When someone gets hurt, chances are they are prescribed some type of painkiller or are directed to get an over the counter pain reliever to treat their injury/injuries. That was the case each time that I got hurt and had to see my doctor, usually for something that required x-rays. Every time they would try to push pills on me, and would scratch their heads when I said that I didn’t need any. ‘I’ll get it figured out,’ I would always tell my doctor, and he would always question what that meant. I would always smile and leave.
Cannabis is medicine. That’s a scientific fact. For many decades the medical properties of cannabis were kept secret, and the study of the plant’s ability to help mankind was prevented. Fortunately times are changing, and more and more is becoming known about the cannabis plant all the time. Using cannabis to treat injuries is effective, and doesn’t come with the laundry list of potential side effects that often accompany a pharmaceutical painkiller.
The United Patients Group is putting on a conference dedicated to science this weekend at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. Tomorrow is day two of the conference, and there will be a panel that includes former NFL player Brandon Haw from the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition, former NBA All Star Cliff Robinson from Uncle Spliffy Sports Cannabis, and Brian Keyner who is a former law enforcement officer that is also a brain injury patient. The panel will be discussing the topic of opiate dependency, brain injuries, and how cannabis can help.
I think that this panel will be particularly interesting because obviously Brandon Haw and Cliff Robinson can speak from a sports cannabis perspective, and how cannabis has helped with their wellness regimens while dealing with the lingering injuries that come with a professional athletic career. If you read this blog than you know that I’m a very big supporter of the sports cannabis movement because I feel that it reaches such a wide audience – an audience that might not otherwise be swayed by other advocacy for better or worse.
I have personally seen the sports cannabis movement change minds in my own life. I know a lot of people that quite living an active lifestyle because of injuries, and even more so, because of the ineffective and harmful treatments their doctor recommended, which almost always just involves prescriptions for pharmaceutical painkillers. Those same friends and family experience all types of health problems related to that inactivity, and some of them battle painkiller dependency issues. There is a better way, and that way is cannabis.
If you are at the United Patients Group Medical Cannabis Conference, make sure to check out the panel. I’d be interested to hear what Brian Keyner has to say. Brian was a 7 year law enforcement officer when he was struck by a car while chasing a suspect on foot. He sustained a lot of head injuries, and has made a miraculous recovery and attributes it to medical cannabis. That in addition to Brandon Haw and Cliff Robinson should make for a very informative panel. I know Cliff has a lot to say on the issue, and I can say first hand that I know that he has a tremendous passion for medical cannabis and cannabis use for wellness purposes. You can buy tickets to the event at this link here. It looks like they sell two day tickets, but since Day 1 has passed, I’m wondering if they will have a one day deal at the door (not sure but will update if I hear it’s so!). If you aren’t able to make it to the event, you can follow United Patients Group on Facebook and Twitter.
