More states legalize Pot 8) when for Oz?

[K]

Older Americans Are Flocking to Medical Marijuana

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/07/health/seniors-marijuana-cannabis-pain.html

"In fact, so many Laguna Woods seniors use medical cannabis — for ailments ranging from arthritis and diabetes nerve pain to back injuries and insomnia — that the local dispensary, Bud and Bloom, charters a free bus to bring residents to its Santa Ana location to stock up on supplies. Along with a catered lunch, the bus riders get a seniors discount.
...

But the researchers are uneasy about the fact that older people essentially are undertaking self-treatment, with scant guidance from medical professionals.

Cannabis consumers face a confusing array of options, including various strains and brands and many methods of ingestion: smoking, vaping, tinctures, edibles, topical creams or patches. Users can also experience potentially harmful side effects.
...

The strongest case, Dr. Casarett said, is that cannabis can reduce neuropathic pain, sometimes caused by diabetes, shingles or chemotherapy, without the toxic effects of opioids.

Studies have also shown that cannabis alleviates the nausea and vomiting that often follows chemotherapy. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has approved two synthetic T.H.C. drugs for that purpose, though some patients insist that smoking the real thing works better.

Cannabis appears to relieve muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis, though that research is less extensive, and to improve appetite for patients with cancer or AIDS, Dr. Briscoe said.
...

Moreover, “the jury is very much out about long-term cognitive effects in adults,” Dr. Casarett said.
...

Medicare, for instance, doesn’t cover medical cannabis, and it won’t cover drugs used off-label. The bus riders from Laguna Woods often pay $100 to $200 a month out of pocket for cannabis products, a financial struggle for some."

[Skids]

I've cut my use back big time. Mainly due to having to do a medical for my new job, and they are more rigorous with the testing at the site I'm on now.

I can have a few cones on my first 2 days of r 'n r then no more.

As well as my BP going up enough to have to increase the dosage of one, I have noticed more niggling pains in; my knees, my shoulders and my back. Never had any issues with my knees, even when running 200k's a month.

Coincidence?

[stui magpie]

maybe, maybe not. You are getting older you know.

[K]

[Culprit]

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/fiona-patten-moves-to-legalise-cannabis-predicts-revenue-of-205m-20181219-p50n4t.html

Fiona Patten moves to legalise cannabis, predicts revenue of $205m

[Skids]

[K]

I wish the interface allowed multiple poll questions, e.g. not just predicting when something will happen, but whether voters want it to happen, etc.

[HAL]

I hope that your dreams come true.

[K]

Addicted to Vaped Nicotine, Teenagers Have No Clear Path to Quitting

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/health/vaping-nicotine-teenagers.html

"On Monday Monitoring the Future, an annual survey of American teenagers’ drug use sponsored by the federal government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by the University of Michigan, reported that teen use of e-cigarettes soared in 2018.
...

Unfortunately, methods for quitting cigarettes can’t be grafted onto vapes. While cutting down on daily cigarettes can include simple math — cutting back, say, from the 20 cigarettes in a pack to 18 to 14 and so on — an analogous method doesn’t readily apply to vaping.

That’s because the amount of nicotine each person inhales and then absorbs through e-cigarettes is difficult to measure. A formula for reducing cigarettes doesn’t readily translate to pods or cartridges."

[David]

[stui magpie]

[K]

A Visual Journey Through Addiction

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/us/addiction-heroin-opioids.html

[think positive]

Sad read

[Skids]

I can't read it, they want money.

I like your contributions in this thread K, but heroin and cannabis are about as similar as Nuclear warheads and water pistols.

[K]

Yes, agree they're very different. As are recreational drugs and prescription medication (with the latter not necessarily safer than the former). And so on...

Is "vaped" pot something that can be done nowadays?

Update: I found a new (5 Dec '18 ) article on the latter topic at https://www.futurity.org/vaping-cannabis-anxiety-1925032-2/ . I'll return to it and possibly post on it later.