Jean [00:12:00] Yeah. Thank you Meg.
Lita [00:12:01] That wraps up Part 1 of 2 for our podcast about medical cannabis. Join us next week when we'll interview Dr. Weil and get a physician's view of cannabis as medicine.
Jean [00:12:14] If our listeners have any questions or comments related to today's show they can contact us at podcast D X at yahoo dot com through our Web site Podcast DX dot com, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
Lita [00:12:32] And if you have a moment to spare please give us a five star review on the iI tunes podcast app.
Jean [00:12:38] And we'd like to think those of you who have already done so. Till next week.
Lita [00:12:42] Bye bye.