My uncle brought my mom home from her radiation treatment. Before she got in the van to go to the hospital, she was communicating. At times, she would laugh. An hour later, I would have to help my uncle get her in the house. She would be sick and agitated. I would help my uncle get her into bed. She would sleep for the rest of the day.
Twelve years later, it was my dad’s turn for radiation treatments
Twelve years later, the doctors diagnosed my dad with metastasized lung cancer. He died less than six weeks later. The glioblastoma my mom suffered from was harder on the family than on her. It didn’t take long for the tumor to eat her brain. The steroids kept her alive by easing the brain swelling, but they destroyed her body.
The munchies were the best part of getting high, weren’t they?
I thought of my younger days when I smoked a lot of weed. I remember how hungry it made me. I also remember how I often would take long naps after smoking. What harm would it bring to let terminal cancer patients use cannabis whenever they want?
Scientists have confirmed that the munchies are a real thing. They are investigating whether cannabis can help people with no appetite. It couldn’t hurt. Both my parents were big people. The cancer treatments robbed them of their appetite and made them miserable.
Cannabinoids should be as available as opioids
The strange thing? In my dad’s last days, hospice provided him with vials of morphine. There was a box of the stuff on the dining table. My dad never used it. The hospice nurse poured it all down the toilet before she left the house the night he died.
As I said, I smoked a lot of weed. Looking back, I can’t see where it did me any good. I’m convinced weed makes people stupid. My life got better once I gave up smoking. What difference does that make to people who are dying to begin with?
If getting high eases the stress on them and their families, give them all the weed they want
With both my parents, as the cancer progressed, they withdrew into their own worlds. It hurt seeing them sick and miserable. If they were high, they might have eaten more and rested better. It wouldn’t have prolonged their lives, but it might have made waiting more bearable.
Cannabis gets people high, and it increases appetite. Current and former pot smokers can attest to that. All who watched loved ones die from cancer know the misery it causes. It would ease the burden for caregivers. It would provide comfort for the patients if they could stay as high as they wanted.
Cancer haunts me; I can’t forget the misery it caused
It’s been thirty-two years since my mom died, and twenty years since I lost my dad. I can’t shake the memories of how they suffered and died. I don’t want people to watch loved ones suffer, and I want cancer patients to be as comfortable as possible.
Marijuana laws are changing all over the country. Every state should allow terminal patients to access cannabis and opioids. Let them have peace and comfort, and it will give caregivers rest as well.
Final Thought:
Watching my parents die from cancer still haunts me. It doesn’t look like a cure is coming soon. We should continue to focus on palliative care. Part of the care should be access to cannabis and opioids. It wouldn’t hurt, and it would help a lot.
Why Does Pot Make You Hungry? The Science of the Munchies — Biology Insights
Lawson Wallace is a freelance writer, blogger, and YouTuber. He specializes in Resumes, cover letters, blog posts, and emails. You can contact him at lawsonwallacewrites@outlook.com
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