Patient Education ► Patient Education ~
Cannabis, in The Treatment of Lyme Disease by Peter Kershaw, contributing writer
Ouch!
In the mid-1970s, a devastating disease abruptly afflicted the tiny community of Old Lyme, CT. Thirty-nine children were suddenly beset with arthritis. Following this, many other frightening symptoms afflicted the wider population. Many of the town residents thought they had good reason to know the source— close-by Plum Island, the U. S. Army’ s top-secret Chemical Corps Biological Warfare Lab. Some of Old Lyme’ s residents were even Lab employees and were keenly aware of the Cold War-era goings-on, including experiments using insects as“ delivery systems for pathogens.” 1 One of those pathogens being experimented with was the debilitating spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Although this spirochete does occur in nature, before the U. S. Army’ s experimentation with it( i. e.,“ gain of function”), no outbreaks had occurred anywhere in the world. Human cases had been exceedingly rare.
The outbreak came to be known as Lyme disease. The U. S. Army initially denied any deliberate release, but they weren’ t nearly as emphatic about denying the possibility of an accidental escape of infected laboratory ticks and them finding their way onto birds, which carried the ticks to nearby Old Lyme. Since the 70s Lyme Disease has spread around the world, carried by tick-laden migratory birds as far as Africa. Lyme disease has infected millions worldwide, with one study showing that 14 % of the world population likely has Lyme disease. 2
Lyme disease is one of the fastest-growing vector-borne infections in the United States, with an estimated 476,000 new cases each year. 3 However, these estimates are based solely on diagnosed and treated insurance claim records. This hardly provides an accurate picture of how widespread the disease truly is. Some reports estimate that unreported cases outnumber reported cases at a 10-to-1 ratio. 4
Lyme Disease symptoms may include:
● Expanding red rash at bite site, often a“ bullseye.”
● Fever, chills, flu symptoms.
● Appetite loss, tiredness, exhaustion, chronic fatigue.
● Eye problems, e. g., pain, blurry vision, floaters.
● Severe headaches with neck stiffness.
● Muscle aches, joint aches, arthritic conditions.
● Shooting pains, numbness, tingling in extremities.
● Intermittent pain in tendons and bones.
● Neurological issues, e. g., MS symptoms, seizures, tremors, Parkinson’ s symptoms.
● Swollen knees, dizziness, shortness of breath.
● Memory loss, concentration impairment, brain fog, dementia, Alzheimer’ s symptoms.
● Heart palpitations.
● Bell’ s palsy( facial muscle paralysis).
● Tinnitus.
● Emotional disorders, e. g., depression, anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia.
18 JUNE 2026
Syphilis is another disease caused by a spirochete. Much like Syphilis, left improperly treated, the Lyme spirochete may result in premature death. Borrelia spirochetes can attack any organ or part of the body. Lyme disease is frequently misdiagnosed and is among the most misdiagnosed diseases. 5 However, this isn’ t always the doctor’ s fault. Lyme disease is sometimes called“ the great imitator” because it can mimic other diseases, and symptoms can change over time. 6 The reality is that doctors who are competent to diagnose, let alone treat, Lyme disease, are few and far between.
The Borrelia spirochete exhibits what might be described as an intelligence all its own. An attack may last several weeks, after which the spirochetes can go dormant for several weeks. During this time, symptoms may abate, fooling patients and doctors alike into thinking it’ s a“ spontaneous remission.” During dormancy, the spirochetes reproduce. After coming out of dormancy, they may migrate to another organ and attack again. For this reason, it’ s common to see patients go from one medical specialist to another. This month, it may be a heart specialist. Two or so months later, the spirochetes migrate to the liver, and the patient goes to a liver specialist. Weeks later, the spirochetes migrate to the pancreas and other organs. The cycle might repeat over many months, resulting in the patient spending a fortune on medical specialists baffled by a disease for which they have no comprehension.
A patient suffering the symptoms of Lyme disease may be hindered from getting an accurate diagnosis and prompt effective treatment because: 1) Only Lyme specialists, of which there are very few, are qualified to recognize and treat Lyme disease. 2) The only tests for Lyme disease give false-negative results more than 50 % of the time. 7 This means more than half of Lyme sufferers may not get treatment, even though they manifest the symptoms, because most doctors will only treat after a positive test result. Actual Lyme specialists do what other doctors generally won’ t— provide treatment based on symptoms.
Lyme specialists often start with a short course of high-dose intravenous antibiotics( e. g., Doxycycline). Antibiotics are often effective for early-stage borreliosis but are of questionable efficacy when treating later stages. Unfortunately, in some cases, symptoms may take longer to manifest than would qualify for early-stage treatment. The longer the time between the onset of infection and the start of treatment, the more challenging it is to kill off Borrelia. Delay means the odds of destroying all the spirochetes conventionally diminish, and Lyme specialists will have to resort to more aggressive measures, which may run afoul of medical boards. Many have even lost their medical licenses, not for quackery or incompetence, but for simply going against the narrative that Lyme disease is always“ easily treatable.” 8 In point of fact, chronic Lyme disease poses considerable treatment challenges. When those challenges can’ t be reasonably