Kim Maffin has Benign Remitting Relapsing MS. Whew, that’s a mouthful. She’s got a blog called Mandatory Rest Period, and recently she wrote about a query she received from the States:
My son has a spinal cord tumor and is in constant pain. Though he is on opiates, smoking marijuana gives him the most relief from pain. He is an ideal candidate for Sativex. There is just one problem. We live in Florida and have no access to this drug.
From Wikipedia, we learn that Sativex “a mouth spray for multiple sclerosis sufferers, who can use it to alleviate pain. Sativex contains two of the main active ingredients of cannabis – tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol.” Kim lives in Canada, of course, and has access to the drug. It’s pretty tragic that the US’s drug policies are so stringent that this treatment isn’t available.
Tod and Kim have also started a podcast, creatively named The Multiple Sclerosis Podcast. On the show, Kim says she’s heard that Sativex costs $12/day (or $125 for three days). She also discusses the aforementioned American request.
Thanks for the update! I lost track of Kim a while ago and its good to see that she is still coping.
My doctor feels that I have MS and I’m always curious as to what’s happening with the disease. Kim has turned her site into a great resource.
Thanks for the plug, Darren! 🙂
$12/day, $125/three days? A 3 day supply is roughly 3 times more expensive per day than purchasing it by day?
move to south africa! if you can deal with the lack of infrastructure ($100 per month for craaaappy 128k inet) you’ll find living comfortable, and cannabis is pretty readily available 😉