Written by: Breezy Love, CannaTV.org, 

Hydrocodone is a Deadly Pharmaceutical Drug.

Just because a Physician prescribes Hydrocodone does not mean that it is good for you. 

I am not a rocket scientist, or a doctor, I am a person who cares about long term health.  I love my family and want to be around for a while to enjoy them.  That right there is the reason that when medical marijuana became a choice in Michigan this was more than just a sigh of relief for many.  

My story will sound like so many other people living in this world.  People like us that suffer from chronic pain conditions that people cannot visually see and yet we still manage to make it through another day. 

Living in colder weather and having chronic joint and muscle pain makes it truly a challenge.  It is physically draining trying to function in the world of manual, physical labor when you hurt through every inch of your body.  Let’s face most of us have to work manual labor jobs.  These jobs require lifting objects heavier than twenty pounds.  It also requires a person to run, stand, and walk on your feet for a minimum of eight to ten hours a day.  It is not an easy task and doing it without assistance can be unbearable. 

Scoliosis, Lupus, bone spurs, muscle strains, tired aching bones are all conditions that people walk this earth with and suffer great pain with each and every day.  Stretching exercises, physical therapy lasers, muscle relaxers and pain pills.  These conditions are mostly treated with prescription drugs.  One of the most popular prescriptions for chronic pain is called hydrocodone.

 

Hydrocodone is defined “/hy·dro·co·done/ (-ko´dōn) a semisynthetic opioid analgesic similar to but more active than codeine; used as the bitartrate salt or polistirex complex as an analgesic and antitussive” (FreeDictionary.com).  Semisynthetic is defined as “/semi·syn·thet·ic/ (-sin-thet´ik) produced by chemical manipulation of naturally occurring substances.”(FreeDictionary.com).  

Describe the immediate effect of Hydrocodone on the human body

Hydrocodone is a drug that affects the muscles and when you take it the muscles and motor skills are slow.  It masks the pain being felt inside the body.  Hydrocodone numbs all pain. It slows down your heart rate, blood pressure, and puts a strain on your liver and kidneys.  Using hydrocodone for temporary relief of pain is fine.  The problem occurs when people continue to take this drug.  The aches in the body do not improve with age.  It is necessary for people to practice other healthful actions to reduce the pain we feel not just use a prescription drug to mask the pain.

 

Describe the long term effects on the body

It starts with one pill, and then you have to take two pills to get the same effect as you did when you were taking one.  The problem with is that it truly defines what a gateway drug is.  According to Webster’s Online Dictionary the definition of gateway drug is “a drug (as alcohol or marijuana) whose use is thought to lead to the use of and dependence on a harder drug (as cocaine or heroin)” (Webstersonline).   The bigger picture “Long-term effects of hydrocodone use can include physical problems, such as hearing loss and liver damage, but the most damaging result of being addicted to hydrocodone may be its adverse effect on your personal life. Drug addiction can wreak havoc on family relationships, cause difficulties with job performance and lead to mental health problems” (Drugabuse.com).

How many people die from hydrocodone in a year?

In the year 2002 the FDA issued dependency and damage warnings to people who used hydrocodone for daily pain therapy.  The problems arising range from addiction, to liver disease.  According to a New York Magazine the year 2002 brought light to the problem physicians across the globe were uncovering.  In an article published on July 2, 2009 “Emergency-room reports involving hydrocodone increase 500 percent since 1990. That same year, the FDA recommends tighter warnings on drugs containing acetaminophen over liver-damage fears” (NewYorkNewsandPolitics).

The most alarming statistic of all is the massive number of people who are overdosing from hydrocodone that do not even have a prescription for this drug.  If pharmacies admit that they cannot control what happens to hydrocodone once it leaves the pharmacy how does the government think that pharmacies are going to do better at distributing medical marijuana?  Los Angeles Times reports that “Prescription drug overdoses now claim more lives than heroin and cocaine combined, fueling a doubling of drug-related deaths in the United States over the last decade”(LATimes).  The last time I checked marijuana has claimed zero lives. 

Not only has marijuana claimed zero lives but it is a schedule I drug that is considered to have no medical value and is considered to be deadly.  The supporters of cannabis want to know who considers marijuana to be deadly other than a very corrupt and broken government. 

The Problem:

Marijuana is considered a schedule I drug which means:” Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence” (DEA.GOV).

Deaths: ZERO: (Drugwarfactsmarijuana.com)

Hydrocodone is considered a schedule III drug which means: “Schedule III drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Schedule III drugs abuse potential is less than Schedule I and Schedule II drugs but more than Schedule IV”  (DEA.GOV).

Deaths:” From 1999 to 2007, the number of U.S. poisoning deaths involving any opioid analgesic (e.g., oxycodone, methadone, or hydrocodone) more than tripled, from 4,041 to 14,459, or 36% of the 40,059 total poisoning deaths in 2007. In 1999, opioid analgesics were involved in 20% of the 19,741 poisoning deaths. During 1999–2007, the number of poisoning deaths involving specified drugs other than opioid analgesics increased from 9,262 to 12,790, and the number involving no specified drugs increased from 3,608 to 8,947"(Drugwarfacts.com) –

What is a natural alternative that can be used as a replacement for pain?

Cannabis, marijuana, hemp, for pain and nothing else will ever make sense again.  Our bodies are made with cannabinoid receptors that are made to process cannabinoids.  Cannabinoids should be a natural part of a healthy diet.  The government is trying to control a cottage industry created by hard working American’s.  They are using the pharmaceutical giant’s to deliver our dose of cannabis.  The problem is that the pharmaceutical companies are not doing what they can to prevent misuse of drugs.  They simply do not care past the sale of the drug to the patient.  Now the pharmaceutical giants are setting themselves for the takeover of marijuana distribution. They cannot take care of the deadly prescriptions what do we think they are going to do with our harmless plant? 

VIDEO TESTIMONIAL: CANNABIS CURES: http://cannatv.org/video/346/Cancer-Patient-Talks-About-The-Impact-of-the-McQueen-Medical-Marijuana-Decision

References:

Hydrocodone definition: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/hydrocodone

Semisynthetic definition: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/semisynthetic

Drugabuse.com: http://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-hydrocodone-use/

Gateway Drug definition: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gateway%20drug

New York News and Politics: http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/57770/

Los Angeles Times (LAtimes): http://graphics.latimes.com/prescription-drugs-part-one/

Drug war facts marijuana: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Marijuana#sthash.SByj7ua9.9yUXZbpG.dpbs

Drug war facts: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/1772#sthash.QMsYs0Pn.dpbs