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Medical Marijuana for MS

The Unspeakable Bits; From a Life with MS

4/20 was long counterculture code for the use of marijuana. So on April 20, I put out a broad question about the medical use of marijuana (MMJ) for multiple sclerosis to the Life with MS Facebook page. I was surprised by the overwhelming response and support for the legal use of the substance.

Legal history

It is important to remember that while MMJ (Cannabis Sativa) has been used as medicine in many of the world’s cultures for thousands of years, it is federally illegal in the United States, even for medical use. Though several states (18 and the District of Columbia at this writing) have medical use laws on the books, a 2005 Supreme Court ruling upheld the federal government’s right to prosecute patients who possess marijuana no matter how their state stands on the issue or whether the patient holds a prescription to use MMJ for medical purposes.

The U.S. government deems MMJ and its active chemical compounds a Schedule 1 Narcotic and Congress, in doing so, has determined the following to be true:
  1. The drug has a high potential for abuse.
  2. The drug has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
  3. There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.
Even if you live in one of the 18 states that allow patients access to marijuana, you are still breaking federal law and subject to arrest and prosecution if you use it as medication the way your doctor prescribes.

The inability and/or unwillingness to try MMJ for symptoms due to the legal status of the drug was one I read over and over in the comments on my post. Some posted that they would really like to try MMJ as many of their MS-related symptoms (particularly pain, spasticity and sleep issues) aren’t responsive to many prescription meds. Some people went so far as to say they were considering moving to another state (as some have done to be closer to MS Centers and MS specialists).

Speaking from experience

The most common MS symptoms named in conjunction with the medical use of cannabis include spasticity, pain, sleep quality, bladder issues, tremor and depression/anxiety.

As a person who formerly lived in one of the states allowing for medical use of cannabis, I availed myself of a prescription and found relief of one particular, medication-resistant symptom. Now, living away from that state, it is illegal for me to treat the MS spasticity in my neck with MMJ, so I am forced to experience that symptom without relief.

My MS doc – seen here, along with me, in a news video about a recent study on MS symptoms and MMJ – feels like the research is just now beginning to catch up with what people living with MS have been saying about MMJ for a while now: that for many of us it works.

I know from comments on my blog that some people with MS wouldn’t consider using MMJ even if it were made legal. Others use the drug for MS symptom management in spite of serious legal ramifications. Most of us, I suspect, simply abide by our state laws and wonder “what if?” as we wait for new treatments and an eventual cure.

These things only move forward with open discussion. Open discussion is something I would suggest with great caution when commenting about your personal use of MMJ. In fact, I think it’s a really bad idea to publicly reveal regular usage online given the current state of things. I do, however, believe that an exchange of ideas on the topic is possible without need to incriminate oneself. Keep it impersonal and don’t disclose what you’re doing in actuality. Whether you are of the “live and let live” side of the conversation or you see medical use of marijuana as a step down a slippery, moral slope, or possibly you find yourself somewhere in between, I look forward to hearing what you have to say about the use of MMJ for MS symptoms.

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

*Tune in tomorrow for a follow-up post from behavioral scientist and professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Anthony Feinstein, PhD.
Tags Activism & Advocacy, Research, Symptoms, Treatment      7 Appreciate this
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Trevis Gleason, Blogger

You can follow Trevis via, his Life With MS Facebook Page on Twitter and on the “Life With MS” Blog. And also, check out his bi-monthly blog for the UK.

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  • AnonyMS   Jun 10, 2013 12:23 PM
    I have multiple chemical sensitivities that prevent me from using traditional pharmaceuticals to manage my various symptoms.

    Various medications to handle symptoms always cause a bigger or more complicated issue than it was originally for.
    Muscle relaxers cause bowel and bladder issues regardless of using more meds to counter.
    Antidepressant side effects range from insomnia to GI issues.

    The primary symptom that cannabis helps me with is Spasticity.
    While its not able to completely clear my body of any spasticity, it is able to keep some of it at bay and most importantly it takes the edge off the spasticity where the muscle doesn't feel like its getting completely ripped off the bone...
    This relief in spasticity/spasms also helps with getting a better night's rest.

    Currently reside in a state where it is illegal. It's bad enough having MS but to be a criminal by attempting to improve my quality of life is depressing.
    I have gone through long stretches without cannabis and I can tell a clear difference in my body with and without it.

    The tide is turning in the US and while I never thought I would see it decriminalized in my lifetime, here we are.
    Science will prevail where religion and politics have failed us.
  • Jim   Jun 10, 2013 5:16 PM
    I am mystified how we can tolerate ljving in a world where GMO food is legal (in fact there is no law governing the labeling of GMO foods), cigarettes are legal, alcohol is legal and advertised at sporting events, i can buy a Big Mac and supersized frie meal, and I can take a drug for MS which has been on the market for all of 8 years - a drug where little is known about it's long term safety or efficacy....but costs $50,000 per year. All of this against the back drop of a drug (cannabis) which is still illegal even though it has been used and studied for over 100 years, is tolerated
    well, has proven benefits etc...? Follow the money. If Biogen gets a hold of a way to grow weed and market it it will be instantly approved!
  • Barb   Jun 10, 2013 5:20 PM
    Isn't there an RX, in pill form, you can get that has the same ingredient as what is in MMJ? This way you can reap the benefit without messing up your lungs. I haven't taken it, but it seems logical.
  • Kira   Jun 10, 2013 5:29 PM
    @Barb you do not have to smoke MMJ to reap the benefits. i have made brownies for my mom who also suffers with night time issue with her MS and she was able to rest and ease her pain. You can smoke it if you want but lots of people eat it or swallow it in a pill form. As far as I know there is no synthetic drug that is the same as a natural growing plant like MMJ that can do the same thing. And if there was why do you want to expose yourself to more chemicals? This is a very real and natural way to treat your pain shame on the government for making people feel like they have to break the law to use something so much more effective than that of a drug made by a huge pharmaceutical company. I am in the process of making some salves that will help as well. I hope someday soon no one will have to fear prosecution for using a holistic method to heal their body.
  • AnonyMS   Jun 10, 2013 5:45 PM
    @Barb - Kira is correct, there are many smokeless options.
    A simple search online will produce results.
    I have made Tinctures and butter myself at home. If you can follow instructions or a recipe (and physically able), then you can grow and harvest your own medicine (grows in the garden with my vegetables).
    Studies have debunked the belief that smoking cannabis damages your lungs, and actually showing it beneficial.

    I cannot stress enough how important it is for people to "re-educate" themselves. Multiple generations were simply lied to.
    If you can think of a possible health concern with Cannabis, chances are its incorrect and from out-dated propaganda.
  • Jess   Jun 10, 2013 5:48 PM
    I agree with Jim's comment regarding how many things are legal that are harmful to humans but this one thing is a big deal. I further agree that if big pharma had their fingers in the pie, suddenly, it would be medicine - IF controlled and sold for exorbitant costs by them.
  • dave schrader   Jun 10, 2013 5:49 PM
    I live Iin Texas were it is illegal. I have ms I smoke pot and i dont care what doctors say it helps me.
  • Claire McDonough   Jun 10, 2013 5:56 PM
    I think your position was cowardly. If it was ANY other Big Pharma treatment, instead of one God/Nature produces naturally, you would advocate for our ability to access it if it was safe. Strip away the stigma and look at why it works. And if it works and it has benefits - fight like Hell for everyone to access it who wants to try it.
  • Anonymous   Jun 10, 2013 6:01 PM
    How funny that I see this post today of all days. I live in a state where MMJ is not legal but has one of the largest concentration of MS in the US. I had my 6 moths appointment with my MS dr today and the majority of the time I was with him we discussed this exact subject. I am lucky enough to go to the only privately funded clinic in the US, so my time is never limited and we are able to have such discussion. My Dr like to play the devils advocate but also understands the severe issues associated with MS since his wife also suffers with MS. We talked pros and cons and everything in between. I think I left him with a little different view after we talked. Yes there is a THC pills but the effects of marijuana are much different and beneficial when it is smoked. When asked today about the negative aspects of using marijuana the only one I could come up with is the effects on the lungs....
  • msangel   Jun 10, 2013 6:02 PM
    I can take a pill that could kill me and doesn't work as well. If I use mmj because it works and doesn't present the side effects of some of the other medicine I have taken I go to jail. So I risk the chance of diing so to me this makes absolutely no sense I would use it
  • Karl   Jun 10, 2013 6:03 PM
    I've just lived with my MS pain for 3 years because of my unwillingness to use prescriptions like Gabapentin. First time I was put on Gabapentin I went from A student in my SPAN 101-201 classes to borderline F in SPAN 202. I saw people move their lips but my brain wasn't able to take in the sounds that went with the movement. I even had trouble speaking one coherent thought in English. Needless to say my GPA dropped that semester but not as much as it would have if I had stayed on Gabapentin. I stayed clear of it for such a long time because I was scared of the things it did to my brain.

    I'm still bouncing around from prescription to prescription looking for something that works. I'm currently on Gabapentin again but I'm not in school at the moment. I'm at a level of pain medication that my doctor won't allow me to surpass from fear of addiction & other things. I would like to get my pain level to a point where I don't lose sleep. It is very hot where I live & I don't have a car so I rely on public transportation. It takes everything I have to get to & from work every day. Anti-Depressants scare the hell out of me. Honestly I don’t like any drug that screws with my ability to think. So I am not sure if MMJ would be right for me. Yet I don’t think it would be worse than alcohol or Gabapentin before my body became accustomed to it.

    My interest in MMJ obviously comes from hearing the stories of how it works for others. Also every time someone finds out I have MS they immediately ask oh so you probably have a MMJ card? It drives me insane. I don't see how it could be any worse than alcohol & I know many people who use it often & perform their daily duties just fine. I am interested in MMJ & how it might help me but I'm scared to bring it up to my neurologist because he is so dead set on Gabapentin being the best option for my pain.

    Barb there is such a pill. My mother was on a Marijuana derivative in the last stages of cancer. Although, I think the only reason she was prescribed it was the fact that she was close to death. Also there is a video on called Super High Me with the comedian Doug Benson. If you watch it; he will visit a dispensary in California & learns all the different ways MMJ may be administered.
  • Aimee   Jun 10, 2013 6:10 PM
    I have MS and also live with pain, muscle spasms and sleepless nights. These symptoms are frustrating because of their legal drug treatments and their harmful side effects. I can't believe that chemically engineered drugs like pain killers, sleeping pills, and muscle relaxers are better for my body and mind than a natural plant, God made. My only concern with its use is inhaling the smoke; however, with all the edibles and vaporizers on the market today, there is no need to inhale the marijuana smoke to get its benefits.
  • KENNETH AARON HAHN   Jun 10, 2013 6:11 PM
    damn the smoking of marijuana.the smoking of this plant is the least efficient way of using this plant. what about RSO RICK SIMPSON HEMP OIL i have heard so much about. i have ms. i believe RSO WOULD CURE MY MS. why is this not available to me or the people???????????
  • louise keane   Jun 10, 2013 6:12 PM
    I have progressive Ms & believe that if mmj works for people like us then it should be approved. there are people who aren't sick who use & abuse it just to I guess whatever. I cannot use it due to lung issues, but have no objections to others who can & will benefit from it my only fear is the abuse & misuse of it. Hopefully people with MS like myself will use it if it becomes available for that purpose. keep smiling.
  • Susie   Jun 10, 2013 6:14 PM
    I just can not understand why someone would use the drugs they now treat MS with that can cause some serious side effects, but say the would not use marijuana. I am more afraid of the drugs that are legal used for MS than marijuana....even pain pills and muscle relaxers have dangers and high addiction and alcohol is another drug that is more dangerous I know some people drink to relieve pain. I know marijuana would be my choice over pain pills and muscle relaxers if it were legal.
  • Avatar
    Quaker  Jun 10, 2013 6:21 PM
    If grass could help MS, I'm sure they would have a pill made they could sell and control. Of course at great cost....
    The use of grass, (weed) brings back to many memories of the 1960's......Wasn't too good of a time for me......
  • Karen   Jun 10, 2013 6:23 PM
    How ridiculous is it that the Federal Government can arrest someone who has a prescription for medical marijuana and lives in a state where it's legal? Just another example of how the laws need to be changed!
  • Robin Davis   Jun 10, 2013 8:05 PM
    All the drugs and years of disease have added complications and PAIN to my MS. I do live in a state where it is illegal and I am a "rule follower", even as a teen. However, mj is less toxic to your body in the long run. Opiods are necessary but with great side affects. Good MJ is the best drug for many MS symptoms. I use a self -cath all day, using mj and my bladder relaxes and I am normal for the few hours that it lasts. I am for legalization with the same laws as alcohol regarding public use, driving, etc. We need pharmaceutical use. I want to know where it is grown, who is growing and I am a hugh anti-smoker. We need a different form and Marinol DOES NOT WORK!
  • Deena   Jun 10, 2013 8:09 PM
    As an MS patient that has been unable to function for years without the use of pain meds, I was quite optimistic when my state of Delaware made medical marijuana legal a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, this has gone nowhere since the law was changed. Apparently, Delaware won't allow anyone to grow or dispense it since it is still against the federal law. Have other states changed the law and then did nothing??
  • Tara P.   Jun 10, 2013 8:31 PM
    My mom passed away from complications of her MS in July of 2008. At the time I didn't know much about mmj or how it could help with ms symptoms. I wish I had. It now angers me that something that might possibly have helped her was kept from her. I'm not convinced mmj is any more harmful or addictive than the copious amounts of morphine they pumped into her, and from what I've been reading, it may have been more effective. She suffered terrible and constant pain for months. I don't understand why she couldn't have something that might have helped. Why is marijuana so inherently bad? Is it really worse than morphine? Or OxyContin? If I knew then what I know now, and if I knew how/where to get it for her, I definitely would have, law or not.
  • Julie   Jun 10, 2013 9:15 PM
    I live in a state where MMJ is not legal but I know that there are benefits to using it! I would much rather do that than take a handful of pills. I don't understand why it is thought that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol!?!? My neurologist feels that marijuana is beneficial but can't prescribe it because of the laws!! Very frustrating! It's like having a cure for something but not being able to use it!!
  • Shelley   Jun 10, 2013 9:40 PM
    When your in pain the way we are you will try anything.
    i tried it years ago and it hurt my chest. It made the spasms
    Worse. If they put it in its natural source THC, form like they do for
    Cancer patients it might be different.
  • L.Ty   Jun 10, 2013 11:07 PM
    Why not for proven medical problems. My wife had undiagnosed for twenty years yet still little help.

    FYI, You should read this:
  • Aufar farhan   Jun 11, 2013 12:11 AM
    I'm from sethma international we done some research for ms we locate 2 renascence to start the auto immunity but not conform we need the lipoprotin compound at mailin and dna oders of bone marow if we got we can buld the drug to ms
  • Janna   Jun 11, 2013 4:27 AM
    I'm tired of taking the drug s the doctors give me.They are worst than the disease.For me they don't work.laying in bed

    3nights a week with a fever just not going to cut it any More

    all I can take take.think it is inhumane to let us suffer when there something that is organic that can help.The shots aren't working I'm progressing lost my sight in one eye it's not conning back. At least let us give it a try WAnt my life back.
  • Judith Bedward   Jun 11, 2013 6:55 AM
    Please make it legal in Wisconsin. I would move to another state if I did not have family here. I really do not want to break the law. I am becoming addicted to muscle relaxers and I understand MMJ could relieve my spasticity when it happens and not take pills all of the time.
  • Linda Talmage Jackowski   Jun 11, 2013 8:27 AM
    The use of Medical Cannabis should be a persons personal choice with their Dr., it isn't for just anyone to use if it makes you feel strange, but I do know the benefits of this plant is here on this planet for a reason just as many other plants used in treating other diseases and illnesses.
  • MPP   Jun 11, 2013 8:46 AM
    I know that by using MMJ a person with MS can completely go off all prescription drugs. Twelve of them in fact. Taking prescription drugs just covers up so many of the symptoms, it doesn't stop them. I find it frustrating that there are natural remedies a sick person is not allowed to have just to put more money in the pockets of the drug companies. Because if you take thier drugs, you have to take more and more to deal with the side effects caused by them. And isn't it amazing that the government has patents using cannabis, but patients can't make the decision to use the herb without thier ok.
    Reading through the comment section I see there is still a need for education on the various ways to use medical cannabis. It is very effective in so many different ways. It doesn't have to be inhaled as there are ways to use it in food, teas, creams/lotions, ect., that a patient can make themselves!
  • Ronin   Jun 11, 2013 9:17 AM

    Both sides of the argument, presented impartially, with links to scientific research and studies in countries around the globe, where the governments don't suppress their results (the way ours does) just because they contradict policies that make billions of dollars for pharmaceutical companies, police and prison unions, and rehab centers, all of whom donate millions to keep this beneficial herb out of the market and the hands of patients.
  • Joyce   Jun 11, 2013 10:28 AM
    The government brainwashed this country years ago against marijuana. They started with our grandparents and then our parents. Just watch that ridiculous movie "Refer Madness" sometime and you will see where this idea that it is such a psychodelic drug came from. It shows a guy smoking with a girl and then he tries to rape her. How bogus is that? Usually if you get real high you want to veg out and eat brownies. Please, the guy would have to be a rapist in the first place. So stupid and this country buys into it still. The only thing I saw acurate in that movie was the people laughing, sometimes that is true but you know, we do that with booze too.
    In reality the government relies on keeping us ignorant so they can be in control. They don't know how to control marijuana in a way that the government can always profit from it. If it is legal, how would they stop us from growing our own and avoid paying taxes on it?
    I have seen in the media lately of children being poisoned by ingesting marijuana. Really? Do people leave their pot lying around for toddlers to get ahold of it? I certainly wouldn't leave an open bottle of booze in a child's reach why would I leave pot out for them?
    And why on earth did our government buy up the patent for cannabis? They want to prevent a cure? Or is it about profit?
    And honestly if they come up with a cure for MS, I wouldn't doubt that they keep it from us. The pharmaceutical companies have and need to continue profit off of us for years and years.
    I remember watching the PBS show "Race to Save the Planet". It was a televised course I took I think in 1991. Volvo had come out with a car that gets 100 miles to the gallon back in the late 70's early 80's gas crunch. They made 6 proto types and they could even put bio gas in it or wesson oil to run it. But then the gas crunch was over so they shelved it.

    I have searched and searched online for this car and there is nothing to be found about it. Big guess is the oil companies/government paid Volvo to never make this car and keep it under wraps.

    Is that what the government is holding a patent on cannabis for? To keep it under wraps?
  • Candice Gingles   Jun 11, 2013 10:37 AM
    Hey Trevis! It's the Coastie wife responding here to this blog. I'm from Colorado, a state that has legalized use of medical marijuana. Although I don't particularly like the way I feel on it, I applaud it's use by those who want to alleviate symptoms and problems related to diseases and conditions like MS. My mom has fibromyalgia and marijuana has helped her immensely. Far more than any of the precribled chemical drugs. And it is still a product from the earth as opposed to a chemistry set in some giant pharmaceutical laboratory. Marijuana has been proven again and again to alleviate all sorts of things. I don't understand why it's still illegal. And this is coming from someone who doesn't even use it.
  • Been There   Jun 11, 2013 10:39 AM
    For 9 years I've hidden my use of cannabis for my MS symptoms. I had such terrible leg spasms I wore splints on my legs at night. The neck spasms were also horrible and would send me running to find a place to lay absolutely still and relaxed to help them recede. I had no sexual desire and found myself feeling more and more depressed. Then a friend shared her marijuana with me and I slept the better that night than I had in years. I only use it at night. I never used it after midnight as I had to work in the morning. I didn't want to take narcotics for the pain because I take so many medications for so many medical problems that I was afraid adding a narcotic would probably make me die in my sleep. I know marijuana won't do that. I wish it was legal in my state. I have hated hiding this for all these years and my husband and I discussed the risk of my getting caught but agreed that the change in me and my quality of life was worth the risk. I treat is as medication because to me that is why I take it. It's not led me to "harder" drugs ever in the 9 years I've used it. I wish I could speak out on it publicly but the repercussions would be too great.
  • Hannah   Jun 11, 2013 10:39 AM
    Thank you for your fair article. I find most "official" blogs like the National MS society typically doesn't touch this topic as it is still a hot button issue. I just wanted to share my own experience.

    I live in Colorado, by far the most liberal cannabis state in the US. I have been a state registered user for several years and I must say that Cannabis has changed my quality of life for the better. I was on over 10+ medications for everything from sleeping problems, migraines, spasticity, and pain among other things. I was able to drop all but one prescription medication in addition to my disease modifying treatment after using Cannabis. I want to make one things clear, Cannabis, like any other treatment does have side effects. For me personally, I find them easy to live with and much easier to deal with than my pharmaceutical medication side effects that I was dealing with previously. Just like any treatment, it is not right for everyone. That being said, Cannabis is an integral part of my treatment regiment, one that my neurologist and other doctors agrees with.

    I have a fantastic medical marijuana center in Denver called The Clinic that takes the "medical" side very seriously. The grower of this dispensary's wife has MS and thus they are very MS centered. They tell me what strains are good specifically for MS and they are constantly having their products tested to insure quality, safety, and potency. They also do the MS walk every year and are often the top corporate donors in Denver! For me, a person living in Colorado with MS, this is a wonderful alternative to the pain medication that made me incredibly sick. I know it is not that easy for people who do not live in a state such as mine but I want people to know that it can work given the correct environment and patient!
  • alisha   Jun 11, 2013 1:24 PM
    MS has taken a lot from me but marijuana gave back my life... not legal in Wisconsin but being home bound I am not hurting anyone but the poor drug companies cause I no longer take 9 medications that were the only available for my symptoms....until now 420. Amen
  • Allen Nance   Jun 11, 2013 4:16 PM
    There is fast approaching a time when I become more and more resistant to drugs. Despite the federal restrictions of the VA to allow it on their formulary, the VA Doctors from both the pain clinic as well as neurology, write prescriptions for those with M.S. that have outside ways of paying for it if they so choose.
    As I have said before, and will say again till I drop dead: In the end, Pain Wins. Your horse ***** stigmatism about anything on this planet I can consume to relieve pain means nothing to me. Lobbies to make yourself look good in the eyes of some jackass ideologies mean nothing to me. I have zero intention, nor obligation, to suffer so someone looks good in a social context over guffaws and chuckles and a dinner table. For those finding relief this way, Good For You. For those taking issue and interfering with that: Drop Dead. I have no time for you.
    ...Allen Nance, SPMS w/ RRMS, diag 2007, 100% disabled. Bill W 5yrs, not 420 friendly but would like the option to get THC in pill form some day or anything else...
  • Kim   Jun 11, 2013 8:02 PM
    Thank you Trevis for writing about this topic! I live in Wa where even recreational use was legalized last year. However, there are lots of 'imiplementation problems", of course. A lot of people are watching WA and CO to see what happens. After reading all the comments below, it's so obvious that big Pharma is totally involved. It's always about money. Lets get the money out of politics as best as we can and then see what happens. I was Ms Dx 2 yrs ago and find that MMJ definitely helps me sleep better, waking more rested. It helps spasticity too. I would definitely like to see more available research on which strains and ingestion methods work best for what, but until the Feds give up this Stupid war on drugs, good luck. check out for overturning Citizens United and making a big leap in getting the money out of politics.
  • b. hALEY   Jun 11, 2013 11:44 PM
    my husband had MS .for 8 years. One thing that kept him going for PAIN was marijuana.The State of RI came though with their first store was in Feb. 2013. He passed away 1/6/13. I think it is so sad they let people die in PAIN. There was weeks he didn't have any. Then he went to the pain pills. I think pain pills are real bad. What is wrong with with world. I had a great man the only thing he wanted was to re leave the pain.This is all he asked.
    Wife, caretaker
  • connie   Jun 12, 2013 10:32 AM
    My wonderful son has ME and he is a young father and husband too,I think it's criminal not to legalize marijuana for medical usr to relieve the terrible pain that is engulfed these victims of such debilitating illnesses,people like my son and others !!They truly need it ,just to give them some kinda help so they can live pain free!!!!
  • Valentine   Jun 12, 2013 4:17 PM
    Fortunately, I live in Washington State where MMJ is legal (at least on the state level). I have had a medical marijuana authorization since 2000 when my MS was first diagnosed. I am lucky to have a neurologist that firmly believes in the medicinal benefits of marijuana. Having volunteered at a mmj facility for sometime now, I have seen firsthand the miracles this natural drug can perform. MS, fibromyalgia, Chrons Disease, glaucoma and even cancer to name a few. Seeing is believing and I for one am a firm believer in the beneficial use of this plant! I have not had ANY exacerbations since I began using mmj. I must admit I also give myself a weekly injection of Avonex and therefore cannot accurately state that it is because of mmj I remain so healthy. In fact, if I knew for sure I would have quit doing the injections years ago, but for all I know it is a combination of the injection AND marijuana that is working for me. Regardless, anyone who says or believes there are no medicinal benefits of marijuana is full of poo-poo and needs to come out of the dark ages! The only reason it is still illegal is because big pharma cannot get a patent for this natural remedy and therefore there is no money in it for them! Educate yourselves, my friends! More and more research is being published all the time on this wonderful plant. Watch "Run from the Cure" by phoenix tears on YouTube for a start. Whether you smoke it, eat it, take it in pill form or use it in a salve, there ARE healing benefits and nobody can make me "unsee" what I've already seen. I look forward to this medicine becoming an option for everybody everywhere. Until then, best of luck to all of you!
  • Anne Lyons   Jun 12, 2013 4:47 PM
    This is a great blog here. I have MS and as I live in PA, have often wondered "what if?" myself. I have tried a multitude of medications/therapies over the course of my 12 year fight with MS. I consider myself pretty lucky so far and I intend to keep charging at it with the help, love and support from my family, friends and doctors. I do wonder though, what if my doctors could prescribe MMJ? Would it make a difference in my situation? To have a knowledgeable medical doctor prescribe, in his/her trusted opinion, the proper quantity, dosage, etc. could be potentially a great thing for me. PA has a bill currently, SB528 that may make it a non-issue for me. I would try it and if it worked for my issues, good, if not, well then I would know.
  • Kenneth Thompson   Jun 13, 2013 8:40 AM
    Thank you for being brave enough to post this Travis. I was a user of recreational marijuana for about 15 years. This period of my life ended about 15 years ago, not because I was feeling any harmful effects from the pot use but simply because they put a testing policy in place at my work place. I've recently been made aware of the GMO issue and while researching that I've seen many articles about medical marijuana. It certainly appears to be working for those with the balls to use it. Two days ago I viewed a movie shown by the Pittsburgh chapter of NORML and found the evidence presented there indis*****ble. I don't understand our governments agenda , and I hope it's not simply greed, but I think it's time we demand the truth and refuse accepting anything less.
  • Uncle Mikey   Jun 13, 2013 3:39 PM
    Great article. I run an deivery service in the east bay. It is a double closed lop system where we bring club quality to pt. homes 7 days a week. I see first hand how this miracle plant helps those in distress from MS. My whole life as an Rn and as A farmer has been to help my brothers and sisters have "Access" to their medicine. Lets dialougue.. OnelvUM
  • jeff   Jun 13, 2013 10:06 PM
    during my 5yrs since I was DX'D. about 1/2 way thru I tried it and found it effective with relaxing and calming. I don't do it in front of everyone and keep it mostly to my self. taking any meds away but leave that alone. it helps with the courage o talk and participate. no, I don't use it to get stoned. having issues with my hands and muscle cramps about the size of a quarter all over my legs.
    Thanks Trevis!
  • Heather   Jun 18, 2013 2:27 PM
    I am a single mom of 3 great kids, 2 boys and a girl and I have MS. I was dx over 15 yes ago and thru that time I have tried so many different kinds of therapy from pills to pt to herbals. As if giving myself an injection wasn't enough I also tried chemo but nothing and I mean NOTHING has helped with all of my symptoms never mind one symptom like marijuana has. Everyone I see has said what a positive change they see in me. It's helped tremors, pain, muscle spasms, migraines and the upset stomach I have all the time never mind the depression and anxiety. God made this plant for a reason:) hope it's legalized for u soon
  • wm milliron   Jun 19, 2013 5:06 AM
    when my body cramps up only releive is one hit of cannibus body cramps go away life saver
  • jean annan   Jun 20, 2013 12:44 PM
    mmj it dose work for me my night pain is so bad i cant stand it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i ask GOD to help me every day !!.it is so hard to want to hold on ..i wish GOD.....would just take me ..
  • frank   Jun 20, 2013 1:11 PM
    My son gave me a small bottle of tincture, a liquid with a bit of weed, I use it for Spasticity in my legs along with other meds. so far it works, and helps me get to sleep.
  • Adam   Jun 20, 2013 1:11 PM
    I recently turned 21, and have been taking injections every other day since I was diagnosed at 16. I've also smoked almost daily for about four years now. Long story short it's immensely helpful. It relieves muscle spasms and side effects from injections the most, but it also helps with the stress of it all. It in no way makes me a stoner bum either - I'm able to hold a part time job and internship while smoking at night so as to relieve side effects as well as help me sleep.
  • Dina   Jul 5, 2013 9:17 AM
    jean annan I know just how you feel. I also ask god to take me everyday. Think about your family and friends and connect with them. Find an ms buddy. Find a way to hang in there.
  • Dina   Jul 5, 2013 9:17 AM
    jean annan I know just how you feel. I also ask god to take me everyday. Think about your family and friends and connect with them. Find an ms buddy. Find a way to hang in there.
  • Dina   Jul 5, 2013 9:17 AM
    jean annan I know just how you feel. I also ask god to take me everyday. Think about your family and friends and connect with them. Find an ms buddy. Find a way to hang in there.
  • kelleyb   Jul 7, 2013 12:16 AM
    I really wish that they would pass the law in every state because I know a lot of people that it does work for and it would be better than pain pills that eat at your liver and eventually u become nummeToo
  • Steven   Jul 8, 2013 4:58 PM
    Very informational link. Power of RAW cannabis.
  • RickP   Jul 12, 2013 8:34 AM

    All I can say is the efficacy is unparalleled for relieving the tightness, spasms and painful gripping sensations from hips to feet. When these issues are relieved, the associated anxiety is also suppressed. It's a great day with SPMS.
  • Avatar
    noahspop  Jul 22, 2013 7:10 PM
    just joined this forumn and have been wondering about what effects pot would have on our disease. I was diagnosed in 2002 . tried Avonex for 6months, 21 shots and I was in a wheelchair. Been in a chair since May 2005. I was dxd with spms , in the last yr I have been feeling more and more pain from legs, feet, hips, and low back. Nothing seems to help. I'm serious considering Pot.
    Now after reading all these comments I think I am convinced. I live in NJ . Is it at all legal here? Anybody know ? Really doesn't matter , but would be good to know. Thx All
  • Maria MacMinn   Jul 23, 2013 11:12 AM
    I live in Canada and have a legal licence to use ans well as to grow Marijana. I have used the Marijana that I grow since 2004 when my symptoms began to get worse. I have embraced the drug because it works. When I use it in the evening to prepare me to get through a long night of pain from spasms and pain, I never wake up with a fuzzy head as I would if I had taken the drugs like baclofen. Marijana is not addictive. I can use it when I need it and do not feel desperate for it when I don't need it. Many people get hooked on pain medication and your body craves drugs like OxyContin that are used to relieve pain. I don't get stomached aches from using it unlike over the counter pain relief drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen, Tylenol. Nor do I have to worry about the negative effects on my liver like betaseron has done to my liver. I am not promoting the use of Marijana over other MS drugs. I am just promoting the use of Marijana as an alterative to pain medication.

    I hope that this post has given another perspective on the use of Marijana for MS sufferers and that it has alliviated the fear of those who have such a negative view of the use of MMJ because of the legality of the drug. There is a reason that MMJ has been licences in 18 US states as well as in Canada.
  • mdwilliams-  Jul 27, 2013 9:57 AM
    bare some nasty opiod marijuana could help me with pain spastic limbsnd insomnia please let me get some makes more sense than etoh which wrecks families and causes accidents,unlike thc
  • mary   Jul 30, 2013 10:22 AM
    Hav anyone ask a person with MS how they feel smoking weed withMS?
    Itz better then the reg. Meds I think it needs to be legal, it comes from the earth
    It ain't never killed a soul...itz needed for the sick get over it its from the earth, from the dirt and we MS the people need the weed...thanks!!
  • mary   Jul 30, 2013 10:22 AM
    Hav anyone ask a person with MS how they feel smoking weed withMS?
    Itz better then the reg. Meds I think it needs to be legal, it comes from the earth
    It ain't never killed a soul...itz needed for the sick get over it its from the earth, from the dirt and we MS the people need the weed...thanks!!
  • breakinthelaw   Jul 30, 2013 10:35 AM
    as a kid I always heard drugs are bad, went through the DARE program (that's Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and swore id never smoke cigs or drink beer or use drugs, Now fast forward to being diagnosed w MS at age 22. Now fast forward to a few years later suffering from enormous intractable pain from the MS hug, its nothing any pills had touched. A good friend suggested I try it. I did research, and I prayed about it, I read the Bible and I prayed some more. I believe God didn't just accidentaly make it. It was created to be used as medicine. Nothing helped me except for smoking. Im an adult and taking the chance of being arrested. I realize that, but I use it responsibly and in moderation. Its a chance I am willing to take.
  • Scaredy Cat   Jul 31, 2013 1:20 PM
    I live in CA and medical MMJ use is confusing. They say is has been :"decriminalized", but you can be arrested for being in possession. The confusion in the interpretation of the law is what keeps me from trying it. I know with my health issues I probably would not go to jail, but an arrest, bail, hearing/trial, etc could set me back beyond any benefits the MMJ might result in.
  • Weed the People   Aug 22, 2013 2:30 PM
    If Pope Benedict the Fatigued blesses Verse Eleven of Chapter One in the Book of Genesis, Christians can petition the Supreme Court with Papal infallability and influence the course of humanity, with God and law on their side.
  • Kim   Aug 22, 2013 2:48 PM
    Bring it on! I am ready for MMj . I have heard here and there on the news that they are trying to legalize it in Florida. I am waiting to see if Georgia is next. I hate to know I would have to move across the state line, but would be willing to try anything that would actually work. I hate MS with a PASSION!!! I want a life again....
  • Andrea   Aug 22, 2013 3:46 PM
  • msandreaw  Aug 26, 2013 12:01 PM
    I live in A state that will allow MMJ in January, I will seriously consider trying it for pain relief if this last ditch effort of nerve blocks do not work. I have been on LTD for a year due to multiple MS related issues, but would really like to get back to my life! If Marijuana brings relief and function back to my life I think the powers that be should be on board with that!
  • nemo   Aug 29, 2013 10:47 AM
    My husband has lived with progressive ms for almost 10 years. He was on disease modifying drugs for years--they did not help and had terrible risks and side effects. He has spacticity in his left leg so bad it is like rigamortis. We live in one of the first states to approve MMJ, and he asked his neuro previously for an approval and the neuro declined, stating that "there is no proof it does any good" and gave my husband a perscription for baclofen--a muscle relaxer that does nothing but make the poor man more tired and dopey. Now he has a new symptom--tremors. He moves the slightest way and just starts vibrating--its terrible! My husband just turned 40 and has suffered so many MS related injuries--deep cuts, bruises, 5 broken ribs. FINALLY the neuro approved him for MMJ, and he applied for the card. He is so excited and I so hope that he will not be disappointed.

    MS is a horrible, horrible disease. It rips the life away from the sufferers. Docs are ready to give people oxycontin and other ridiculously dangerous drugs which the govt approves, but resist allowing suffering people to ease their suffering in a safer way (yes, it is undoubtedly safer and I argue that it does not cause physical dependency the way perscrip pain killers do). People swear by MMJ's efficacy, and even if using it only makes the person high and forget about their suffering for a while--so what?
  • cfnip  Sep 2, 2013 6:21 PM
    I don't have any pain at all. Only I feel fatigue and weak sometimes and my walking balance is not good. I need to take 5mg of methylphenidate everyday for few months already. I don't know what will be doing next since I moved from Asheville to Durham and I am still waiting for his referral.....
  • Peter   Sep 3, 2013 4:16 PM
    Travis - have your doctor prescribe you Marinol/generic dronabinol. It's pure THC and does help. I was briefly on marijuana/cannabis for my stiffness, spasms and pain, especially in my neck and one leg and it did work great, especially at night when it really helped me sleep well. We used a vaporizer in the California study - a device that releases a mist from the drug rather than smoke but otherwise works like smoking, with almost instant effect. I took take one puff of the vaporizer and a few minutes later feel much better. The Marinol doesn't work as well but it does help and is my go-to medication for this problem. Its main problem is it is hard to adjust the dose, being a pill, and takes a really long time to reach its peak action (unlike vaporization where it is close to instant), and it is somewhat more psychoactive than the real stuff. The "high" is rather unpleasant compared to the real thing. Although with both the cannabis and Marinol I try to keep the dose low enough that I don't experience that. Unfortunately, when the Marinol wears off about 4AM it is too late to take more, I'd be up anyway before it starts working. The vaporizer was great, I'd just take another puff and be fine. My state IS a legal medical marijuana state but it is just too big a hassle to get on it plus my employer doesn't allow it even for legal medicinal use, so Marinol is at least a passable substitute.
  • john   Jun 8, 2015 1:32 PM
    How amazing how these powerful herb can have the possibility of curing other disease, Its ability is no doubt effective and safe. No wonder it can be a great substitute to medicine as well. <a href=""></a>
  • Cheri   Jun 8, 2015 7:55 PM
    I have had MS for 18 years and I can tell you I was in the Hospital Emergency and the Registered Nurse asked if I had ever used MJJ
  • Cheri   Jun 8, 2015 8:40 PM
    I have been diagnosed with MS for 18 years while I was in an Emergency Room waiting for the second part of my Dillauid Injection feeling a lot of pain. When the Registered Nurse came in and asked me if I have ever tried MMJ? I told him I had not and he said I should look into it because he has treated many patients who have had much success with pain relief and relief of Spasticity. Within two months I had my card for legal MMJ and it replaced 80% of my medications and works better and helps when prescription medication can't do a thing.
  • Cheri   Jun 8, 2015 8:40 PM
    I have been diagnosed with MS for 18 years while I was in an Emergency Room waiting for the second part of my Dillauid Injection feeling a lot of pain. When the Registered Nurse came in and asked me if I have ever tried MMJ? I told him I had not and he said I should look into it because he has treated many patients who have had much success with pain relief and relief of Spasticity. Within two months I had my card for legal MMJ and it replaced 80% of my medications and works better and helps when prescription medication can't do a thing.
  •   Jul 21, 2015 11:50 PM
    Marijuana is linked with anti-inflammatory activities that block cell growth and prevent the growth of blood vessels that supply tumors, the drug has also be found effective with cancer in the brain, lungs, prostate, cervix, and even pancreas.
  • LKW. Shepherd   Oct 19, 2015 12:55 AM
    I married a Colorado man and moved here from Oklahoma. My neurologist encouraged me to try marijuans....I have Primary Progressive M.S. After 2 years of wrestling with the moral and legal stigmas, I gave it a try. I didn't feel any more impaired than if I drank one strong ale. After that brief feeling subsided, I FELT NORMAL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST 10 years. Gone was the dogged depression, fatigue, and spastic leg pain. I was energized! I actually got a great deal was gteat!
  • Kara Lambert   Oct 27, 2015 3:48 AM
    My husband suffered with the symptoms MS from 1999... When the doctors couldn't decide what he had...until 2012 when he passed out of this 2001 he was finally diagnosed and in 2007 was when it was suggested that he use mmj by a doctor in Georgia... Though the doctor was careful to explain that it was illegal in his opinion that was the only thing that would give him back his quality of life and it did until 2011 when we moved back to his home state of Utah when they proceeded to put him on oxycotin to manage his pain...which I believe was the death of him literally...I and my 5 girls ( the oldest 22 and the youngest 7)are left to carry on with out him...I feel robbed because honestly mmj helped him have more of a say in his care, treatment and quality of limiting access to such medication causes not only the MS patient to suffer but so too does the family that just wants their loved one to have a good quality of life...I am a junior in college and working on a law degree...hopefully if my children or grandchildren are diagnosed with this horrid disease times will have changed and MMJ will finally be on the table for patients...all politics aside.
  • Tammy   Jan 11, 2016 1:09 AM
    My husband and I recently moved to Texas. I can't find any where to purchase his medicine from in the McKinney Tx area. He has has MS for 10 years and Medical marijuana is one of the main mess that he has taken that has made his pain bearable
    Ca n Med. Marijuana be mailed from one state to another
    I certainly hope so because I have no idea how to help him
    Ant ad is e will be much appreciated.
    Tammy. (Searching for MS med narihuaba foe husbands Primary progressive MS)
  • CLaude Westra   Jan 31, 2016 6:47 AM
    Thanks a lot, this really is a truly awsome article! I had a good experience merging documents online and happy to share it with you. BTW, there is an online service through which you can merge any PDF files, the link is here
  • Daniel Ellis   Jun 12, 2016 9:04 PM
    About the only medication that i,ve tryed, that works on multiple m.s. issues. Not really worried about any legal ramifications. But would feel better, if the great state ofTexas would legalize it already. M.S. sux bad enough as it is, Dan
  • pat   Sep 11, 2016 10:13 PM
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  • Norma   Sep 19, 2016 4:48 PM
    I live in a state where MMJ is legal. I'm currently registered with the Department of Health as a card carrying MMJ patient. I've had a legal recommendation for years now. Smoking marijuana has been the BEST thing I've ever done with regards to my MS. I'm relatively pain free as long as I keep my CBD levels up. I hate Gabapentin and refuse to take it. CBD's are Gods wonder drug if you ask me. Their effects are actually enhanced when combined with THC. God had it right when he created the plant. Being an older MS patient, going on 16 yrs now, I've had a lot of testing done. Would you believe that as both a marijuana smoker, and a cigarette smoker, my lungs show no signs of negative effects and I don't wheeze at all? Of course there are other ways to injest CBD's and THC. But smoking flower is the cheapest. Patients with a legal recommendation from their state can get their "medicine" for about 1/3 the price of someone buying it legally at 21 and over shops. That's why you get your recommendation and renew it every year. It costs me about $100/yr and it's well worth it. It's amazing what you can buy! Food, tinctures, lotions, salves, creams, pills, oils, the possibilities are endless. The more we know, the better it gets! I asked my 1st neurologist what he thought about marijuana and MS because I had been watching Montel Williams. He reported to my therapist that he thought I was drug seeking. Really? Seriously? I asked for his opinion. I knew EXACTLY where to get marijuana. Had for years. I fired him! He's the one that pushed Gabapentin. Figures. I used to take Copaxone shots daily, now I take Techfidera twice/day. Have you seen those commercials? Don't you love the side effects? Major brain infection that can lead to "serious disability" and/or death. Nice to know "they" don't consider MS a serious disability. But I could get one from taking Techfidera to help me with my MS. Good to know. Until we get marijuana off of the Feds schedule 1 status, you know, "no medicinal purpose whatsoever", our doctors will never be able to even discuss the healing effects of marijuana, regarding MS, with us honestly without being in fear of losing their "federal" medical license. That's their livelihood. I get it. Look up the videos "Weed, Weed 2, Weed 3" online. They are done by Dr. Sanjay Gumpta. He's the Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN. He didn't used to think much of marijuana until he started seeing what it can do for people. Now he has a different take on things. Educate yourselves. It's time for a change.
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    In December of 2014, Cathy noticed that her legs were aching and tiring quickly; my mother, 81 at the time, could last longer when shopping. Cathy was not overweight and used a Nordic Track exerciser regularly. Soon she noticed that her left leg was swelling slightly. We immediately went to the doctor and a CAT scan was performed, but nothing turned up. Other tests also revealed nothing, and the conclusion was drawn that the swelling was lymphedema caused by old scar tissue from the abdominal surgery she had 16 years ago! We found that hard to believe and got numerous more tests and opinions, only to come back to the same place.

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Lecture 29

From nuclear science to the nuclear bomb.

There are entries relevant to this chapter in the blog for these lecture notes

As we enter the 20th century the range of scientific studies becomes broader than ever before, and it is easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of innovation and new thought. If we want to navigate through the developments of the last century without getting side-tracked we have to remind ourselves of the basic premise that accompanied us through the millennia of scientific development.

In our discussion of the origin of numbers in Lecture 3 we said that "Every society develops the tools needed for its everyday activities." In Lecture 5 we narrowed that statement down by stating that "People only develop what they need for their daily lives." When we arrived at the revival of European science before the Enlightenment (Lecture 19) we became even more specific by saying that "Science develops [only] when there is a need for it."

It is important to realize the difference between motivation and need. The motivation of the individual scientist derives from personal considerations that include intellectual satisfaction, social status, financial security and others, aspects to which we shall return in Lecture 35. The need for science as an activity of society is determined by its economy. In a fully developed capitalist economy the need for science is profit maximization. In the 19th century this led to the rise of industrial research as a new form of scientific activity.

"Pure" and "applied" research

From the very beginning of civilization the aim of scientific research has been the search for solutions to practical problems. It was also realized very early that the most effective way to find these solutions was to allow scientists to look into all aspects of the problem, including those that may appear only remotely connected to it. The distinction between "pure" and "applied" research was not made until the 19th century, when the drive for profit maximization began to impact strongly on scientific research.

Scientists reacted differently to this development. Some, like William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), embraced the opportunity for wealth from involvement in industrial enterprise, others, like Gauß and Maxwell, preferred to stay away from it while nevertheless working on the solution of problems that were relevant for the time.

The term "pure" science suggests that any connection with industrial applications is impure. Some scientists prefer the term "basic" science. The distinction is artificial; as a social activity capitalist science in all its aspects is determined by profit maximization. If there is any distinction at all it is between science in industrial research laboratories and research in universities and public research institutions, and it is doubtful whether this distinction is anything more than a description of an administrative structure.

Before the beginning of the 20th century industrial research was concentrated in the electrical, iron and steel, fertilizer, sugar, drugs, dyes and petroleum industries. From about 1875 industrial research laboratories arose in quick succession in the USA and all major European countries. The large industrial research laboratories emulated the academic work environment of universities to some degree, and some produced a significant number of research papers that were of more or less fundamental nature. The General Electric laboratories, for example, "engendered an atmosphere that was found congenial by PhD scientists: weekly colloquia, publication of scientific papers, and encouragement to acquire a greater fundamental understanding of technological phenomena." (Bowker, 1995)

But the companies that invested in research also introduced a new element into science: private ownership of scientific discoveries and innovations. Before industrial research one cornerstone of all science had been the principle that the fruits of scientific work could be harvested by everyone. Industrial science inevitably leads to patents, which deny the public access to research results. More than one industry monopoly (for example the Bell Telephone Company) was built on the exploitation of patent legislation. Large companies employed scientists specifically for the task to scan the open scientific literature for innovative ideas that the companies could turn into patents of their own.

The restrictions on free exchange of scientific findings introduced by private industry gave governments the role of supporting "pure" or "basic" research. In addition to strengthening its universities, all major countries established public research institutions. Germany pioneered a new structure in 1911 with the establishment of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Promotion of Science (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft, later renamed Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). Rather than searching for scientists as employees for its research institutions, the Society looked for eminent scientists and offered them to build an entire research laboratory in accordance with their wishes.

While the conditions for research unimpeded by patents and ownership of results were better in public institutions, there was always a close connection between industry and public research. Today universities, too, take out patents on the work of their employees, and financial support from industry is commonplace. Governments promote and justify this by the national need to compete against other countries in a global market.

Nationalism has always been a convenient way of getting people to support the interests of the ruling class. In Europe it reached its peak during the build-up to World War I, a period that shattered the idea of the independence of public research institutions from imperialist interests. The most drastic example was the Institute for Physical and Electrochemistry of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. When the war started its director Fritz Haber placed it at the disposal of the government's war programme and personally initiated the development of gas warfare. In 1918 he received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his methods to synthesize ammonia. Being of Jewish ancestry he was not rewarded for his nationalistic feelings; he had to emigrate in 1933.

From nationalism to imperialism and socialist revolution

The creation of the German Reich in 1871 had completed the unification of Germany, but it had not solved the central problem of German capitalism: Germany lacked colonies. The years 1875 - 1900 were marked by the race for colonies in Africa between Britain and France with Germany a distant third. Germany was determined to become an imperial power as well and wanted a redistribution of colonial possessions, if necessary by force. It began a massive naval expansion programme aimed at world wide operation. By 1913/14 the German military budget surpassed that of all other countries. (Bartel et al., 1967) Germany's intentions did not go unnoticed. Britain in particular took steps to match Germany's naval expansion, and military confrontation became more and more likely by the day.

The immediate trigger for the confrontation of the imperialist states was the assassination in June 1914 of the heir to the throne of the Austrian-Hungarian empire, Archduke Ferdinand, in Sarajewo, capital of the province of Bosnia-Herzegowina. The assassin was a member of the Bosnian Serb community, which resented Austrian rule. Germany seized the opportunity, promising Austria support in a military confrontation with Serbia. The ensuing World War I was the culmination of years of preparation, a war of aggression in which all European imperial powers tried to gain the upper hand over their competitors. Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Turkish Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria fought as the "Central Powers" against the "Allied Powers" Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Russia and the USA.

World War I represented the transition from the "classical" wars to the wars of the 20th century. Before World War I military conflict produced casualties mainly amongst soldiers, while the civilian population suffered from malnutrition, a depressed economy and a loss of sons and husbands at the front but largely survived the ordeal. World War I was characterized by trench warfare, a situation of stalemate, produced by the technological development of artillery, that lasted for years and cost the lives of 9 million soldiers. Its casualty rate amongst the civilian population was also high; but the warring parties did not yet have an air force of great significance, and the deliberate killing of civilians was still limited. Science and technology would soon give industry the means to build faster and deadlier planes and change the face of war forever: From now on soldiers would survive at safe distance from the battlefield, while millions of civilians would die from carpet bombing of cities or be burnt alive from napalm.

The outbreak of the war was accompanied by nationalistic fever of an intensity never seen before. All parties, including those of the working class (Labour in Britain, the Social Democrats in Germany and their counterparts in all other countries), preached patriotism and implored their members and the public in general to fight and die for their countries' imperialist cause. The lone dissenting voice came from the Bolsheviki under the leadership of Lenin, who denounced the war as an unjust war of aggression on all sides. When the Central Powers were defeated in 1918 the war had not only changed the face of Germany but also the face of one of the Allied Powers: Russia had tried to join the imperialist club and harvested a revolution.

During the early 18th century Russia had made a determined but unsuccessful attempt to enter the world of modern capitalism under Peter the Great (Lecture 23). 150 years later it had fallen back into feudalism and an economy based on serfdom. The continued availability of free labour acted as a strong disincentive for the introduction of machinery, and before the abolition of serfdom in 1861 the pace of industrialization was slow Hoping to be able to catch up with the leading imperialists, the Russian Tsar had followed the example of the German Kaiser and embarked on a massive naval expansion programme. But Russia's fleet was destroyed in confrontations with Japan in 1904 and 1905. By joining World War I Russia had hoped to get at least part of the spoils. As the weakest of the Allied Powers it had suffered severe military setbacks. An attempt to mobilize additional recruits in 1916 had resulted in a general uprising and the demand for an immediate end to the war, and in February 1917 a bourgeois revolution had brought the end of the tsarist reign.

It soon turned out that the new bourgeois government followed the same imperialist interests that had brought Russia to war. Its decision to continue Russia's involvement in the war brought it in conflict with the general population. Workers' and soldiers' councils (Soviets) sprang up everywhere. The Bolsheviki demanded immediate peace negotiations. In November 1917 (October in the old Russian calendar) a second revolution, known as the October Revolution, deposed the bourgeois government and established the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. Peace negotiations began the following month; a peace treaty was signed three months later.

The German Kaiser dynasty was the second major casualty of the war. Spurned on by the October Revolution the German workers started nationwide strike action even before the war ended. In 1919 mass demonstrations and a popular uprising resulted in the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

From World War I to World War II

World War I had changed the faces of Russia and Germany, but the situation in both countries was by no means stable. Should Germany give up its imperialist aspirations and turn to socialism, or should it try the imperialist road again? For a brief period after the war this question was not decided either way. Workers' Councils sprang up around the country, and several cities established local popular republican governments. Industrialists watched the developments with horror. The Social Democrats, who had already supported the imperialist war, took it upon themselves to rescue the situation once again. Their military corps crushed the peoples' republics; the Communist leaders Rosa Luxemburg (1870/1871 - 1919) and Karl Liebknecht (1871 - 1919) were murdered. In the end fascism won out; in 1933 Adolf Hitler came to power and the German republic collapsed.

Fascism was not a specifically German phenomenon. It was the answer of the ruling class to otherwise unsurmountable adversity. Fascism was brought to power in Portugal and Spain, countries of old colonial and imperial traditions that had sunken into insignificance, and Italy and Germany, the two latecomers to the imperial race. (Lecture 28) The Spanish Civil War turned into an international confrontation between socialism and fascism and a testing ground for Hitler's air force.

Germany, the economically strongest of the fascist countries, was determined to join the imperialist club and developed the most extreme form of fascism for that purpose. From his rise to power in 1933 Hitler prepared for war. Industrialists had supported him as early as 1929 and welcomed his government. The general population was won through the exploitation of two circumstances: The banks had made good profits during a massive world-wide recession that had produced mass unemployment; and many commercial firms, which were seen as exploiting the impoverished population, were owned by members of the German Jewish community. By combining agitation against bank capital with anti-semitism, Hitler managed to neutralize the political influence of communists and social democrats and gain a majority in parliamentary elections.

The developments in Germany were of particular concern to the Soviet Union. Hitler made no secret of his intentions to gain territory in the east, and the backward Russian economy would not be capable of holding back a military assault. Lenin's government, faced after World War I with hostility from the imperialist powers, had already begun the task of turning the USSR into a modern industrial country. Hitler's plans meant that it had to be achieved in the span of one generation. So the USSR mobilized science at a scale that eclipsed the role of science during the French Revolution. (Lecture 21) The Russian Academy of Sciences, which under the tsar was controlled by aristocratic members of the court, was reorganized into an organization with an elected president and grew at a rapid rate. Through a series of five-year plans the USSR was turned from an agriculture-based society into a modern industrialized country.

The transition from agricultural to industrial society could of course only be achieved through a massive people movement from the land into the factories. In England, which had started that process more than 300 years earlier, this had been achieved through the process of enclosures: Peasants had lost their land by force and turned into landless vagrants in search for work. (Lecture 20) The result had been nationwide extreme poverty and suffering. Stalin, who had succeeded Lenin in 1924, achieved the transition through forced collectivization, which turned all peasants into state employees. This made them available for work in factories as well but had disastrous consequences for agricultural production and resulted in widespread famine and millions of death from starvation. In the end the price Russia's peasants had to pay for the country's transition into industrial society was at least as high as the price England's peasants had paid for England's rise as the first capitalist country. But by the beginning of World War II Stalin had turned the USSR into a modern industrial state with an industrial output surpassed only by the USA.

Within a few years of rising to power Stalin turned into a ruthless dictator. He eliminated political opponents and forced ethnic minorities who he judged unreliable to resettle in remote locations, where many died. His policies have led people to judge his rule as equally evil as Hitler's reign of terror. This may be acceptable as a moral position. But historical assessment cannot be based on the morality of individuals; it has to evaluate their historical roles in the development of human society:

Stalin's terror will forever mark him as a brutal and oppressive dictator; it cannot negate his historical achievements.

When the war was over it was again Germany and the Soviet Union where the situation was by no means stable, but this time the threat did not come from a defeated Germany. The defeat of fascism meant that the capitalist countries could now concentrate on the socialist adversary. During the war England's prime minister Winston Churchill had grudgingly set aside his anticommunism and forged an anti-fascist alliance with Stalin, but now he began to promote a European alliance against the Soviet Union. The USA, too, had an interest in seeing the end of communism in Russia and promoted the idea of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Having been defeated twice in exhausting wars, Germany had no capacity to actively participate in any plans against the Soviet Union. The German population was tired of war. Pacifism was the dominant feeling of the time, and there was a strong possibility that Germany would join Austria, Switzerland and others in taking a neutral stand in the coming confrontation. To secure Germany's membership in NATO the USA gave generous economic support to reconstruction, which led to Germany's rapid economic recovery.

This set the scene for Stalin's second historical achievement. By matching the development of the atomic bomb in the USA with an equivalent development in the USSR he established a situation of peace based on fear of nuclear confrontation. The "Cold War," as this period was called, was a time of intense ideological confrontation, but it eliminated war from Europe for nearly half a century.

The atomic bomb was a product of nuclear physics. Without science there would not be an atomic bomb. It is thus clear that science and society in the 20th and 21st centuries are more intricately linked than ever. The actions of society rely on the results of scientific research, and scientific research is inseparable from its social consequences.

Nuclear physics: power plants, or bombs?

The foundations of nuclear science were laid by the quantum physicists of the19th century and the work of Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr during the years before World War I. Its beginning can be identified with Wilhelm Röntgen's discovery of X-rays. This led Henri Becquerel to investigate possible connections between X-ray radiation and phosphorescence and to discover natural radioactivity in 1896 in the process. Within five years Marie Curie, working with her husband Pierre Curie, discovered and isolated uranium and showed that natural radioactivity occurs with a range of elements including uranium and thorium. The University of Paris built a dedicated Radium Institute, which Marie Curie - her husband had died in a traffic accident - developed into an international centre of medical radiography.

The nationalistic fever that gripped Europe during World War I afflicted most scientists as well. Among the few dissenting voices was that of Albert Einstein, who said of the wave of nationalism: "We are dealing with an epidemic delusion which, having caused infinite suffering, will one day vanish and become a monstrous and incomprehensible source of wonderment to later generations."

World War I was an imperialist war of aggression on all sides; involvement in it could not be justified by any argument. The situation changed with World War II. Although its aim was again a redistribution of imperialist possessions, the necessity to defeat fascism made involvement of the Allied Forces a just cause. For nuclear scientists it meant that they had to take sides: Would they support the German war effort, or would they join the anti-fascist alliance?

The question turned into an issue of immediate urgency because it had already become clear before the outbreak of the war that immense energy can be harvested from the atom. In 1934 Irène Joliot-Curie (the daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie) and her husband Frédéric Joliot-Curie discovered artificial radioactivity (the forced emission of radioactive rays through the bombardment of atoms with neutrons). Within years Enrico Fermi showed that artificial radioactivity can be turned into a self-sustaining process, in which the bombarding neutrons liberate sufficient neutrons from the atom to keep the process going. The loss of neutrons reduces the mass of the atom, which according to Einstein's relationship between mass and energy meant that such a "chain reaction" would liberate massive amounts of energy.

The consequences of this discovery were immediately understood by scientists in all countries, including Germany. The question whether Germany would be able to build a nuclear bomb before it could be defeated was in everyone's mind. Nuclear scientists in the USA, France and Germany became involved in a race to produce the most destructive device the world had seen.

In Germany Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner demonstrated the practical feasibility of nuclear fission. When they published their findings in 1939 Meitner, who came from a German Jewish family, had already been forced to leave Germany and was without a laboratory. (Hahn received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their joint work, but Meitner was ignored by the Nobel Prize Committee.) The German military immediately established its own research group for the construction of the bomb but did not force Hahn to join, and Hahn continued his research at the university.

In the USA president Franklin Roosevelt received a letter signed by Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. Faced with the threat of a German bomb Einstein had put aside his pacifism and urged Roosevelt to take action. Roosevelt sought and received Fermi's assistance in setting up the "Manhattan Project" for the development of the bomb. In February 1940 he authorized the expenditure of $6,000 to begin the research. At the hight of development the Manhattan Project employed 120,000 people, and by the time of the first test explosion in 1945 it had cost two billion dollars.

In France the Joliot-Curies had unravelled most technical aspects of the chain reaction in 1939. Frédéric Joliot-Curie was fascinated by the idea of making use of nuclear fission in a nuclear power plant. Faced with the imminent occupation of Paris by the advancing German troops he and Irène decided to put their personal interests aside and make sure that their knowledge would not fall into German hands. They outlined the principles of nuclear power generation in a paper, deposited it in a sealed envelope with the Académie des Sciences and spent the war years researching medical applications of radioactivity.

Building a nuclear reactor or an atomic bomb required a significant amount of uranium and tritium ("heavy water"). The only factory that could deliver significant amounts of tritium was located in Norway. To minimize the chances that Germany obtained the materials for a bomb Frédéric Joliot-Curie ordered all of the available "heavy water" from Norway and sent it to England.

The only major uranium deposits known at the time were in the Congo, which was then a Belgian colony. They were owned by the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (the company that, to secure its mining interests, in 1961 supported the secession of the province of Katanga from the Congo and the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first president of the Republic of Congo after the end of Belgian colonial rule). As director of the newly established Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, National Centre for Scientific Research) Frédéric Joliot-Curie entered into a legal arrangement that guaranteed CNRS five tons of uranium oxide, technical assistance with the construction of a reactor and a million francs. In return, all discoveries were to be patented by a syndicate and the profits shared equally between the Union Minière and the CNRS. (Latour, 1995) The uranium oxide was also transferred to England before German troops entered Paris.

After the war the Joliot-Curies became Commissioners for Atomic Energy and instrumental for France's nuclear energy programme. Their past as activists in the peace movement and in the Résistance against German occupation was acknowledged by the public, but Frédéric's membership in the Communist Party led to his removal as High Commissioner.

On 6 August 1945, 3 months after the end of World War II in Europe, the USA dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing between 70,000 to 80,000 people instantly and causing many casualties from radiation sickness over the following years. It shocked Japan and the world. Whether it was instrumental in bringing Japan to surrender is questionable. The Japanese forces were already exhausted, and surrender could not have been delayed much longer. There can, however, be no doubt that the second atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later, can only be classified as a war crime. It had no military value whatsoever but killed 39,000 civilians, injured 29,000 and destroyed 40% of the city.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki had shown that the USA had the bomb. (See also the blog entry of 9 March related to this paragraph.) It soon became clear that before long they would also have long range missiles that could reach the Soviet Union without the need of bombers flying over it: Wernher von Braun, the Head of Germany's rocket programme responsible for the production of the V2 rockets that had bombed London, had been taken to Texas. As a member of the SS, Hitler's elite corps, he should have been taken before a court, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the USA cleared him; he became technical director of the US Army's Ballistic Missile Agency and a citizen of the USA.

From 1942 the USSR nuclear weapons programme had made good progress, assisted by sympathizers in the Manhattan Project who had provided detailed scientific information. But the Soviet Union had no known uranium deposits, and attempts to receive deliveries from the Manhattan Project as part of the war alliance had produced only token supplies. Stalin knew that Germany had found uranium deposits in the Hartz mountains and in occupied Czechoslovakia but had no information on their exact locations. He decided that the only way for the USSR to get into possession of uranium was to get the supplies stored in the German laboratories in Berlin.

One of the foremost reasons why Stalin wanted the Red Army to enter Berlin before any of the other allied troops could reach the city was his intention to reach the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics first and take its uranium oxide supplies to Moscow. History knows that the operation was successful.[7] Four years after the end of the war the USSR performed its first nuclear test. The Cold War had started.

Anderle et al. (1966) Weltgeschichte in Daten. VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin.

Bartel et al. (1967) Deutsche Geschichte in Daten. VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin.

Beevor, A. (2003) Berlin, the downfall 1945. Penguin Books, London.

Bowker, G. (1995) Manufacturing Thruth: The Development of Industrial Research. In: M. Serres (editor): A History of Scientific Thought, Elements of a History of Science. Blackwell, Oxford, 583 - 610. (Translation of Éléments d'Histoire des Sciences, Bordas, Paris, 1989)

Crowther, J. C. (1967) The Social Relations of Science, revised edition. The Cresset Press, London.

Latour, B. (1995) Joliot: History and physics mixed together. In: M. Serres (editor): A History of Scientific Thought, Elements of a History of Science. Blackwell, Oxford, 611 - 635. (Translation of Éléments d'Histoire des Sciences, Bordas, Paris, 1989)

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text:
eBook A Road to Romance, Barbara Cartland

por el autor   Barbara Cartland

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ISBN: 9781782134848
Tema: Literatura - Narrativa romántica
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Fecha publicación: 2013
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The Marquis of Whisinford and his friend Lord Alfred Middleton meet at White s Club and tell each other how bored they are with the London Season and the same parties with the same people night after night. They commiserate with each other for finding life so repetitive where nothing new ever happens. Listening to them, the old Duke of Dunstead tells them that he has a solution to their problem and so he bets one of his well bred horses against one of theirs that, if they go out disguised as ordinary men, they will undoubtedly find an adventure of some kind on the open road. Because it is a bet and betting at White s is traditional, the Marquis agrees to ride North as far as Northumberland disguised as an ordinary man, while Lord Alfred is to go South to Land s End. The Marquis sets off alone, his only possessions being what he can carry on his horse, Samson, using the name of Neil Barlow. But he has not gone very far when a very pretty girl joins him on the road in a state of agitation and asks him if he will be kind enough to allow her to ride beside him. She explains that she is running away from her stepfather who is forcing her into marriage with a man she loathes and detests. She tells the Marquis that her name is Velina, but does not say anymore and he tells her only his Christian name and they ride on until they reach what appears to be a quiet inn. After dinner, when the Marquis goes out to see if their horses are happy, he overhears three men talking and learns that they have been sent by Velina s stepfather to kidnap her and take her forcibly back to her home. The Marquis alerts Velina and they slip away at four o clock in the morning before anyone else is awake and it is then that the Marquis suggests that they should stay off the main road and travel North by the twisting lanes of England. How they encounter even more dramas than they have already. How they rescue a small boy and his dog from a cruel drunkard. How eventually Velina saves the Marquis s horse and him from a highwayman and how they find even more on a road to romance, is all told in this exciting story by BARBARA CARTLAND.

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Could you answer a straw poll regarding options, please?

(46 Posts)
ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:28:44

Does that make sense?

I'm just researching sone muttering and rumours going around at our school. DD1 is year 8.

Apparently,the school offers only 9 GSCEs, which by all accounts will be detrimental to UCAS applications.

Would you mind telling me what your school offers, so I can see if this school is unusual?

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:22

Nope, she's year 9.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:24

Nope, she's year 9.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:25

Nope, she's year 9.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:29

Nope, she's year 9.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:39

Nope, she's year 9.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:45

Nope, she's year 9.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:29:46

Nope, she's year 9.

bigTillyMint Tue 29-Jan-13 09:31:06

Ours choose options in Y8 to start in Y9. I think DD is doing something like 13.

Do you think the school is counting triple science as 1?

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:31:41

Frigging Vodafone.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:32:55

Ok, that's another question for my list.

Also, is English Literature compulsory at your school?

BeckAndCall Tue 29-Jan-13 09:35:29

I thought English lit was compulsory everywhere?
at my DDs school ( top ac academic, loads of entries to Oxbridge and Russell group) they routinely offer 10 but some girls do 9 - with no downside fro university applications

Fianccetto Tue 29-Jan-13 09:35:29

One Dd is doing triple science, 2 English, maths, 1 language, music, geography, DT, and sundry other 'half' courses, like RE. I think it adds up to 11 or 12 altogether.

T'other DD is choosing options now and will do 12.

(theyre both in grammar schools.)

5madthings Tue 29-Jan-13 09:39:49

Ds1 is yr 9 and choosing options. He will end up with 11 gcse's and can do some extra things as well a btec or as level?

English lit,english lang, maths, three sciences, ict and citizenship studies are all compulsory. Then a further three gcse choices plus some extras.

webwiz Tue 29-Jan-13 09:46:06

DS does 11 - triple science, 2 english, maths, french, history, RS, music and drama. ICT is an OCR national certificate.

DD's did 10 as science was double then plus a short course ICT GCSE.

I don't think 9 is a problem for UCAS applications its more that it reduces choice. It might be a sensible approach to reduce the number of gcses though with all the changes that are about to happen and make sure that good grades are obtained in the ones taken.

Ladymuck Tue 29-Jan-13 09:47:17

We have the following as compulsory:
Eng Lang
Eng Lit
Science (could be double or 3 separate iGCSEs)
a language
Then 3 further options to choose.
So pupils generally take either 9 or 10 GCSEs depending on science.
Usually have 10-20 Oxbridge offers per year plus lots of RG places. Its an independent school, so relies on good uni offers rather than just getting the most points for a league table.

Moominmammacat Tue 29-Jan-13 09:52:06

Nine is plenty, no problem at all.

ChaosTrulyReigns Tue 29-Jan-13 09:57:21

It's interesting about you thinking Lit was compulsory, Beck. Is there any official guidelines that I could research regarding that, do you know?

This us a grammar school, btw, and gets 2/3 Oxbridge places each year and many RG places. I'm just worried that such a limited approach is indicative of deeper rot in the school. sad

Ladymuck Tue 29-Jan-13 10:07:47

School doesn't offer ICT, Citizenship or RE as GCSE options. Options are 3 from additional languages, History, Geography, Philosophy & Ethics, Economics, Art, Drama, Music, 3D design and PE.

I had a 16yo for work experience who have "7 GCSE equivalents" in ICT and double sport science. He couldn't write an email to a customer despite 9 GCSE equivalents.

TaggieCampbellBlack Tue 29-Jan-13 10:13:49

Ours does a mixture.

DD1 did
3 science
2 english

Had to fo a language, humanity and a DT

DD2 is doing
3 science
2 english

She is on a reduced timetable though.

Others do single or double science and one english and diplomas depending on ability.

senua Tue 29-Jan-13 10:18:07

Sorry, what year is she in?smile

I thought that Universities - if they are looking at GCSE; most look only at AS/A Level - look at the best eight results, so you will still fit requirement.

TheWoollybacksWife Tue 29-Jan-13 10:19:28

DD2 has just chosen her options

Eng Lang
Eng Lit
Double Science
DT are all compulsory and she has chosen 2 other optional subjects.

I make that 11. Good state school. Majority of pupils stay on for 6th form. Last year 80+% went on to university.

This Guardian Article makes interesting reading on the subject of the number of GCSEs taken.

senua Tue 29-Jan-13 10:21:18

Ah! A Grammar school. Don't they go for quality over quantity? Better to have 9 A/A* than 12 B.
But I would be very surprised at not doing Eng Lit.

happygardening Tue 29-Jan-13 10:22:29

At DS's independent school they only do 9 IGCSE (including triple science) they do not do IGCSE Eng Lit or history but study it as a non public examined subject but can do both at Pre U and their results are very impressive. . They get approximately 34% into Oxbridge 8% into the Ivy League and the rest into top RG universities.
Hope this helps.

Picturesinthefirelight Tue 29-Jan-13 10:38:35

At the independent school dd will go to next year (lots of Oxbridge/Russell group/ med school acceptances) they do 9 with optiobs depending on whether they take double or triple science.

Core subjects are:
English Lit
Science (2 or 3)

They then choose 3 or 4 options

I believe they also offer drama as an extra curricular GCSE.

I'm glad of this as it means they can focus on what they need to do to get good grades but still have time for a life/extra curricular without loads of meaningless qualifications.

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