Cannabis is the Answer to a Painful Question

The following is a research paper that I wrote for an English class at Southern New Hampshire University. I am publishing just as I turned it in, complete with references. 
However, I am editing in some photos to break it up a bit. Perhaps later I will hyperlink the references, and remove the parenthetical citations, but for now I will leave it as is.

Cannabis is the Answer to a Painful Question

There are many types of pain, but pain is the primary reason people seek care from physicians (Blesching 404). Opioid-based medications like Fentanyl (duragesic), oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), morphine, Dilaudid and methadone are currently the primary treatments prescribed by physicians for severe chronic pain. Deaths from opioid pain medications are at a catastrophic level in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada (“Opioids”). However, in areas where cannabis has been legalized for the treatment of chronic pain, those deaths have fallen by over 25% (Young). If cannabis was legalized universally for the treatment of chronic pain, fewer people would overdose while attempting to find

relief from this symptom.

In December 2015, CNN headlines screamed, “Drug overdose deaths reach all-time high,” when reporter Nadia Nounang announced opioid based drugs (including prescription medication) were responsible for 61% of those deaths. Ms. Kounang followed up three months later in the same publication with the Federal Drug Administration’s answer, “FDA requires ‘black box’ warning on painkillers” in which they finally warned consumers about addiction, physical dependence, the possibility of overdose, and death. These were similar to the warnings the FDA issued in 2013, intending to educate physician and patient alike.

The suicide rate among patients who suffer from chronic pain is double the rate in the rest of the population. Some would say chronic pain is a disease in its own right. More than 20 percent of Americans report from suffering some degree of chronic pain. It is connected with the absolute worst quality of life (MacCallum). More people die from opiate pain medication than any other medical treatment for a non-life threatening conditions.

Although opioid-based medications are the most common treatment for pain; recent studies indicate opiates are not effective for treating chronic pain. According to the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) when it recently announced it does not recommend physicians prescribe opiates for chronic pain, one reason stated was the risks of using this drug class for this symptom outweigh the benefits. According to United States 2014 statistics, 52 people died each day from prescription pain medication ("An important shift on opioids").

Five and a half years before writing "Doctors told not to prescribe opiates for chronic pain" for USA Today, Liz Szabo published an extensive viewpoint titled, “Treatments for Chronic Pain Can Lead to Prescription Drug Abuse,” in the same publication. In the 2010 piece, Ms. Szabo delineated the extensive problem prescription pain medication has become in our society; in the follow-up this March, she reported the CDC’s eventual response: Opiates are now considered to be only a very short term treatment at as low a dose as possible. A handful of exceptions were made, particularly in end-of-life circumstances (2010; 2016).

When the CDC announced in March 2016 they no longer recommended opioid pain medication for patients with chronic pain, they did not give clear alternatives. In the past five years, when attempting to avoid the temptation of taking opioids due to addiction, even patients who identify themselves as addicts or as allergic to opiate-based medications are being pushed those same pain relievers at every emergency room or physician’s office visit (Koons; Slighte). The CDC did not indicate how physicians should treat chronic pain without prescribing their favorite medications (Szabo “Doctors”).

Cannabis has been used to relieve pain and spasticity since ancient times (Mathre 112).
When using cannabis for chronic pain, many patients report they are able to reduce, then eliminate, not only narcotic pain relievers, but also antidepressants, benzodiazepines and anticonvulsants (Floyd; Mathre 121-123; Slighte).

In the United States, the first law in relation to cannabis came into effect before the states were united. The 1619 law ordered farmers to grow “Indian hemp” in Jamestown Colony, Virginia (Ditchfield & Thomas x). In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the United States federal government currently contends the cannabis plant is dangerous and has no medicinal value (Ditchfield & Thomas xvi).

In 1996, California and Arizona were the first two states to vote into law medical marijuana (Mathre 51). Since then, 22 other states and the District of Columbia have voted into law various cannabis products for assorted conditions. The following states list “chronic pain,” “intractable pain,” or “other debilitating conditions defined by physician” in regards to treating chronic pain with cannabis:
         Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont & Washington (Rahn).
However, cannabis remains illegal on a federal basis and this is enforced through raids carried out by federal authorities on a weekly basis on medical establishments (Wattles).

In spite of its opposition to the concept of cannabis having medicinal value, the United States government has issued several patents for the use of cannabis in medicine. At least two of these are specifically related to how cannabis helps patients who are experiencing pain (Eckroate 23).

Studies examining opioid overdose deaths in this country from 1999 to 2010 have shown in areas where medical cannabis has been legalized, significantly fewer people are dying from opiates. In fact, the longer there has been a medical cannabis law in place, the fewer deaths there appear to be. During the first year, deaths dropped about 20%, but by the sixth year of medical cannabis legality, there were more than one third less deaths from opiate-based pain medication than were anticipated (Bakalar).

Rather than being a gateway drug TO opioid addiction, cannabis appears to help patients recover from opiate addictions and treat their pain in an alternative manner. There is also evidence to suggest cannabis may help assist in general abuse recovery (Ditchfield & Thomas 49). Other studies show cannabinoids (active components of cannabis) have the ability to work together with opioids so the pain medication is more effective and the patient can reduce their tolerance to the opiate, causing the patient to require less medication for the same relief (Mathre 121-123).

There are many people who do not understand the methods employed by medical cannabis users in the treatment of disease. To much of the world, rooms full of acrid smoke and teenagers "couch locked" from popular movies are what they picture when you say the word "marijuana". "Cannabis" is a less known, but a preferred term among patients who are very serious about this botanical medicine. The current cannabis treatment preparations in tinctures, capsules and cooked into meals would not be recognizable to the marijuana user of the 1960s and 70s. Cannabis can be consumed as a topical, vaped in a e-cig, taken as a capsule or inserted as a suppository (Backes 101-105). Contrary to popular opinion, the stereotypical "lazy stoner" does not represent the modern medical marijuana patient who by and large reports he is able to "get on with his life" as it was before pain became a daily issue.

Pharmaceutical companies are not ignorant to the possibilities created by cannabis. A cannabis-based medication named “Sativex,” developed by G.W. Pharmaceuticals, has shown great promise relieving pain and spasticity in controlled studies since 2014. It has not yet been FDA approved for widespread use (Cervantes). As with any other pharmaceutical product, Sativex is priced to cover the years of research required to bring it to market, making it more expensive than most could afford--much more expensive than growing an herb in your backyard.

Opponents to medical cannabis programs often ignorantly use potential for addiction as an argument against marijuana. What they fail to understand is the slight capability for cannabis to cause dependence is much different than addiction drug-seeking behavior commonly found with opiate, tobacco and alcohol addictions (Bultman and Kingsley 98; Eckroate 135-137). The small percentage of marijuana users who do display a dependency may exhibit irritability and difficulty sleeping as well as some nausea upon quitting use (Bultman and Kingsley 97). The symptoms the patient was relying on the cannabis to treat will also return upon ceasing consumption of the herb.

There are other clinicians who are developing their own methods for managing or alleviating chronic pain. One is Pete Egoscue. He has written books about the exercises he employs to rid people of their chronic pain forever (“Pain Free”). Unfortunately, most people are lazy when it comes to their health. If there is a pill to pop, a suppository to push, a joint to smoke or a tea or tonic to drink they will do it much faster than they will ever pick up a book and read it, much less actually learn exercises and do them repeatedly enough to be effective (Whiteman).

More than 1.5 billion people suffer from chronic pain worldwide. That includes over 100 million Americans. Deaths from opioid pain medications exceed all of those from illegal drugs for ALL age groups, from 15 to over 65. The largest group dying are those from 45-54 (“Deaths”). The numbers are staggering. What is just as shocking is that NO ONE is dying from cannabis. In fact, in areas that have legalized medical marijuana, significantly fewer people are dying from opioid pain medications.

When evaluating cannabis versus opioids for chronic pain, there are two simple but profound facts must be acknowledged above all others:

1. Prescription opiates kill more people than any other type of medication (Kounang “Drug”).
2. Cannabis has never killed anyone (Carter; 'It's zero!').

The Chief of the CDC was quoted on March 16, 2016 stating, "We know of no other medication routinely used for a non-fatal condition that kills patients so frequently," when speaking about doctors prescribing opioid pain medications (Szabo “Doctors”). When researching possible deaths from cannabis, Rep. Blumenauer from Oregon stated it perfectly in November of 2014 when he said, "it's zero!" ('It's zero!').

It is not enough to take away the source of the fatalities without providing a safe and effective replacement for pain control. Cannabis is a treatment that provides relief without the fear of accidental death via overdose. If physicians want to “FIRST DO NO HARM,” they should recommend medical cannabis for chronic pain FIRST. 

Works Cited

"An important shift on opioids." Washington Post 6 May 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 May 2016.

Bachhuber, Marcus, and Colleen Barry. "Of Pot and Percocet." New York Times 31 Aug. 2014: 12(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 May 2016.

Backes, Michael. Cannabis Pharmacy: The Practical Guide to Medical Marijuana. New York. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishing. 2014. Print.

Bakalar, Nicholas. "Patterns: A Benefit of Legal Marijuana." New York Times 1 Sept. 2014: D4(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 May 2016.

Blesching, Uwe, PhD. The Cannabis Health Index. Berkeley, California. North Atlantic Books. 2013. Print.

Bultman, Laura, M.D. & Kingsley, Kyle, M.D. Medical Cannabis Primer: For Healthcare Professionals. Minnesota. Minnesota Medical Solutions. 2014. Print.

Carter, Gregory T., et al. "Re-Branding Cannabis: The Next Generation of Chronic Pain Medicine?" Pain Management 5.1 (2015): 13-21.ProQuest. Web. 20 April 2016.

Cervantes, Jorge. The Cannabis Encyclopedia. China. Homestead Book Company. 2015. Print.

Corderoy, Amy. "Chronic pain sufferers gain relief from cannabis - study." Sydney Morning Herald [Sydney, Australia] 27 Jan. 2015: 10. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 30 May 2016.

"Deaths from Opioid Pain Relievers Exceed Those from All Illegal Drugs." Prescription Drug Abuse. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Ditchfield, Jeff and Thomas, Mel. Medical Cannabis Guidebook: The Definitive Guide to Using and Growing Medicinal Marijuana. China. Green Candy Press, Oceanic Graphic International. 2014. Print.

Eckroate, Norma. The Medical Marijuana Handbook: A Patient’s Guide to Holistic Healing With Cannabis. Bradenton, Florida, USA BookLocker. Com Inc. 2016. Print.

Egoscue, Pete. Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain. New York. Bantam. 1998. Print.

Floyd, Keith. Personal Interview. 26 May 2016.

"'It's zero!' Rep. Blumenauer on number of marijuana deaths." CNN Wire. 13 Nov. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 May 2016.

Koons, Anne M. Personal Interview. 29 May 2016

Kounang, Nadia. "Drug overdose deaths reach all-time high." CNN Wire. 18 Dec. 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 May 2016.

Kounang, Nadia. "FDA requires 'black box' warning on painkillers." CNN Wire. 24 Mar. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 May 2016.

Armentano, Paul. Letter. "Marijuana and Opioids." New York Times 29 Apr. 2016: A20(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 May 2016.

Mathre, Mary Lynn, ED. Cannabis in Medical Practice. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland and Company, Inc Publishers. 1997. Print.

MacCallum, Elizabeth. "Strict Regulation of Prescription Drugs Harms Patients Suffering from Chronic Pain." Prescription Drug Abuse. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Sufferers of Chronic Pain and the Government's War on OxyContin." Maclean's Magazine (15 Mar. 2012). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Nohlgren, Stephen. "STUDY POSES NEW POT BENEFIT; States with medical marijuana are seeing lower than expected opiate overdoses." Tampa Bay Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 27 Aug. 2014: 1A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 May 2016.

"Opioids: A national crisis needs a federal response." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 11 Apr. 2016: A11. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Rahn, Baily. Qualifying Conditions For Medical Marijuana by State. Leafly. May 3, 2016. Web. May 22, 2016. https://www.leafly.com/news/health/qualifying-conditions-for-medical-marijuana-by-state

Slighte, Jason, Sr.. Personal Interview. July 29, 2015.

Schneider, Jennifer P., M.D., Ph.D. Living With Chronic Pain: The Complete Health Guide to the Causes and Treatment of Chronic Pain. Long Island City, New York. Hatherleigh Press. 2009. Print.

Szabo, Liz. "Doctors told not to prescribe opiates for chronic pain." USA Today 16 Mar. 2016: 01A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Szabo, Liz. "Treatments for Chronic Pain Can Lead to Prescription Drug Abuse." Prescription Drug Abuse. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Prescriptions Now Biggest Cause of Fatal Drug Overdoses." USA Today 10 Aug. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Wattles, Jackie. "Medical marijuana now legal in 24 states." CNN Wire 17 Apr. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 30 May 2016.

Whiteman, Honor. “Have We Become Too Dependent on Medication?” Medical News Today. January 29, 2015. Web. 20 April 2016.

Young, Saundra. "Medical marijuana laws may reduce painkiller overdoses." CNN Wire 25 Aug. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

The Price of Being a Patient

The Economics of Medical Marijuana and Disability

Background

In the past five years, I have had the incredible opportunity to travel the country and visit friends across the USA. Many of the friends I have visited, have been cannabis patients. Most of my friends are disabled, and/or caring for a disabled family member or dear friend.

I have witnessed many paradigms across the country, but for the purposes of this piece, I will limit my observations to the states where cannabis has been made legal for medical use.

Recently, a few more states have been added to the quazi-legal paradigm of "recreational cannabis" that I witnessed in Washington this past year and their attempt to implement it.

I had voted against I-502 for a number of reasons (for a full explanation, please read my blog piece, "This Woman and Her Vote"), but it passed regardless. The push for taxable marijuana was too big of a carrot to pass up for Washington State voters.

I also understand, and empathize with those people who need cannabis for medical purposes, but who can not afford the required doctor paperwork which is not covered by any insurance. This is largely due to the fact that the federal government has issued threats to licensed physicians that they will prohibit them from practicing if they do get themselves involved with medical cannabis.

In spite of this fact, the New England Journal of Medicine in May of 2013, reported that 76% of physicians agreed with medicinal cannabis use.

PATIENT ACCESS

When "recreational marijuana" was legalized in Washington State, it took over 18 months to implement the legal state-taxed store sales. The law had created a grey market. It was legal to possess, but not buy or sell or cultivate. However, it was and still is, legal to cultivate up to 15 plants if you are a legal patient.

Thus spurned the grey market of Washington. Patients who could grow, who had the means and opportunity, found that they could pass on products to friends as long as they didn't get caught.

A sign in a Olympia, Washington
Collective Garden

With the popularity of BHO (Butane Hash Oil) exploding, patients also found themselves in a predicament where collective gardens would pay them money for the trim off of their plants. Trim that was in many instances, previously donated for the purpose of making FECO (full extract cannabis oil), one form of which is often referred to as RSO (Rick Simpson Oil).
It is THIS oil, this plant concentrate which has been credited by many ad hoc studies as well as personal testimonies, as having cured cancers.

Patient Income

I haven't found any formal statistics in regards to the proportion of medical marijuana patients on disability income. From personal experience including my experience volunteering at a Collective Garden in Washington, I would venture an educated guess at 60-75% of all medical cannabis users (with a valid recommendation, or not) are on disability income from either Social Security, or a private source.

Let's look at the numbers, JUST for Social Security. There are two programs. One serves the people who are too disabled to have supported themselves for any period of time by employment, that is called Supplemental Security Income (SSI). As of 2013, 4.92 MILLION US citizens were on this program, receiving an average payment per month of $550.

The second program is known as "Disabled Workers" or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). During the same time frame 8.96 million US citizens were drawing their Social Security through this program at an average payment of $1145/month.

When one averages the two classes of disabled Social Security recipients together, the average monthly income for 14 million people is less than $850 per month.

Medication Expense

From personal experience and observation, as well as physician recommendation and referral, the average cannabis patient with life threatening or chronic conditions requires between 1 and 3 grams

of dry, cured cannabis on a daily basis.

Prices for cannabis, per gram, can vary widely. The average up in Washington for medical is currently $10/gram. Washington is a state that also allows patients to grow up to 15 plants for their usage no matter their proximity to any organized & taxed grow or sales operation.

Arizona has a different paradigm. They enacted a "25-mile Rule" in regards to cultivating rights of patients. (A topic that will be covered in detail soon in a separate article). This means that if a patient lives within 25 miles (NOT driving distance, but as a "crow flies" which can be several hundred miles different) of a dispensary; they are not permitted to grow their own medication.

Arizona's state-taxed dispensaries charge upwards of $20/gram of dry medication. Then they add city, county and state taxes to the price.

A quick price comparison of the most popular concentrate, BHO, finds that Washington averages $30-50/gram; while Arizona charges $60-80/gram.

The cost of arguably the most beneficial concentrate of cannabis, full extract oil, is also the most expensive. FECO, RSO, Phoenix Tears, Raw Hash Oil are all names for a black-looking substance sold in capsules and syringes. It it dark green or dark amber depending on the method and solvent used. When an edible solvent (grain alcohol) is used, it is so green it looks black.

Washington Collective Gardens generally sell one gram of FECO for between $30 and $90.

The costs associated in making FECO for one's self to cure cancer is astronomical without growing one's own plants.

THE MATH BEHIND THE "CANNABIS CANCER CURE" 

It takes APPROXIMATELY one pound, sometimes more, of raw bud material of the cannabis plant, to process 60 grams, known as a 90 day treatment to begin a cancer cure.

Patients who have metastasized, are recommended to keep taking one gram of FECO every day for the rest of their lives as a maintenance dose.

FECO is not just recommended for cancers. Many studies have recommended that FECO is the ideal treatment and possibly cure for many types of neurological disorders as well as cancer. This raises the stakes when looking at the numbers of people with said conditions.

Back to the Math

If the average disabled patient makes less than $850/month, and uses only 1 gram of cannabis per day, in Washington state, purchased at a collective garden, that comes to $300/month medication cost. Leaving less than $550 to live on.

If that same person wants to heal themselves from cancer, and needs a 60 gram supply of FECO to do so, as well as dry medication to control symptoms like nausea which are not well controlled from the FECO, the numbers get CRAZY.

One pound of cannabis can not be purchased either in Arizona or Washington or any of the other medical states, legally.

One pound of cannabis can only be grown, then processed immediately. A pound of cannabis is approximately 453 grams.

If it were to be purchased, it would range from $4,530 in Washington prices or $9,000 in Arizona prices.

Then comes the price of the solvent and the physical ability to do the job of extracting it.

I do not personally know of any disabled patients who could afford to stay alive at these prices.

The Future

I don't know what the future holds. I can hope and pray that our federal government will see it's way to legalizing the safest medication that seems to grow on this earth.

I do know that the math doesn't make sense. I constantly wonder why are we extorting our meekest of meek and our sickest of sick to make money?

I hope that soon relief can be found for all of those in search of it....at a reasonable cost or with the unlimited ability to cultivate this plant.

Zuki Saved My Life

With cheesecake brownies
She saved me from violence
when a flat tire in the sun
Wasn't very fun.

Hip Happy Brownies
helped us see blessings
Instead of grumble
at the work to be done.

As we traveled
on a rickety spare;
A major wrong turn
Normally would have
caused me to pull out my hair....
Instead, due to a friend
We smiled and explored
Learning about the land
God brought us to  once more.

Angel, not Ange,
is how I see-
This person who's given
my life back to me!

With gummies and yummies
She rescued me from thirst;
Soothing butter and honey
Saved me from my worst.

The headaches of altitude sickness
and drought
Lead me to worry, frightened
...in doubt.
Through candies and cookies
in flavors galore--
She saved me from illness,
my spirits did soar!

Thank you my Sister,
I can't say enough.
Please believe me,
It got mighty rough!
The clouds of my mind,
my body broken in half;
To say you saved my life,
Isn't to laugh.

Then there's the life
of my husband and mate,
Without your candy,
I may doubt our fate!

Thank you again,
for being a sister and friend;
We thank you so much,
Gratitude without end.


(written 7 Oct 2014)

Cannabis and Me: My Testimony of a Plant Christ Created

Before I go any further with my tales of volunteering at a collective garden, I thought I would write a bit of a testimonial. 

Even if readers know why I use this plant medically, sometimes even I need a refresher. When I am out of my medicine, these reasons become crystal clear.

Physicians & Pharmacists: Diagnosis & Treatment

The first diagnosis that is listed on my medical records pertaining to the use of cannabis is intractable pain caused by damaged nerves during my last pelvic reconstructive surgery (the initial injuries happened when I was an infant then complicated with motherhood & several unsuccessful surgeries).

From 2002-2009, I was prescribed Fenantyl via a Duragesic patch. Fenatnyl is an opioid pain medication that is about 75-100% stronger than morphine.
My physicians repeatedly informed me that due to my pain levels, I would never be able to live off of a morphine-strength pain medication. I am allergic to morphine. Fentanyl with vicodin and percocet was how I survived for 7 years.

During my time on opioid pain medications, I soon learned that any exertion brought nausea, as well as irritation of the initial pain. The side effects of opioids caused me to loose my teeth, and my life. I spent most of my days in a dark bedroom watching DVDs, curled up in a fetal position.

In 2008, when my daughter graduated from high school, I was barely functioning on 19 pills a day. All prescribed by the same physician. Most were for side-effects of other medications.  During the time I was on these medications I developed other physical issues. Some where profound, like the hiatal hernia I developed during a violent vomiting episode. This has left me with chronic nausea.

The other diagnosis that I use medical cannabis for also stems from the abuse I sustained as a small child by my father, then step-father.  PTSD and depression with anxiety are some of the major reasons that cannabis is my medication of choice.

I have a family history that is frightening for depression. My father and grandfather both committed suicide. My aunt and I both have had several unsuccessful attempts at the same action. Major Depressive Disorder is so much more than "the blues."

An ironic experience I have had is one of friends getting tired of my acting out during a major depressive episode and tell me to "go take a Prozac." The reason I find this ironic is that during the time I was being treated by physicians for my depression through pharmaceuticals (1982-2009), I exhausted every formulary; up to, and including ALL SSRIs (of which class Prozac is in). The only medication for depression that I have not been suicidal on, is Cannabis.

For my anxiety issues, I have been prescribed at least five different medications. Some two at a time. Couch-lock has nothing on the zombifying experience of prescription anxiety medications. At least I didn't drool much. But I was not "with-it" enough on them to live.

When a friend suggested that instead of using vicodin or percocet for my "break-through pain" that I use cannabis (or as she so eloquently put it "smoke a bowl!"), I was leery. When I suspected that it would just get me intoxicated and waste more of my life, she pointed out that my life currently consisted of being in bed 24/7, how much more could I loose? I acquiesced and tried it.

During the years I used cannabis as a supplement to my prescription medications, I began to live again.
I found that if I smoked about 2-3 hits off of a pipe or joint, I had the energy to push past the pain. Then the pain began getting less. 

The End of Prescriptions - An Alternative Presented

When I was discharged without notice from the physician prescribing the pain medications in August 2009, it was cannabis that relieved some of the symptoms of withdrawal from the Fentanyl and Percocet. It was the only reason I was able to get through the hell of withdrawals without becoming suicidal.

Months after I was off of all prescription medications, still exhibiting several symptoms of withdrawals as well as my primary issues of anxiety and depression as well as nausea and anorexia; I tried my first edible cannabis products. I was absolutely amazed at the results.

The more cannabis products that I consumed, the better I felt. I began to feel HEALTHY!
I began to be able to do so much more. I began to regain my life.

Last year, cannabis ended up leading me to become a Latter-Day Saint. I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when God answered my prayers with this plant. But that's another story for another time (feel free to follow my spiritual journey at SlightelyMormon.org).

In the fall of 2013, at a sister-friend's urging; I tried an experiment. I began taking a full-plant extract oil (FEO) on a daily basis. There are many names for this type of oil and many ways to process it. Some of the most common names are Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) or Phoenix Tears. My husband calls his version, without the decarboxylation step (I will post about his oil soon), "Jesus Oil."
No matter the name it goes by, it is an extract of the oils of the cannabis plant. I prefer the "full-plant" with the cannabinoids that are only found in the leaves and other non-bud parts of the plant included.

Here is a link to the best explanation I have found for the processing of small batches of this type of oil, by a dear friend, Breezy Keifair: How to Make Cannabis Oil Without Alerting the Neighbors.

As the rice-grain sized bit of oil began to be absorbed into my system, I didn't become intoxicated nor did I feel any euphoria. In fact, as the days progressed to weeks into this experiment of daily oil, I found I was feeling less euphoria from cannabis, but more happiness over-all. My body began to feel "able". My mind was clear. I could think, and I had energy. I didn't hurt and my legs worked. My brain looked towards the Gospel and furthering my fores into genealogy. I could think and feel clearly.

Thirty days into using cannabis oil daily, I felt like a new woman.

As I have experimented with the use of cannabis for my health, it has been with the guidance of my health care providers and my "cannafamily" - an intentional family of friends.

As I have learned about the cannabis plant, I have attempted to share this knowledge with others.

For seven years, prescription medications took my life away from me. Several years ago, while I was in a puddle of vomit and tears, I prayed to my Heavenly Father to save me. It is He who held the branch of the cannabis plant to me. It is He that saved me, through a plant.

County Line Alternative Medicine: First Morning as a Volunteer

Day 2, morning one. It was my first Monday morning in a very long time. My disabilities took my freedom from me. My freedom to work. On this Monday morning, I walked about a quarter mile on the way to work, before hitchhiking for a ride.

Today was more than my first day volunteering for this Collective Garden. It was also the 4 year anniversary of the day my physician had discharged me without notice; putting me involuntarily into withdrawals from the fentanyl and percocet he had been prescribing for five years. For the two years before that, it had been my general physician. But strangely enough, she was no longer in practice.

This Monday morning felt triumphant. I had begun to take my life back with my baptism in the spring, now perhaps I could at least have the opportunity to help others at the same time as ease the incredible strain on my pocket book that my medical costs were, as they are to anyone on disability.

The day started off wonderfully. I began to learn my way around the front desk procedures; as I had been trained on the bud-tending bar the previous Saturday night shift.

I was given passwords and asked to update the web menu on many sites. I began to become acquainted with the other volunteers and their stories.

County Line was owned and operated by a woman on disability who got tired of her husband sitting around smoking pot all day and doing nothing. So, they started a Collective Garden with a grow and a lounge in the back where he could still, in fact, sit around and smoke weed all day. Only now, they could make money off of it. That was my observation on first glance. I saw a family with two disabled parents attempting to get by and looking at what they knew and making the best of it.

Jim (all of the names have been changed) was the official owner of the business with their adult son as a partner, as not to get his wife in trouble with Social Security; but he was quick to point out that his wife, Betty, was the true boss. She was, in fact, the one who did the books....and the one to whom the boys on night-shift were answerable for their shenanigans.


Betty and I got along quite well. In fact, I still miss her and keep her in my prayers.


Another volunteer I had the opportunity to meet was Jill. She was the "cleaning lady." In fact, she was a very disabled woman. A patient who lived on a meager fixed income who had trouble affording her medicine. So, she offered to do anything for the Collective Garden. They made her the cleaning lady, and gave her one gram for every 6 hours of work.


For those of us who are disabled, every hour we work is worth so many more "able-bodied" hours. It takes us so much to be able to push past the pain coma of a pain level that sometimes reaches 9.5+ upon awakening without any cannabis in our system. 

To procure a lowly $10 worth of medicine for 6 hours of bending, twisting, and lifting...doing all of those things that our physicians have warned us against, is something that too many of us would do in a heartbeat.


That was the remuneration that we all received. All of the volunteers were patients. We all received one gram of dry, cured, medicine for every 6 hours of work that we provided. As "volunteers", it was a paradigm that was not uncommon, as testified by the volunteers who came from other places. Jim and Betty tried to "sweeten the deal" by promising a dream trip to all the volunteers and calling them "family".  Meanwhile, many were in the negative by the time they came to work that day.


On the shiny side of the cloud that first day, were the patients that I was able to meet and help. While riding a line, not attempting to give out medical advice, as none of us want to be practicing medicine without a license; I was able to share my personal experience with this plant in it's topical, edible and combustible forms with a patient who was in severe pain. Within minutes after using a topical spray, she experienced relief. As a caregiver, it was enough to make me want to come back the next day to help again.

There are many stories that remain to be told. Many yet to write. County Line Alternative Medicine was north of an unfriendly county border and I lived south of that line. Living in unfriendly territory towards a medicine I have come to know is God's was, and is, a challenge. Just because cannabis is legal in Washington does not mean it is liked. Many counties, even west of the Cascades, are very unfriendly to cannabis and anyone who uses it for any reason.

We must continue to spread education and understanding. Erase fear with education. Learn, teach, and grow. Overgrow with the Love and Lighte of Christ. And Cannabis.

Hippocracy of the Alternative

In these days when the Hippocratic oath is more than a little hypocritical, we need our alternative medical care more than ever before.

In today's world, those who have gone about getting their education in the prescribed manner have incurred so much debt, that entire professions worth of employees, be they physicians, pharmacists or licensed nurses and massage therapists; they are trained very well: You do what we say, or you loose your license. You must not use or do what you know is right, even though it is the compassionate thing to do, you will loose your way to earn money if you do it.

It is a simple as that. It all boils down to the almighty dollar. Non-maleficence, first doing no harm; has gone the way of family doctor who performs house calls. First, they harm your wallet, which effects your general well-being; then what they do causes more harm than good. Thus, ensuring your return and another procedure and visit that they can bill you for. Upfront payment accepted only. Medical ethics?!

When those with the initials after their names; when THOSE who have done the education the prescripted way, when THEY FAIL to act in a caring manner, when they FAIL to act with compassion and care CHOOSING the lure of Satan in the guise of the almighty dollar, those of us who DO CARE about our brother are forced to become "front line medics" using the tools that GOD Himself gave us to treat and attempt to cure what ails each other.

The next line of treatment, in a "compassionate state" is to go to the alternative care providers. Those with no medical degrees, relying on self-directed studies of the studies performed by distant scientists as well as anecdotal evidence of friends.

But what do we get, when we place our trust and health care needs in the hands of people we will actually call "family," a "canna-family;" solely because they partake of the same alternative treatment that we have chosen?

Under RCW 69.51a, the medical cannabis in Washington is governed. A new set of rules and laws were added when Washington State voters approved I-502 against the objections of many medical cannabis patients.

The fight for and against I-502 split the cannabis community in more than two pieces. A community that refers to itself as a family; now cannibalizing each other for the cash that they can procure. 


After traveling the country for the past 3 years, meeting a lot of people in a lot of different circumstances, most of them revolving around a plant, I decided to take up an invitation to "volunteer" at a local "collective garden" in Washington State for a few months. What I observed while there made me sicker than even "big pharma" has for a long time.

I will be posting stories from the Collective Garden I was volunteering at. It is and was the norm. I had the opportunity, while there and at other times, to interview and get to know as true friends, a large variety of people, all patients, who have volunteered in these "Gardens". Their, and my experience is typical of what a small town "Safe Access Point" is in Washington State.

I believe in a better paradigm. I aim to create a situation for myself, my husband and as many of our friends as possible in a community that is about caring. Cannabis is a part of it, but currency will not be.

My heart has been hurt tremendously by the people who call patients "family" only to be close to them when they receive their pittance of a decreasing valued limited income. It is time for all to grow their own. It is time for people to step up and help their neighbor if he CAN'T grow. It is time to be our brother's keeper. It is TIME to Overgrow the World with compassion. With the love and lighte of Christ. And with Cannabis.

Rest Area Chapter 1: Trip to Denver

I can't begin the story of the Rest Area without first telling the story of what lead up to it... and that began over a month previous to my leaving  Denver on a cold windy October Friday night. 

It was coming upon fall once again. I found myself in the Thurston County/ Olympia area after a quick trip to Denver and back with my best friend in August. In September came the news that I had lost the remainder of my possessions, including about 20 or so of my personal journals, all of my children's baby pictures, as well as parts of the book that I had written long hand during the previous spring and winter. 

It was all gone. But as much as I cried, the moisture of my tears couldn't ease the burning in my heart. I trusted that the man I was in love with would some how fix it all, but he didn't. 
Not only had he not fixed the legal matters we were involved in together, he broke my heart on my way out the door, saying that he knew that I never had the potential to be his soul mate. 

If he had spent the entire year and a half of our on-again-off-again relationship attempting to find something that could hurt me more than anything else, he couldn't have found a statement that would hurt me more.

I left town determined not to answer any of his text messages or calls. I made it four days. He pleaded with me to remain his friend. I am still ambivalent about that idea.

When I left town, I headed east. In the quiet of the early morning, I wound my way through the roads around the Cascade mountains and watched a beautiful sunrise with my puppy, Athena. 
I attempted to take in the beauty of the northwest that I was leaving, not sure when I would really return except to visit my adult children and their children.

I stopped at a friend's house in Idaho, but it wasn't much of a visit. Fortunately, she and I had visited a couple of times before this quick stop-over. I left for Colorado early the next day. 
When I drove through Utah I forgot about I-70 and the fact that their are no services aka no bathrooms for about 150 miles. Someone should warn disabled people not to travel that way from Utah to Colorado. 
For me, being someone with a very sensitive bladder (several surgeries), it caused me to get a speeding ticket on my first trip through in June, and a LOT of pain on this, my second trip.

By the time I got to my friend's home in Grand Junction, I was ready for a rest. I received a wonderful burst of energy via their wonderful princesses aka daughters.

I spent a couple of days with my family of friends in Grand Junction. They even drove us all up to Grand Mesa, where we took pictures of all the gorgeous autumn colors throughout the mesas. It was a day I will always treasure! 

Beautiful. Just gorgeous. Before this trip I had never realized that the desert changed colors with the seasons as much as a forest does. I had just never thought about it. 

My friends in Grand Junction said good-bye to me with hesitation, but they were aware that a friend in Denver had begged me to spend my birthday with her. I was on my way to do just that.

When I had put out on Facebook that I didn't know where I should spend my 45th birthday doing what, my friend Kim, in Denver who I had visited early in the summer, had posted "I don't have much, but I will share everything I have, come spend your birthday with me". So, I had planned out the trip to end up in Denver on October 19th, my 45th birthday. 

My second birthday as a single, homeless woman. A transient.

But I had friends. A friend had, in fact, invited me to spend time with her on my birthday. 

My birthday came and went, as any other day. The differences included that I went to sleep hungry, not wanting to venture out in the cold Denver night to my car, to the emergency food I had stored in it. I had already been admonished for drinking their milk, I wouldn't want to take any other food out of my friends' 15 year old child's mouth.

One other difference was the fact that the friend in question shared a blunt with me. But, in retrospect, she did charge me for that as well. 

My birthday was on a Wednesday, I was looking to leave around Friday for points southeast, but my friend kept insisting that I stay longer. When snow pummeled Denver on the next Wednesday, I again voiced my intentions to leave Thursday or Friday. Another friend of mine who I contacted, not wanting to leave the area without making such contact, informed me of a rally for a MMJ patient  in Colorado Springs. This seemed like a much better use of my time, than sitting on my bed in the middle of my friend's living room, so I agreed to meet in the morning to join the energies. 

Thursday, I was gone for most of the day with my other friends in support of medical cannabis patient, Bob Crouse, in Colorado Springs. His rights to use cannabis as medication were to be on trial. Once again, as I usually do during these gatherings of patients, friends, advocates and activists, I became re-energized. I remembered my goals.

We also touched base with the "Occupy Colorado Springs" movement while we were south of Denver. When I returned to my friends' house in Denver, I was not in the glum spirit that I had been feeling. I was back to wanting to change the world. 

That night  I slept a fitful sleep.  In the morning, I was to discover the reason. When I mentioned that I was still looking at leaving in the next few days, my friend stated to me that she wanted me to stay until I got my disability payment for the next month. She wanted me to pay for being there.

I was astonished, but not surprised. During my time there, I had come to understand that this friend of mine was still VERY embroiled in a self-destructive paradigm, being a chain smoker with pulmonary hypertension and a hole in her heart. She was also still wrapped in the cold comfort of pharmaceuticals: morphine, percocet and anti-anxiety medications while adding cannabis concentrates.  

Living out of her bed, she was a shadow of many of my memories. I wish her nothing but hope and health and love and lighte. 

I could not continue to exist there. My energy was overwhelmingly stifled. 
When she left that day to spend time with her family, I commenced  washing myself and my dog, then her bathtub, and packing up my bags and car.

I left a blank check with her teenage son, who had shared tears with me as I prepared to leave. I asked him to please remind her that I only have $850 each month to live on, but for her to please make the check for whatever she felt I owed her. 

With that, I took my puppy (who had her own issues saying goodbye to 5 other dogs), got in my car, and headed out to say goodbye to another friend before heading north. 

Gramma Maggie 420

Since this journey has begun, it is time to create a space for just the journey.

This is it.

There are three seperate blogs that I will  be keeping. This is the one in which I will be documenting my journey to me, via the world.

This is a bit about who I am and what I am doing:

 

WHO AM I?!?

That is the question I am attempting to answer for myself during a journey around the country and world.

During this journey, I am hoping to visit anyone who is open to it. This can include my relatives, both those I know well and those whom I have yet to meet.

It also will include my “Pot Farm” friends from facebook.

I am also looking forward to visiting many of my friends who have moved to distant locals.

I know this much about myself:

I have the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy, and no “filter” between my brain and my mouth.

I am the mother of 3 children. I became a mom at the age of 17 after being told at age 15 that I wouldn’t be able to have children. I was married for 21 years to the father of my daughter, who is now 20. My sons are 26 and 24.

I am the grandma of 3 (identical twin girls who are 2 & a grandson who was born 10 days before my 40^th birthday who is now 4).

I am a biker. I grabbed a hold of the throttle after riding bitch for over 30 years with anyone who would let me. I won’t bitch again if I have the opportunity to ride. However, if that isn’t an option, I would always rather bitch, than cage.

I am  a writer and a survivor.

I am retired disabled with a “hidden” disability.

I am also a medical cannabis advocate. My only source of pain control at this time is cannabis. Just for reference, my pain level upon waking ranges from about a 5.8 (on GREAT days) to 8.5 on bad days. It averages 7.4 daily.

My disability: I experience chronic nerve pain in my pubic area, chronic pelvic pain &  a bladder condition called “interstitial cystitis”. I was prescribed Fentanyl (100x stronger than morphine) for over 7 years. I was informed by my physicians that I would never be able to completely cease using that particular pain medication or one similar.

Then, on my own,  I stopped it cold turkey in August of 2009.

In December of 2009, I was confronted by my own body failing me.. I began to loose my upper left peripheral vision. Then, it worsened in Spring of 2010, when my doctors informed me that I couldn’t have the tests that were my only hope of discovering the root of this illness taking my vision and the sensation on my left side, due to the implant that I have to control the interstitial cystitis. 

When I learned that I was loosing my vision, I decided that I needed to see more than just Washington State, where I have spent most of my life, save for living 9 months in Las Vegas in 1992. I have never visited most of the states in my own country. I have visited very little of Canada (a few day visits to Vancouver and Victoria, BC) and I have been in Mexico once as a teen for a few hours.

Last spring, after 21 years of marriage, I left my husband with only the clothes on my back.

Both God as well as the universe, have been attempting to make me aware that material things shouldn’t matter to me.

In 2005, the house I raised my children in was foreclosed upon while I was awaiting Social Security’s decision on my disability. 

Shortly thereafter, my husband failed to make the payment on our storage unit, and we lost all of our material memories save for a few photos we had been able to keep with us.

When I left my husband, he decided that I only deserved the possessions that he chose.

He even took possession of the pet house rabbit that I had purchased while I was separated from him in 2005.

A few weeks after I left, my ex had the Harley Low Rider that I had paid the majority of, and been the only person to ride for many months, repossessed.

He has the car, the house, the pet, the remaining bike, and all the items that he decided that he didn’t want.

I now have nothing to tie me down. Homeless by choice.

My children are grown, my grandchildren have excellent parents and are in great hands.

All I do is feel pain in my hometown. I have pretty much never seen anything except my home state save for a few short trips to neighboring areas.

Before I loose my vision; I want to see everything I can. I want to learn about other people in other areas, I want to see this beautiful world. I want to hear music from all around the world, beginning with different regions of the US.

I am doing this on the smallest of budgets. As I said, I have nothing. I do have a warm sleeping bag, some clothing and personal objects I require to live, and continue to document this journey around the world, as well as the journey into myself.

If I was to be honest about what this is, it is a journey to me, through exploring the world around me. 

Perhaps “Herriot the Spy” grows up and looks at the world around here, not just the people. I will be writing my life story, as well as a book about the people that I meet through the game “Pot Farm” on FaceBook.

I will be logging my travels as I visit my “Pot Farm” friends around the country, then hopefully around the world.

I welcome any and all feedback. Even though I may go through days and perhaps weeks, without posting much; please be patient, I may not have internet access or limited access for extended periods of time. I will continue to write even if it may have to be transcribed when I am able to return.

I am very much a hippie and I am trusting God and my inner intuition to guide me. I am only following my “gut instincts” to lead me where I need to go.

The current tentative plans are as such:

• My birthday (October 19^th), will be spent in the LA, California area with friends I most literally haven’t seen in 30 years. I hope also to meet and visit any “Pot Farm” friends in the southern Cali area during that time frame.
•  
• After I leave the LA area, I am being pulled towards the Bay area, as much of my family history is based in that are.
•  
•             Possibly after the Bay area: Eastern Oregon, Spokane, WA…. Then?????
•  
• On Christmas:  I will be in Utah with my wonderful friend who I refer to as my wife.
•  
• January: I hope to be in Florida visiting friends who have relocated to that area, as well as new friends I have acquired through “Pot Farm.”

ALL of these plans are completely fluid, tentative and conditional upon only my gut feelings.

At any point, I may be forced to return in order to assist my family.

For now, I am following God, my heart, my instincts… or just my crazy brain.