Does medical marijuana work for chronic pain?

I live in Illinois where recreational marijuana is legal. I have a medical marijuana card because it saves me money and I get to move to the head of the line at the dispensary. I buy chocolate bars because they are the cheapest ($20.00 for a bar with 100mg THC), because you can cut the size you want, and because I don’t want any smoke in my lungs (I got enough health problems). I take it every evening, usually 5 mg (so that’s a dollar a day). If I am having trouble falling asleep I take 10mg more.
At the dispensary you can buy three types of marijuana edibles: sativa (which is supposedly more of a pick me up, indica (which is supposedly makes you sleepy), and many products are a mix (hybrid). I try to take it on an empty stomach to get the most effect. If I take it after a big meal it doesn’t seem to work.
Before using marijuana daily I was contemplating whether I wanted to keep living. Now I am enjoying life again, even with the chronic pain.

Every state has differing regulations concerning MMJ. In most states they DOH requires the substances produced by growers to be certified and that they do not contain substances that could harm MMJ patients. I’m glad this happened and provides assurance as to what you are buying. At least with MMJ you pretty much know the strength unless you take steps to jack up the potency.

You should purchase Volteran Gel OTC for your arthritis as it works very well just follow the package instruction.

I live in PA and having used MMJ it never helped my pain.

Good evening @gaylerenee, I just read your post of a few days ago and want to make sure you know the in Louisiana, your arthritis will qualify you for medical cannabis. You can just go on the internet to "marijuana laws by state". You may need a doctor to prescribe it and there are limits on how much you have at any given time.

My hands are a major irritation to me because of SFN (small fiber neuropathy). They are always numb and tingly as well. Let me know if you have difficulty finding the site. There are several to choose from.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

I too live in Pa and after one year of experimentation I got my sweet spot. I initially tried high THC and low CBD with no luck. I reversed them and success. I buy CBD tincture from FiveCBD online and highest THC tincture from dispensary I can find. I double dose CBD to 150mg 3x day with 1/2 dose or 15mg THC 3x day and I no longer need breakthrough pain meds. I also use Buprenorphine patches I change every 7 days and that is my main pain control.

Thank you so much Chris. You are very kind. I hope you find something for the neuropathy in your hands. Although pain relief for neuropathy in the hands and feet may be entirely different, I find that my neuropathy in my feet (at night only) responds well to just putting the right weight of socks on when I get that burning ice feel. I wonder if cotton or wool gloves might help you? I sure hope you find something. Thanks again, Gayle

Does not work for me. Might as well use hand lotion. It was proscribed to me before long before I it was available OTC.

How were you using it? I’m a retired nurse and I found most layman do not use this particular product correctly. It should be applied 4x day paying attention to the amount you are applying to your finger due to chance of overdose of NSAID’s. I’ve go OA of both hips and spine and this does a wonderful job of keeping my inflammatory pain down. I don’t use it on my spine. It take Turmeric 2400mg 3x day as an anti-inflammatory.

Like your approach with marijuana. Aren’t those patches expensive though or do you have a low cost source?