Marijuana is a very important issue for acupuncturists. There are several reasons why:
1) Your clinical practice. Whether you know it or not, you're treating people who use marijuana. Nearly 11% of the population of the United States uses marijuana on a regular basis. The clinical problem this presents you with is two fold:
First, there's a strong chance that your patients won't tell you they use marijuana even if they do. If you don't know how to spot Marijuana Related Syndromes in your work, you'll be missing some very critical disease factors in your diagnosis and seriously impede your patients' healing process. It will also erode your confidence and effectiveness as a clinician as you wonder what's going on when your treatments aren't working.
The second clinical problem is that marijuana is a very dynamic herb with powerful synergisms and antagonisms. The presence of marijuana in your patient will radically alter the effects of both the herbal medicine and acupuncture you use.
2) As an acupuncturist, you're uniquely qualified to treat Marijuana Related Syndromes, provided you've had the proper training.
3) Public education. In general, people don't know that marijuana has side effects. This is incredible, given what a powerful drug it is. That's why I believe it's very important to educate people about the side effects of marijuana and what they can do about them using Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is a very unique and rewarding public outreach project that can help you to contact and help many people that you never would otherwise.
I've created a website to help you with this process at getbackyourdream.com. I recommend checking it out. The website gets thousands of hits per day. I'm also starting to be involved with major media venues on this subject. More importantly, there are a number of key people in the entertainment industry who are also beginning to campaign on this important issue. Before long your patients are going to start coming in and asking you some questions around this issue. I guarantee those questions are going to shake you to your core if you don't know what's coming.
4) On a political level, I believe that the issue of medical marijuana is very important for acupuncturists to be familiar with. Why? Because both sides of the so-called medical marijuana debate have serious holes in them that we have the ability to solve. We can stand as a voice of measure and reason on the sidelines of this debate, come forth shining on the middle path and help to guide the public in a positive direction. (If you're interested in this subject, please see my article A Clear Light on the So-Called Debate Over Medical Marijuana CLICK HERE)
5) Since this is such a new arena in our field, and one that is so perfectly suited to our expertise, the possibilities for our professional expansion in this area are limitless. To that end, I've created a forum for us to discuss Marijuana Related Syndromes and their Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mrstcm. I invite you to participate.
There's every good reason to learn how to treat Marijuana Related Syndromes using Traditional Chinese Medicine. It's like learning new vocabulary words. Once you know what they are, you'll discover them everywhere. And, like words, they can open up incredible possibilities that you never knew were there before.
If you are interested in certification training in treating Marijuana Related Syndromes with Traditional Chinese Medicine, CLICK HERE.