California State Legal Resident

[CynCritter]

I've been a prescription-holder for three years.

I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis, for which I take a pill form of chemotherapy every week, and it makes me deathly ill. For three days I am unable to smell food or eat, unless I ingest MMJ the day prior to, the day of, and the day following my chemotherapy.

I tried Marinol several years ago. My PPO covered 40% of the prescription for it, but the other 60% was prohibitatively expensive... and, it didn't do me any good. For many years I had no choice but to endure the nauea and the fluxuation of weight.

Finally I decided to get a prescription for MMJ and see if it would work better than the Marinol had. It does.

So, in an effort to assist the hard-working members of ASA, I joined - and now am an active member, working to make MMJ legal for all of us who need it.

Please do not confuse me with people who are lurking behind our backs so they can use pot as a recreational drug. (I did that when I was 30 years younger, and via hind-sight now conclude how irresponsible so many of us were, in the 1970s and 1980s. We smoked and drank and drove, putting ourselves and everyone else on the roads with us in jeopardy.) Marijuana can be just as deadly when used improperly as any other mind-altering substance. It slows down our reaction time, whether we're cooking, cleaning, driving, playing games, etc. It affects our short-term memory, whether we want to admit it or not, which is why children and teens whose brains and growth are incomplete should never use it or any other mild-altering substances without supervision by a bonafide physician. MMJ can be a wonderful asset for those of us whose health and lives can be improved via its proper use. But, like all other substances - even vitamins - it can create permanent problems when used for the wrong purposes, and used by those who are indulging in other mind-altering ingestations.

 

[Janjaweed]

i dont see how it cant benefit everyone, in one way or another.

who doesnt get pain or headaches or insomnia?

and whats wrong with enjoying it?

many medical users fall into an illusion that they are "better" than other users.
and they actually believe this!

you sound like a real fun guy to have a smoke with

 

[CynCritter]

No, I don't think medical users are better than everyone else; but those of us who NEED it now, and who also USED it earlier in our lives for "fun" are a lot older and a wee bit wiser about what it can help and how it can hurt. Our first and foremost important hurdle, here, is getting it legalised for everyone who needs it -- be it for headaches, emotional distress, relief from physical debilitating disease symptomology, and a plethora of other reasons. If we don't take the reasons for legalizing MMJ with the utmost sincerity, we're defeated already...

 

[Janjaweed]

hmmm the "harmful effects" you listed arent even harmful. people just say they are as a convenient excuse to attack MJ usage. pretty sad.

other than that, sorry to have mis-read... i guess.... if thats what i did.
and best of luck to you.

 

[CynCritter]

hmmm the "harmful effects" you listed arent even harmful. people just say they are as a convenient excuse to attack MJ usage. pretty sad.

other than that, sorry to have mis-read... i guess.... if thats what i did.
and best of luck to you.

You don't think loss of short-term memory is harmful if you're a child in school, preparing for the rest of your life?

You don't think driving under the influence is harmful, when you're endangering yourself, everyone in your automobile, and all the people on the road with you?

You don't think having your reaction time affected if you're working in a plant around saws, or other equally dangerous equipment, when a split-second hesitation can alter your reality or the reality of a co-worker for a lifetime, is important?

I don't know if you're just too young to understand, or too stubborn to accept that you don't want know you have to be responsible.

I watched one of my employees lose three fingers because he was 'stoned' and forgot to put the safety shield back on the table saw he was using.

I hit an 8" curb because I was so 'stoned' I turned too quickly and totally missed my driveway. I flattened both of my front tires, drove my car around to the back and parked it, and it took me three days to remember that I was the reason it happened. I thought my ex-husband had come and flattened my tires while I was asleep. A year later I learned that I'd been driving with a cracked tie rod that could have snapped at any moment, causing me and anyone in my car to have been killed ... not to mention people around me on the freeways when I was driving back from San Diego to Los Angeles between 2-4am from my gigs, in the fast lane, at 80+ mph.

And don't forget the loss of license, the fines, the jail time and the possible manslaughter convictions that we read about every day because others don't realize the selfishness of their actions.

I was VERY lucky. What I'm trying to say to all of you is ... DON'T do as I did when marijuana was just a harmless, recreational form of partying. It can be every bit as dangerous as drinking and driving - especially now that it is far more potent than our backyard crops. And sadly, most people who use marijuana as a party drug like we did when I was young and stupid, drink along with it, just as we did. AND some even pop pills, as well.

If we ever expect to get marijuana on the same "legally adult consumption level" as alcohol, we have to fight this fight ONE BATTLE AT A TIME. And the most important one right now is the MMJ movement. If you're not suffering, then you have NO IDEA what I'm saying... We're not better than you, but our needs are far more prevalent.

Once we -- the afflicted -- get it legalized nationwide for those who can truly benefit medically from it, then those who wish to go after the legalities of it as an equal to alcohol consumption can do your own thing, on your own time, effort and money. That's up to the rest of you.

So please don't try to patronize me or anyone else who is working hard in the MMJ movement as merely thinking our medicinal needs are conveniently more important than your party needs... because throughout our days of pain and anguish, and every court case we battle for the right to a more natural pain relief, we are working together for the betterment of society.

Every single substance - from first-round vaccinations after our births, to end-of-life medications, forever alter our DNA and molecular structure, even though our science is deign, in our lifetimes, to prove just how much. We are a self-mutating society. The question is: Will we do it with dignity? Will we do it with respect? Will we do it because more will benefit than will suffer from it?

If I can make just one person a little more respectful of the affects of drugs - ALL DRUGS - on the human brain and human condition, I will have done my part - both for the MMJ movement, and for the education of those who have not YET been afflicted by a medical problem that can be eased by MMJ when it's used properly.

I don't blame any of you for appreciating the "party atmosphere" of marijuana. All I ask is that you do it in in a far more unselfish and responsible way than WE did. Earn your right to use it the way you wish. Don't abuse it publically, and don't put others in danger because you do. THINK ... and for Heaven's sake, remember than you DID think...

 

[Janjaweed]

short term memory loss and loss of reaction time, i dont see it.
in my opinion these are at least extremely exaggerated.. possibly non-existant.

show me some tangible proof not offered up by some university scientist who has a grant from the goverment (and therefore bought and payed for by the govt)

i could find you a great many of NON-pot smoking people who work in dangerous jobs, who are missing fingers due to work injury.
(i know 2 or 3 personally and 1 is an uncle)

using mj before work or driving is a mis-use, and that argument can me made against many legal drugs. including alchohol

its a failure of personal decision making... not an evil plant making you do evil things.

doing a great job of promoting the anti-cannabis agenda, keep it up sis!

 

[CynCritter]

There are none so blind ... as those who refuse to say, "That's me."