New Jersey: Patients vaporize marijuana on video

In the newest Newark Star-Ledger online video spotlighting the medical marijuana effort in New Jersey, some courageous cannabis patients have stepped forward in front of the camera.

 Often the news media are keen to photo or video people consuming cannabis for therapeutic use. It takes a special drive and commitment to the cause for these individuals to let a very personal side of their lives be showcased. How many of us would allow ourselves to be video taped during dialysis or undergoing a colonoscopy? And what if dialysis were an illegal treatment? This is not any easy decision; to be filmed, it is done with  bravery for sure.

Usually the media sees traditional methods of smoking cannabis with a pipe or joint. Inhaling marijuana gives an instant effect and there are no serious medical harms known (even after extensive research) from smoking medical pot. But this time NJ patients showed off a new technology, one that has been scientifically proven as the safest and most effective cannabinoid delivery system: The Vaporizer.

 With this method, plant material is heated up to about 180 degrees Celsius. Hot enough to get THC and the dozens of other beneficial cannabinoids to vaporize into a thin mist but NOT actually combust the plant material. The result is a cannabis inhalation method that is safer than smoking as none of the poly-hydrocarbons are present when you actually inhale something that's on fire!

 Dr. Donald Abrams, who I interviewed several times, did the best scientific study on the device.

 A German company named Stortz and Bickle makes the most popular medical cannabis consumption delivery device I have witnessed, The Volcano Vaporizer. 

They are not cheap, coming in around $600. But the Volcano is the Cadillac of these devices and by far the most consistent machine.  Some dispensaries and care centers in legal states have Volcanoes on the premises and patients simply purchase their own $5 bag for the top pf the device. 

I have spoken with hundreds of medical marijuana patients. They are often very open with me about their conditions and frank about the effects of cannabis. There are even asthma patients who I know who find relief through vaporized cannabis. For those suffering from physical or neurological pain, few treatments are more effective. The positive impact of vaporized cannabis in pain relief is quite literally instant. The unfortunate choice for many is either vaporized pot or hardcore opiates.

 In the video you will also see the only opposition we encounter to the bill in New Jersey. Polling indicates 86% percent of the public support state authorized cannabis access and there is indeed bi-partisan poltical support in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly for the bill.  Yet I often find myself in vigorous debates with the other 14%.

The bill is in a crucial and final legislative phase. This is not a done deal as they say in politics (few things ever are).  But with more and more patients speaking up along with a groundswell of public support we have seen building this year we remain hopeful. Many adovates are working behind and in front of the scenes for a postive outcome to the voting actions on the bill this fall.

More about medical marijuana in New Jersey at www.cmmnj.org