California is one state that has been ahead of much of the nation for quite some time in recognizing constitutional violations.  The beginning of the Haight-Ashbury crowd in San Francisco spawned more than just a neighborhood for the delinquent runaways and drug-users of the 60s, but in fact developed into a new lifestyle that was more accepting of change than the rest of the nation.  As a result, California became the first state in the union to recognize medical marijuana as a pharmaceutical for chronic pain sufferers and cancer patients. 

In 2003, the Medical Marijuana Program was established in California as the result of the passing of Proposition 215, an extension of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.  Patients must obtain a medical marijuana card from their physician before purchasing medical marijuana from one of its distribution centers and must demonstrate an extreme need for this type of pain relief.  The past seven years have led to a whirlwind of change within the state of California and the nation itself, as federal agents have confiscated and disrupted many of the medical marijuana locations within the state due to the federal ban on the drug.  However, last year saw the transition to a new nation with the executive “ok” to allow states to have the initiative to decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana in their state. 

For the first time in history, Californians no longer have to fear federal agents bursting into their medical marijuana distribution centers and instead can focus on more important things like getting rid of their chronic pain or other related symptoms.  This all ties back to pharmacy students because of the fact that so many Californian pharmacy students are now taking courses in medical marijuana.  The drug has proven to be vastly effective in reducing pain for many patients around the nation and as a result, small pharmacy schools have cropped up around the state (not recognized by pharmacy boards as of yet) that teach students the proper growing technique for medical marijuana.  While most medical marijuana is now purchased from federal or state sources, some centers grow their own in order to treat specific types of pain.  These “pharmacy schools” allow students to learn the best techniques in this growing industry.  While medical marijuana has yet to be fully recognized by most of the country, California continues to pioneer ahead and has thus far helped many cancer patients and other disease-ridden patients experience a better quality of life.

What most of the nation does not realize is that medical marijuana is a new type of pharmaceutical that has the potential benefit of aiding many patients to a better standard of living: it is used for patients undergoing chemo, for patients with mental illnesses, and for patients recovering from a critical accident.  Now that the federal government has virtually “ok-ed” the industry itself, we will begin to see a wider onset of the benefits the drug can offer in the medical community and the spread of this new type of pharmacy school throughout the nation. 

Earlier this year, we heard the good news that many of the smaller towns around the country were going to do just find because of the thriving health care industry.  While this was all well and good (I mean it saved many steel and mining towns), the underlying message is not as uplifting.  By becoming more reliant on the health care industry, we are essentially telling ourselves that our health in general is on more of a downward spiral (although we now have pricey, profitable machines to save us!).  While health care has also evolved with technology, and enabled us to live to a much older age than we were previously able to, it has also evolved with poor health care habits, almost encouraging patients to continue on their unhealthy ways.  The health care industry has only reached the levels it has because of poor health care, which in turn has led to increased numbers of patients in hospitals, forming a “parasitic” effect that is hard to get out of.  Pharmacy school fits into all this by caring for the outpo
uring of health care and growing at the same exponential rate as the health care industry.

Many health care commentators have noticed this growing trend: as the health care industries essentially save our economy from running into the mud, they are at the same time partly responsible for the increase in child diabetes and other diseases that come from being overweight, a major problem in our society.  Instead of putting billions of dollars into the health care industry, we could instead be pumping this money into education and infrastructure basics.  The health care industry has become the “safe” realm to get a job into, because there’s a constant need for doctors, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, and the many other types of health care professionals.  This fact is directly reliant on the number of sick people, a number which is continuously rising due to our poor health care habits. 

An article on the health care industry in the Huffington Post relates the ironic scene at a local pharmacy: the pharmacist (who undoubtedly went to school to practice pharmacy), is on the phone with insurance companies, dealing with irate customers, and watching customers with diabetes load up their carts with candies for holidays.  Ironic to say the least.  The pharmaceutical industry is the least to blame for our poor health and have tried to maintain a healthy society, although they continue to provide us a crutch to lead on, no matter what our health care issue is.

We are thus left in a conundrum as a society: we can ignore our stress about the economy and begin to eat healthy together, work out, and lead healthier lives, or we can continue on the path we’re on, producing unhealthy populations, but promoting the economy at the same time through health care.  Pharmacists are on the neutral ground of this issue, continuing to provide their services in good or in bad times.  
 

Even if you have great health insurance, there’s no real reason to run to the doctor’s office every time you have a scratchy throat, or even a mild fever. Your medicine cabinet is probably stocked well enough with ibuprofen, band aids, and generic cold and flu or allergy medicine, but what about your kitchen? At-home remedies may not fix a broken leg or cure pneumonia, but they can alleviate uncomfortable symptoms and don’t require a co-pay or a trip to the drugstore. Try to keep a few of these items in your pantry at all times — or at least seasonally — for quick fixes when you don’t feel like spending extra on health care or feel too icky to venture outside of your home.

• Honey: Honey is used to help bee stings, poison ivy, dry skin and even acne. It’s a natural moisturizer that combats inflammation and relieves itch, too. Honey is also highly acidic, making it a useful agent for fighting bacteria and infections.
• Garlic: Garlic is a tiny, cheap little herb that is used for lots of conditions, including warts, gas, heartburn, and even yeast infections, if you’re brave enough to try this home remedy. Garlic is an antifungal herb, a blood thinner, and helps your immune system generally.
• Cumin: If you have indigestion, diarrhea or bad gas and are embarrassed to ask your pharmacist for a solution, try cumin. Boil the seeds and make a tea, which can also relieve morning sickness and clear you up when you have a cold.
• Ginger: Ginger is another multipurpose ingredient that is an anti-inflammatory agent. Make a tea to ease nausea or muscle pain, especially if the pain is due to spasms or arthritis.
• Whole milk: If you have a minor burn, dip a washcloth or bandage in whole milk — the extra fat is key — to help the pain and the skin heal itself.
• Vinegar: If you have warts, soak a bandage or cotton ball in vinegar or apple cider vinegar overnight. If the wart hasn’t died and fallen off by the next day, try it again for one or two nights, and it should work faster than anything you can buy at the drugstore.