@pfbacon Peggy, I understand why people are looking for their meds on the street. Trouble is they don't accept Medicare. I could get a card for medical marijuana, but the fees and doctor costs are prohibitive. And my PCP told me that if I were to use cannabis, he wouldn't prescribe morphine sulfate contin and Clonazepam for me. I did get some street marijuana, and some from a legal dispensary, but they didn't have any effect on the pain. (I didn't tell my doctor.) The interesting thing is that the pain specialist said he thought it would be a good thing to try, but the group of doctors he's with elected not to prescribe cannabis.

If I had more money, I would probably be trying some of the cannabis products, but they're too expensive for me, living on Social Security. I've never used street drugs (except for the one time with marijuana), and my two brothers were destroying their lives with alcohol and drugs. They've both been clean and sober for quite a few years now, and I don't want to go down that risky road.

My PCP and pain specialist both know that ms contin is the only medication that we've found that has any effect for me. My PCP told me that he won't increase the dosage, even though I could double it and still be within the limit the clinic has imposed. His reason is that I would be building up a tolerance, and that morphine sulfate contin doesn't actually treat pain. I guess they think we're all stupid or something. If it doesn't actually treat pain, why did he prescribe it for pain several years ago? But it does no good to try to discuss it with him. He'll be retiring in a few years and maybe I'll be able to find a doctor who can think for himself and not just buy into the political correctness.

Jim