People who suffer from sickle cell disease have to deal with a lot of pain. Patients with sickle cell disease have crescent shaped blood cells, compared to disc shaped blood cells in people without the disease. These cells block blood flow, which causes pain, fatigue, and organ damage. Most will describe the pain as feeling like nails poking their entire body. People who suffer from sickle cell disease have to deal with a lot of pain. Patients with sickle cell disease have crescent shaped blood cells, compared to disc shaped blood cells in people who don’t suffer from sickle cell disease. These cells block blood flow, which causes pain, fatigue, and organ damage. I’ve heard people that suffer from sickle cell disease describe the pain as being like nails poking their entire body.
Doctors usually prescribe opiate based pain killers like morphine. But these medications come with side effects including respiratory issues, damage to organs, and addiction to name a few. Compare that to medical marijuana, which has far less harmful side effects, especially if consumed in food or vapor form. Patients should have the option to choose medical marijuana if they want to.
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry professor and pain expert Donald Simone, who is also working on a research project for medical marijuana as an option for sickle cell patients, said opiates sometimes have “problematic” side effects, such as respiratory depression.
“Medical marijuana is promising for sickle cell patients because it has a pain-relieving effect without as many severe side effects as morphine,” Simone said.
Right now researchers in California are teaming up with researchers at the University of Minnesota to find out how medical marijuana can help those suffering from sickle cell disease. Right now, sickle cell patients can get safe access to medical marijuana if they are in California. However, patients in Minnesota will have to wait until the condition is added to the list of conditions in Minnesota, which could take awhile.