Marijuana Cheesecake: Good Medicine or Cause for Outrage?

By: Aina Hunter
Topics: News ,; Food and Drink

(Robert Mitton)

(CBS) Have you ever gotten a prescription for cheesecake? How about pizza with a side order of chocolate chip Rice Krispy cakes?

It's not usually what the doctor ordered, but for medical marijuana patients the taste of "medicine" is getting increasingly sweet.

PICTURES: 15 Marijuana Cures: Good Medicine or Outrage?

As of now, 14 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of medical marijuana, but growing and selling it is still a federal offense.

So, those who sell medical marijuana are operating in a gray area, but that hasn't stopped them from getting very creative.

Operators from Oregon to California are selling marijuana packed gourmet desserts and even entire meals.

By now, the medical benefits of marijuana are well documented.

Studies have shown that pot is effective in reducing muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological injuries or illnesses. Other studies have shown that marijuana can help with muscle spasms and the pain associated with spinal cord injuries and AIDS.

Still, the drug isn't without risks.

The Mayo Clinic warns that there could be a relationship between marijuana use and depression, as well as impaired fertility in men.

Regardless of risks, business is booming.

Creativity of entrepreneurs from Colorado to California have created pot-infused truffles, pizzas, teas, and even baba-ganoush to make the medicine go down easy.

Here's some of our favorites. Many thanks to Denver's "Ganja Gourmet" and San Francisco's "The Green Cross" for photographs.

18 Photos

Chocolate Weed: Medical Marijuana for Non-Smokers?

Add a Comment


by kesterling2003 August 18, 2010 5:46 PM EDT: Other methods of cannabis delivery:

*The vaporizer which heats the plant material the lowest possible temperature to cause the essential elements to be released in a vapor.

*Sublingual tincture. This was the most popular method of cannabis delivery for patients when it was sold over the counter as medicine.

*Topical salve. Make a salve and rub it into the skin. This has been reported to cause hair growth to happen in men that suffer from male pattern baldness. It's mainly used by burn victims who have significant scar tissue from their injury. It is reported that this delivery method isn't very useful for those chasing a high, but a godsend to burn victims. When the idiocy of the war on some drugs ends some pharmaceutical company will likely develop a trans dermal patch as a more efficient method of delivery than salve.

*Suppositories This is the second fastest delivery method. Not very popular but works well. Primarily use by those with irritable bowel syndrome or other gastrointestinal disorders. I'm sure you know what I'd like the propagandists to do with this method.

*Injection (sort of) You can't use injection with cannabis unless you have some scientist do his voodoo and alter the structure so it's water soluble. But it seems that they have accomplished this. But is it really cannabis if you alter the medicine in a laboratory to be injectable?

There is no such thing as a medicine without some risk. But not being able to die a fatal overdose sure puts cannabis way out in front of every other drug. I'm not aware of any other drug that doesn't have an LD50. Cannabis is one of the few medicines pregnant women can use without risk to the fetus.

Have you ever seen those little Listerine gels they sell in the drug or grocery store? Some bright fellow in California developed that into a method of cannabis delivery. It's a sublingual method so this is basically the same delivery method as the tincture method noted above, but a better choice for alcoholics that have stopped drinking.

No Virginia, you don't have to ignite your cannabis and inhale the combusted gasses. The time to re-legalize cannabis came years ago. Since we can't hop in the wayback machine we'll "Just say NOW!"; Reply to this comment


by wvwookie420 August 18, 2010 3:15 PM EDT: OMG "The Mayo Clinic warns that there could be a relationship between marijuana use and depression, as well as impaired fertility in men." What horrible thing that depressed people maybe use pot and men may have a harder time having kids sounds no where near as bad as:
Confusion or other mental changes
A rapid heart rate
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
Hallucinations
Blood pressure changes
An irregular heart rhythm
Overactive reflexes
Fever, sweating, or shivering
Shakiness
Agitation
Seizures
Coma

All of which are side effects of Celexa an anti-depressant. So I say make it legal and save people from many of the side effects of man made medicine.; Reply to this comment


by mswolfestock August 18, 2010 2:32 PM EDT: Whoa! Those treats are definitely NOT your mother's "pot brownies."; Reply to this comment


by malcolmkyle August 18, 2010 2:19 PM EDT: In response to passage of California's medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana's medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." While noting potential risks of smoking, the report added, "we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting." The government's refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government "loves to ignore our report ? they would rather it never happened." Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr.
21, 2006; Reply to this comment


by ArvidArt August 18, 2010 1:03 PM EDT: This is wonderful! Many Patients are too ill to smoke or vaporize their medication. Ingesting it is a great delivery system.

Along with the studies you cited, there are also many more the show that Cannabis kills certain Cancers, while not harming the healthy tissue.

Prohibition has cost Taxpayers Billions upon Billions of dollars. The time for reform is now.

D. Arvidson
MOMS4MARIJUANA TENNESSEE on Facebook; Reply to this comment