Medical Cannabis Therapy as a Pain Management Option

Terrapin Care Center is a multidisciplinary pain management clinic that offers various options to help relieve your discomfort and improve your quality of life. Apart from physical therapy, we also provide medical cannabis education and therapy.

Here’s what you need to know:

How It Works

Your peripheral nerves that detect pain contain cannabinoid receptors. When THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) from cannabis enters your body, it interacts with these receptors, regulating pain transmission to your brain. A 2017 study found medical marijuana as a viable pain relief substitute for opioids.

Medical Marijuana in Maryland

In 2014, Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law Senate Bill 923 and House Bill 881, paving the way for legalizing the use of medical cannabis for certain illnesses and conditions. To qualify, you must first register online as a patient with the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. The Commission will then send your patient ID number to your e-mail. Bring this, along with medical records about your condition and a government-issued photo ID, to your appointment.

How We Can Help

As your trusted multidisciplinary pain management center, we’ll first provide all the information you need to know. The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission is “encouraged to approve” physician recommendations for medical marijuana use for:

• Those with “a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that results in a patient being admitted into hospice or receiving palliative care”;

• Individuals who have “a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or the treatment of a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition” that causes “cachexia, anorexia, or wasting syndrome; severe or chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures; severe or persistent muscle spasms; or, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder”;

• Those with “any other condition that is severe and for which other medical treatments have been ineffective if the symptoms reasonably can be expected to be relieved by the medical use of cannabis.”

You can visit the Commission’s website for more details about the qualifying criteria and process. Afterward, our medical practitioners will perform a thorough evaluation of your condition. Once we have established that medical marijuana can help you and that the benefits outweigh the possible risks, we may then issue a written certification for its use. Keep in mind that we will only do so if this concerns pain management.

For effective pain relief methods, turn to Terrapin Care Center. Apart from medical cannabis, we also offer massage therapy, trigger point therapy and more. Call us at (301) 220-1930 or complete our form to schedule an appointment. We serve Greenbelt, Silver Spring and nearby MD areas.