What types of medicines are out there and are being used today?

There are a variety of terms used today to describe different types of medicine practiced in 2015. Despite these terms often being used interchangeably, there are, however, notable differences between each school of health and how they produce patient outcomes. From diagnosis, to treatment, to how patients are cared for, the differences in these terms (though they may appear tedious) actually relay important information about how diseases, disorders, and health risks are managed.

Let’s begin by identifying 5 major types of medicine practiced today in the United States:

Conventional Medicine, or Traditional Medicine is what we’re most familiar with. You go to a doctor (an MD or a DO) for your medical needs, and you are treated based on your symptoms. The most common forms of treatment for traditional medicine are drugs and pharmaceuticals, along with radiation or surgery. Conventional medicine also serves as a “knowledge base” for most types of medicine practiced today (or at least in the Western sense).

Alternative Medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. Examples include hypnosis, meditation, diet therapy, medicinal cannabis, and so on. Generally alternative therapies are closer to nature, cheaper and less invasive than conventional therapies, but the term itself is used as a catch all for any procedure or treatment outside of conventional practice. As one might imagine, since alternative medicine is so inclusive to a wide array of treatments, not all treatments are scientifically validated or effective, while others, such as medical marijuana most certainly provide medical benefits.

Complementary Medicine is a modern approach to health, using both traditional and alternative forms of medical practice to diagnose and treat symptoms. The advantage to this form of medicine is it aims to treat your body, mind, emotions, and “energy” together. In fact, you may not even know you’re partaking in a complementary / alternative practice, however a recent study of about 20,000 adults and 10,000 children found that about 40 percent of adults and 12 percent of children use some form of complementary and alternative medicine.

*Image Source

Integrative Medicine is used together with conventional medicine in a deliberate manner that is personalized, evidence-based and safe. It combines the proof of scientific method, but on a small patient-focused scale, utilizing data-driven strategies to treat illness. Dr. Weil sums up the advantages of integrative medicine (below), emphasizing that evidence and data is the driving force in coming to medical conclusions. In Dr. Weil’s own words, “integrative medicine “cherry picks” the very best, scientifically validated therapies from both conventional and CAM systems”

More on this topic: The Healing Clinic Is Now Offering Integrative Primary Care!

Functional Medicine: from Dr. Mark Hyman’s blog:

“…the next step in the evolution of medicine requires us to deeply question the foundations of conventional reductionistic medicine, which focuses on naming diseases…Functional medicine treats the person who has the disease, not the disease that the person has!”

In this way functional medicine is more personalized for patient-care and deals with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of symptoms for serious chronic disease. It emphasizes “patient care” rather than “disease care.”

Like integrative medicine, functional medicine is heavily science based, and relies on conclusions within an emerging field of study called systems biology. Read here from Dr. Leroy Hood at the Institute for Systems Biology:

“Studying the interaction and interplay of many levels of biological information, systems biology will enable us to not only cure complex disease but to predict an individual’s health and extend the human body’s natural lifespan by preventing diseases.  The new era of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine – made possible by application of systems biology – represents a profound shift in the practice of medicine and will reach into many corners of our lives.”

Remember the iceberg metaphor from psychology (id, ego, superego)? Here’s a similar example, except when applied to functional medicine we see a methodology aimed towards the underlying causes of disease.

5 Schools of Medicine – What’s the breakdown?

In layman’s terms:

Conventional, Alternative, and Complementary Medicine are focused on symptoms. Conventional and alternative medicines came first chronologically, and for the most part, it was one or the other when visiting a doctor. Complementary medicine became the first modern approach that integrated the two.

Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine are focused on patients, and are heavily driven by data. Taking from the strengths of the hybrid complementary medicine, integrative and functional medicine target the patient and the underlying cause of symptoms (not the symptoms or diseases themselves).

Here’s an infograph explaining the basic differences in the types of medicine we have gone over so far.

So how does this relate to medical marijuana?

With these schools of medicine in mind, 2015 trends suggest that optimized care for patients comes in the form of “integrated holistic medicine“. By combining alternative practices into a patient-centered and data-driven approach, doctors can better care and treat their patients in mind, body, and spirit with safe, data-driven decisions. No longer will doctors just treat your symptoms or your disease, they will treat you based on your individual health needs.

This is extraordinary news for medical marijuana patients and advocates. This year alone, we’ve learned that cannabis oil helps reduce epileptic seizures, and that medical marijuana not only treats cancer symptoms, it actually kills the diseased cells. As cannabis treatment continues to grow state by state, the stigma is slowly changing since the ancient remedy is progressively being backed by science. With overwhelming public support for legalization, cannabis is now finding its way into modern treatment plans, taking the place of harmful pharmaceuticals in place for safer, natural methods in healing and overall health.

Integrative and functional medicine approaches make cannabis a natural ally in helping patients. In searching for root causes of disease, as systematic problems and not solely based on individual symptoms, cannabis offers a variety of healing benefits to address the mind and body as a whole, especially when combined with other forms of alternative therapy like yoga, acupuncture, and nutrient therapy. Many benefits we know of already, including: pain alleviation, increased brain function, mood stabilization, as well as acting as an anti-inflammatory, however new advances we have learned include, but are not limited to, anti-carcinogenic qualities and reversing the effects of specific diseases.

It looks like nature got this one right

We recommend patients explore medical professionals who have embraced modern approaches in holistic care. These new approaches, by definition, won’t treat just your symptoms alone, but instead will provide you with a blue print on living a healthier life.

Check out our Integrative Primary Care Services!

The Healing Clinic is now offering: Integrative Primary Care!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Integrative Primary Care Program. We are aware that patients need much more than what conventional, or western medicine has to offer.

We are now offering our patients treatment plans that fit their individual needs, that include alternative medical options they have yet to try, that we offer at The Healing Clinic. Each condition and symptom is unique, as is our Integrative Primary Care Program, which we customize for each one of our patients, with the intention of healing their mind, body and spirit.

We are firm believers that the patient’s participation plays a very important role in their individual healing process and therefore we encourage a collaborative effort between our practitioners, doctors and patients.

What is Integrative Medicine?

Integrative Medicine is a personalized treatment plan that incorporates both modern medicine and ancient healing techniques in order to promote physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.

Integrative services that we offer include-

 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

 Ayurvedic Healing

 Nutritional Counseling

 Iv Nutrient Therapy

 Massage Therapy

Are Integrative Medical Therapies Effective?

While Integrative Medicine has been heavily tested throughout the European Union and other countries around the globe, due to lack of financial backing in America, the FDA has been reluctant to enter into the debate of its usefulness. However, due to growing public interest in less invasive and safer treatment options, new research data proving the effectiveness of integrative medicine, is emerging everyday.

The World Health Organization has actively participated in campaigns to support the proper regulation and research of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. Organizations such as WHO, the American Cancer Society and Cancer Treatment Centers of America have all acknowledged Integrative Medicine as a way to help alleviate symptoms associated with debilitating illnesses, such as cancer, AIDS and lupus, in order to improve quality of life.

We are very excited to launch our Integrative Primary Care program in order to further assist and heal suffering patients in Illinois. If you have any questions about Integrative Medicine and how it may help you, please contact our Director of Integrative Medicine by writing to Kalee@thehealingclinic.org.

Thank you for checking with us. As always, We Appreciate You!

Hi Folks!

We are excited to announce the launch of Justice For Patients, The Healing Clinic’s “sister” Nonprofit Organization.

Justice For Patients was created to protect and defend the rights of patients who are confronted with legal and discriminatory issues associated with applying and/or registering for cannabis patient status.

Justice For Patients also seeks to help those who could benefit from medical cannabis but may not qualify for the Illinois Pilot Program, because of a past felony conviction.

Today, Illinois law prevents those with certain felony convictions from registering for the medical cannabis program. Justice For Patients is on a mission to change that.

Thanks for checking in. We Appreciate you.

Yesterday, The Healing Clinic attended the first official Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board meeting in downtown Chicago.

We are pleased to report that the meeting was very productive thanks to every one of the engaged, happy and effective board members. All 13 board members were in attendance and a few people showed up for public comment.

Here is a copy of yesterday’s meeting agenda: 

We are THRILLED to announce that the Illinois Department of Public Health has made the decision to automatically extend the expiration date for patients who have registered for the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. As of today, approved patients are receiving the following notice from the IDPH:

As you can see, registered patients were being told by the IDPH that their year long registration, which allows them to legally purchase medical cannabis in the state of Illinois, was set to expire prior to legal cannabis becoming available in the state. This malfunction was due to the program’s various delays.

The assigned expiration dates have been a growing concern for the patients we have had the pleasure of assisting through the registration process. We are happy to deliver this bit of good news to THC clients and to ALL registered cannabis patients in Illinois!

The board went on to discuss the current draft of their bylaws, including what the process of adding debilitating conditions to the law is going to look like.

The public hearing on Petitions to Add Debilitating Conditions will take place – Monday, May 4, 2015, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM, James R. Thompson Center, Concourse Level, Assembly Hall

We encourage patients and advocates to attend the hearing, especially those who suffer from a condition that could benefit from medical cannabis, but is currently left out of the limited law. This is their opportunity to do something about it while helping grow the list of conditions so that many more sick people can eventually qualify to access medical cannabis in Illinois.

The public will be given an opportunity to address the board directly regarding the conditions chosen to be considered following the first round of petitions. Please Note: these hearings will be transcribed by a court reporter and eventually be made available to the public.

Unfortunately folks, this will not be a quick turnaround. The administrative process to add debilitating conditions will take 6-9 months. Yesterday, The Healing Clinic asked the board directly how far away we are from seeing the list if conditions grow. Their response was “12 moths”.

We hope to know which conditions will be up for discussion soon and will definitely keep everyone posted. Please remember to subscribe to our e-mail list for all important program updates.

Thank you for checking in with us.

We Appreciate You.

The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, lead by President and CEO Kurt Florian, has been one of the most fundamental supporters of medical cannabis in Illinois. The foundation worked tirelessly to amend Illinois law to include pediatric patients in the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. Thanks to their efforts, pediatric patients have been allowed to register for the program since January 1, 2015.

On December 23, 2014, Illinois health officials posted emergency rules spelling out how the state’s medical cannabis program will be extended to children. The rules state that patients younger than 18 with certain health conditions, including seizures from epilepsy, will be able to use non-smokable forms of cannabis under the new law. Children will need to obtain signatures from two doctors who certify that they believe the patient will benefit from medicinal cannabis.

Unfortunately, requiring two physician’s certifications, means more barriers between pediatric patients and the medicine they need. In general, Illinois doctors are opting not to give their signatures for qualifying patients who want to use medical cannabis. Therefore, having to secure two approving physicians, for many patients, creates a hopeless situation.

The Healing Clinic is a resource for pediatric patients and their families hoping to access medical cannabis in Illinois. Our physicians are educated on the medicinal benefits of cannabis, especially for pediatric patients, and are happy to help those that have been rejected elsewhere. We are honored to have been accepted by the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, as a legitimate organization for their network of patients who need a compassionate place to go. We look forward to serving the suffering children of Illinois and their families, who have exhausted all other medical options.

The Epilepsy Foundation’s annual Heroes Night Gala took place at the Field Museum on Friday, February 20, 2015. Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth was honored with the Richard N. Rovner Hero Award for her commitment to people with disabilities. Nicole Gross and Margaret Storey were honored with the Heroes Award for Inspirational Commitment, for their advocacy work that contributed to making epilepsy one of the qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Illinois. The event was inspirational and our team had a great time participating.

We look forward to continuing our efforts to support epilepsy patients and working closely with the Foundation to help suffering families get the relief they need.

Thanks for checking in. We appreciate you.

Dispensary Groups Need Your Support.

Please join us to support dispensary groups applying for special use permits in Chicago, clear another mandatory hurdle at a zoning board of appeals public hearing.

Illinois residents need to welcome dispensaries into our communities and accept them in convenient locations so that patients have legal, safe and reliable access to medicine they need to live better lives. Patients should no longer have to resort to the potentially dangerous underground market in order to access medical cannabis.

More dispensary groups will present their plans in hopes of getting necessary zoning approval tomorrow, Friday February 20, 2015- 2:00 at the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals 121 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL – Room 200.

A number of vocal opponents are expected to attend so a strong showing of support will make a big difference. The Healing Clinic founder, Feliza Castro, will be speaking in front of the zoning board to support MedMar Inc, a dispensary that hopes to move into a suitable location at 2843 N. Halsted St. Should they get approved tomorrow, they will be the only dispensary in our Lakeview neighborhood and one of only 13 in the entire city of Chicago.

We strongly encourage any advocates out there to show up and take part in a historical day for the Illinois medical cannabis movement.  Your presence will help dispensaries open in Chicago.

We Appreciate You!

After a long and very frustrating timeline, Illinois has finally kept its promise to give suffering people access to medicinal cannabis.

Pat Quinn originally signed the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot 
Program Act in August of 2013, and since then, it has been a roller coaster 
of excitement, anticipation and at times, hopelessness.

January 1, 2014– The law was officially enacted and three government agencies became in charge of writing the rules- The Department of Agriculture for cultivation centers, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for dispensaries and the Department of Public Health for patients, caregivers and physicians.

April 14, 2014– The proposed rules for implementation of the law were finally published. At that point it became a waiting game for patients who were eager to register and for businesses that were gearing up to apply for the limited number of licenses available to grow or sell cannabis.

August 8, 2014– The Department of Public Health releases the application forms for patients and caregivers, along with the physician’s certification form that patients are required to obtain. Draft applications for dispensaries and cultivation centers were also made available that day, and so finally, it seemed that the pilot program was moving forward.

September 2, 2014– Illinois begins accepting cannabis patient applications. The first patients received approval letters by mid September.

September 8, 2014– Illinois begins accepting dispensary and cultivation center applications. The deadline for these applications was September 22 and a total of 369 applications were submitted by hopeful entrepreneurs who paid non refundable application fees ($5,000 for dispensaries and $25,000 for cultivation centers), and invested in locations, lawyers and lobbyists, among other things. In the end, Illinois collected $5 million in application fees alone.

November 4, 2014– Pat Quinn loses the gubernatorial election to republican Bruce Rauner, who openly stated that he would have never signed the medical cannabis bill and that he didn’t agree with the state’s handling of the application process. Patients and cannabis license hopefuls believe that Quinn would choose the winners before exiting the governor’s office in January.

January 12, 2015– Quinn leaves office and Gov. Bruce Rauner gets sworn in without any licenses being awarded. This came as a surprise to his administration who worked tirelessly to push through the licenses in time.  This email revealed that Bob Morgan, general counsel to the Illinois Department of Public Health and Quinn appointed cannabis czar, was completely caught off guard by the former governor’s failure to act.

January 25, 2015– Following a Freedom of Information Act request, the press reveals which companies Quinn’s staff chose to receive the very limited and much sought after licenses to grow and sell cannabis. Curiously, a few of the top scoring companies appeared to be disqualified or put on hold without any explanation. Many saw this as a last minute move by Quinn to cover up favoritism.

January 30, 2015– Governor Rauner tells press that Pat Quinn meddled in the application scoring process and that he may turn the process over to the Attorney General’s office. At this point, the program seemed to be on indefinite hold for patients, advocates and entrepreneurs who were anxiously awaiting the release of those licenses.

February 2, 2015– Governor Rauner issues 53 dispensary licenses and 18 cultivation center licenses unexpectedly and is giving the chosen few 48 hours to accept. Finally, the agonizing delays are over and patients can rejoice knowing that medical cannabis in Illinois will soon become a reality.

And the winners are…

The Healing Clinic was the first to announce Rauner’s bold and exciting move via radio this morning. Here is a link to our interview with Vocalo Radio: https://soundcloud.com/vocalo/the-healing-clinic-medical-marijuana-02-03-15

We always believed in staying positive and will continue to work hard for cannabis patients in Illinois. Needless to say, we are very pleased with the recent turn of events and look forward to staying on the forefront of medical cannabis in Illinois.

We thank everyone who has continued to support us and believe in our efforts.

Despite the historic Super Bowl Blizzard, The Scott Emo show pulled off an amazing event that brought together a genuinely good group of people.

Special Thank You to everyone who made it out, despite the hazardous travel conditions.

The panel ended up including; Feliza Castro, Dr. Jennifer Glover and Flesh N Bone. Scott Emo led an informative discussion about medical cannabis, the status of the Illinois program and how advocates can get involved in the movement.

Here is a sneak preview of the episode, which will be shown on Comcast. We will update you with air date and info soon!

More good memories…

Remember to Subscribe to THC for invites to future shows and events!

Thanks for checking in-We Appreciate you. 

Illinois has created a notably strict medical marijuana program, intending to avoiding the pitfalls of legalization that other states have seen. This is a positive for many reasons, but mostly because patients will have access to dispensaries that are heavily regulated medical facilities with professional pharmacists and doctors on staff.  Due the rigid application process and very limited number of licenses made available, Illinois will surely choose the most qualified, prepared and professional groups out of hundreds of applicants. Unlike other states, where dispensaries are often shady little storefronts with tinted black windows and shop clerks with no medical training, Illinois has made sure that their dispensaries will be legitimate, compliant and safe facilities for patients.

This is all wonderful and exciting for Illinois patients who qualify, many of whom have already applied and been approved by the IL Department of Public Health.

So…what now? Where are the dispensaries?

The truth is that dispensaries are still clearing the required hurdles to get licensed by the state. These groups are required to secure locations, get local neighborhood approval and secure a special use permit before being considered.

We, at The Healing Clinic, are very passionate about supporting the dispensaries in getting the approvals they need to get open. Illinois residents need to welcome dispensaries into our communities and accept them in convenient locations so that patients have legal, safe and reliable access to a medicine that they need to live better lives. Patients should no longer have to resort to the potentially dangerous underground market to access medical cannabis.

Many Illinois patients are terminal and should be able to access medicinal cannabis now, because they can’t afford to wait. Gleb Zakharov, of Skokie, IL, is one of those patients. Last August, at the age of 27, Gleb was diagnosed with lung cancer that since then has spread to his brain and spine. Gleb was one of THC’s first patients and is hoping to get legal access to CBD oil, known to be effective in treating cancer, before it is too late. Watch this short interview with Gleb at The Healing Clinic on November 29, 2014.

Despite his terminal cancer diagnoses, Gleb continues to work full time selling insurance and still pursues his passion of hip hop. He writes and produces rap songs using the moniker “Kraine” and refuses to let his condition get in the way of expressing his creativity. The music video for his song “What’s Gone Cost” was filmed the night Gleb was released from the hospital after cancer surgery.

Gleb wants to be able to exercise his right to use medicinal cannabis in Illinois. Despite having pneumonia among other issues, he showed up on time for all of his appointments and has submitted everything required to get registered with the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. He is now hoping that dispensaries will open in time for him to start CBD oil treatments.

Gleb Zakharov is a brave soul who inspires us to never give up on life.

Let’s all join together in support of the dispensary license hopefuls in Illinois so that Gleb and other patients like him, get a chance to benefit from medical cannabis and apply the law that was enacted for them nearly one year ago. More dispensary groups will present their plans in hopes of getting necessary approval this Friday December 19, 2:00 at the zoning board of appeals 121 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL – Room 200. A number of vocal opponents are expected to attend so a strong showing of supporters will make a big difference. We will be there and we welcome any advocates out there to come along.

RSVP below if you plan to attend. We appreciate you!

We are super excited to present our newest program at THC, Caregiver Connection.

By talking to our patients, we found out that there is a genuine need out there for improved access to medicine.
We made a decision to expand our services with caregiver connection because many cannabis patients struggle with chronic pain, have mobility issues or need to avoid travel after receiving chemotherapy.
We envisioned a program that could be used to get difficult to obtain products to people who really need them.

When we opened our doors we started getting calls from people that are genuinely passionate about the medical cannabis movement and looking for a way to get involved. Once we discovered that many of our patients could really benefit from a caregiver and needed help finding someone to designate, we decided to utilize our growing contact list to help them.

We have created a careful and selective process for people who are interesting in becoming a designated caregiver. This includes a written application, in person interview and background check. We want to be absolutely sure that our chosen Caregivers are responsible and upstanding citizens who are committed to being a compassionate and reliable assistant to a cannabis patient.

Interested in becoming a Caregiver?  Submit a Caregiver Interest Form and one of our Advocates will call you to schedule an interview.

Are you a cannabis patient in need of a caregiver? Call us today, one of our Patient Advocates will be happy to help!

Thanks for checking up on us. We appreciate you!