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Medical Marijuana

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Keylime
  8/5/2012 14:57 EST

I am 67 years old living in Washington State. 10 yrs ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had radiation treatments for about 4 months or so. It got rid of the cancer I am happy to say, but I was getting bladder spasms that were very painful. To make a long story short, I my doctor prescribed several pills that never worked, or the after effects were as bad as the spasms, until someone introduced me to marijuana. It was actually the first time I had ever seen the stuff. I don't need that much of it and I can go 3 to 4 days without using it before the spasms start coming back.
I understand that there is no medical marijuana in Ecuador, but I am wondering what the attitude would be if I would grew 2 or 3 plants for my own use. We will be retiring in Cuenca this fall and I am considering bringing a few seeds with me for my own use. However, it will take approx 4 months before I can benefit my first crop. So, what is the best way to fill that gap? Are there reputable people that can help for that time in the area? I can't believe I will be the first one to have this problem...
keylime

DUNMOVN
  8/5/2012 15:08 EST

I was also diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991 and I opted for radioactive seed implants with no other treatment. I am lucky that there were no complications and my PSA is below measuring.

It is my understanding that using marijuana is not Illegal in Ecuador, but I don't know that to be a fact. You can buy cocaine leaves from street vendors and a tea made from the leaves called Mate De Coca. It comes in tea bags.

You would have to contact someone in the medical community to see if medical marijuana is available but I feel certain you could find a street source for the regular stuff, but I have no contacts in that area.

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J3ff
  8/5/2012 23:37 EST

This IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE - This is street advice. Take it as such.

Just like in the US pot is easily found, maybe even more so here. Generaly in the US I don't have strangers approach me asking if I want some.

Cocaine, also quickly found me down here. At twice the purity, and 1/3rd the cost of in the US.

Just like everything, I am sure these things are illegal here, but at the same time, laws are enforced differently down here than you may be used to in the US.

If you are breaking the law down here, make sure you have some cash on you. Unlike what I was told on this forum, you can buy your way out of problems here. Tom, the guy who you may have read about that went missing at sea - got out of a DUI, he had to pay $120, but they let him drive home and left him alone.

Things are so different down here, no one no matter how long they have been here could put i in to words that an American would understand. It's something you have to experience to understand, and I am just scratching the surface myself. Some things are better than the US, some worse. No amount of reading will let you know for sure if it's a fit for you.

vandtor
  8/6/2012 14:33 EST

Drug use and production of any kind are both against the law. Bribes are common in EC , however Expats with poor language skills and even poorer cultural skills are not in any position to offer a bribe or know when it is culturally acceptable to do so.

93455545
  8/6/2012 15:04 EST

Hi I'm lawrence and would like to know if anybody knows if you become an expat, do you lose your social security benifits? thank you for your time

DUNMOVN
  8/6/2012 15:14 EST

You never lose your social security benefits even if you become a citizen of a foreign country

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Marydawna
  8/7/2012 08:22 EST

Marijuana is decriminalized in Ecuador and possesion is not illegal. Google "marijuana by country" and you can go to the wiki link "legalities by country" and the link to law 108 in Ecuador, in which drug use is laid out. You need to be able to read spanish though

SALINERO
  8/7/2012 10:24 EST

If the police find you in possession of marijuana or any narcotic go directly to jail.
No matter the amount, you could stand trial for drug trafficking.
I'm Ecuadorian and I know exactly what would happen if the police find you in the possession or using any drug. please be careful.
I have several days reading about this and I think I'm in the obligation to let them know about the consequences. Eduardo.

SALINERO
  8/7/2012 10:33 EST

Moreover, the Ecuadorian pharmacopoeia does not use marijuana as a treatment for any ailment.
Our physicians do not have authorization to prescribe psychotropic substances.
Now in Ecuador when the doctors need to prescribe anxiolytics or medium power analgecicos must do so in a special document which will be recorded by the pharmacy which sells and every six months will make a report to the government of using these special documents. Eduardo.

vandtor
  8/7/2012 10:59 EST

Here is the law:

http://www.druglawreform.info/images/stories/documents/ley108ec.pdf

and unless there is a an amendment there is nothing in it that decriminalizes marijuana use.

Art. 38 - covers growing

Art. 40 - covers possession

Art. 43 - covers the licensing for growing.

Art. 59 - covers the penalty for growing. 10-16 years plus a fine

Art. 65 - covers possession - if you are caught with a quantity deemed only enough for personal use, then depending on your level of addiction the penalty is 1 month to 2 years or rehab program.

So if it is worth it, then by all means.

achiku
  8/7/2012 14:13 EST

According to my police friends, Mari. is not decriminalized, but if you think it is, come on down and do your thing, and then you can advise us on the consequences. I do not purport to know anything here in this country, but please let us know your experiences, do you even live here? There is no written law decriminalizing it, and the 5 gram law her not passed yet.

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OceanHideaway
  8/7/2012 16:38 EST

@ achiku

Shhh... don't mention that in Montanita

Scorpio11
  8/9/2012 21:40 EST

While the present post may seem off topic ( since the thrust here seems to be use of an, otherwise, inoffensive plant)
I'd like to address this to the first 2 posts and perhaps many other who may read this and are at that age where
one may think as a good practice, to periodically undergo a "PSA blood test" ( Prostate Specific Antigen) together
with a DRE (Digital Rectal Examination )

To all of those whose eyebrows went up reading the above paragraph, I'd recommend you read / listen to " Dr. Larry
Clapp - Prostate Health in 90 Days without drugs or surgery" and also check "Carnivora" ( carnivora.com ) as
a product used as an "anti-inflammatory" and in the balancing of your immune system.
I'd have to add here that what I heard and subsequently experienced with some of my patients was something I never
learned in Medical School, almost 40 years ago.
In rest for those annoying "bladder spasms" you may want to learn and practice regularly .... "self-hypnosis" The results
will be nothing short of spectacular.
In case some "incontinence" is what bothers you, Google / read / and practice religiously "PC (Pubo-coccygeus) strengthening
exercises" also known as "Kegel exercises". Done daily, you'll see results in 2-3 weeks with "leaks" completely gone in 2-3 months

AstrologySiren
  6/8/2013 10:45 EST

www.druglawreform.info/en/country-information/ecuador

Law is under revision. :) Hope it goes through! So excited! :D

BrandonBP
  6/8/2013 15:04 EST

I do enjoy how people get so worked up when anyone talks about using marijuana. As if it's the mark of the beast.

I don't use it. Never have and never will. But I do think it's blown way out of proportion to any harm it has ever caused.

But mention marijuana, and all the anti-pot nuts will come out of the woodwork to wish you ill. Because Nancy Reagan said it was bad.

gyuris
  6/11/2013 07:44 EST

Bottom line: Marihuana is still illegal to possess in any amount here in Ecuador, there are no legal threshold quantities specified.

But In Ecuador - especially-, the law on the books is one thing and the enforcement of that law is quite another.
Just like there is a law on the books against parking on the sidewalks, but does anybody respect that law here? Nooo....

So although possession of MH is a criminal offense and the legal concept of "medical marihuana" does not exist here yet, the cops have other things to do (unless they decide to use it as an aggravating circumstance to another crime). I often smell marihuana smoke emanating from the usual group of youths near a tree, (now I call it the "smoking tree" ) everytime I pass them by in the local park.

There is also a pending bill in the National Assembly (i.e. the national congress) to amend the penal code in which the possession of up to 10 grams of MH would be legal, (as well as Hashish 10 gms; Opium 4 gms; Heroin 100 gms (!!) ; cocaine 5 gms; LSD 0.02 gms; MDA, MDMA and Methamphetamine 80 gms)

Currently the penalties on the books for growing controlled substances, like marihuana, are 3-5 years. Again it does not specify if it is for a plantation or for merely 2-3 plants at home... same offense.

Having said that, , there is a prevalence of openly smoking weed in places like Montañita and Atacames is as if it were legal as cigarrettes, and nobody cares

I guess what I am saying is that the risks of being found out are quite minimal.
Take it for what it's worth....


A.T.

+++++++++++++++++++

kozdra
  8/31/2013 04:31 EST

This answers all, and is pretty much the most recent information out there AFAIK:


http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/english-bulletin/item/marijuana-decriminalized-but-not-yet-legal.html

CFO
  8/31/2013 10:06 EST

http://www.cuencahighlife.com/post/2013/06/27/ECUADOR-DIGEST3cbr3ePossession-of-small-amounts-of-drugs-decriminalized.aspx

withoutego
  8/31/2013 13:08 EST

In practice, the situation is about the same in both the USA and Ecuador. Re: the law vs reality. The DOJ just announced they would decline starting court action against states which legalized weed in their own statutes in some degree. Laws regarding the plant with roots in Hell, known as Mary Jane and by a long list of aliases have been a political rosary for decades. Politicos work the beads in public to show their piety.

sin omo

OverworkedLord
  5/23/2018 21:53 EST

My guess is that government officials in Ecuador will be in inclined to weigh the pants you might choose to grow at a future date in deterring if you are in possession of an illegal amount of marijuana

withoutego
  5/25/2018 03:39 EST

Overworkedlord

Did you write that under the influence?

sincomprehension

windshadow
  5/25/2018 20:42 EST

Everything I have read on growing marijuana is that if you are caught you are gucked, big time!

withoutego
  5/26/2018 00:39 EST

Windyshaddow

i thought you had disappeared yourself.

sin

lloydxx
  5/26/2018 11:44 EST

If I were to bring CBD powder - flying from California, where marijuana is legal, would it be cause for legal problems here? I could get it with or without THC...only for osteo relief, not to get buzzed. Would it be inadvisable to bring CBD cream with 1% THC, which I am told is necessary (the THC) to be an effective pain reliever? I could bring a docor's letter w/translation. I just don't want to end up in the carcel or have a big fine. Someone publicly offered CBD products here on another forum, but I am looking for a topical cream, not something to ingest or vape.

kmoriarty45
  5/26/2018 12:37 EST

If what you bring in gets the attention of the sniffer dogs - and trust me, they're excellent. - then, translated doctor's script or not, you'll be in for a major hassle !
If you are looking for a topical with THC or marijuana in the creme, then you are in luck. Such an ointment is available over-the-counter here.We had some at the house and used it for muscle tension relief. I can't recall the brand name and don't know where my wife put it. When she gets back in town tomorrow, I'll ask her and put the name on this site.
If I recall, it worked pretty well.

kensate
  5/26/2018 15:02 EST

I use
"POMADA DE COCA + MARIHUANA Y ARNICA" which works very well for me.

Contains:
extract of Coca 40%
extract of Marihuana 30%
Arnica 15%
Camphor 15%

kmoriarty45
  5/26/2018 15:51 EST

THAT'S THE ONE ! Thanks Kensate ! I couldn't remember what it was called. Of course, at my age, I'm lucky I remember my name ! LOL.

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