How cannabis has helped me...

I'd like to start a thread and encourage others here (including the newbs) to share their cannabis stories....whether medicinal, recreational or both...

My story: Due to childhood trauma in the first year of my life, I was badly disfigured by an accident that deformed my bone growth as I aged...I've literally had a good 50-75 surgeries in my life both reconstructive and internal. I have osteoarthritis from these surgeries and I had a great dependance on a drug known as Dilaudid. I would literally pop them like tic tacs, matter of fact I used to call them "my tic tacs" *sigh* I was ingesting it for 8 years and oxy's and perc's before and during that...

How cannabis has helped: Cannabis took away the urge for opiates and secondly has rid me of stress and Chronic Depression. To lesser extent (cannabis bud itself) it aids in pain management but my QWISO definately takes the pain away. I've been smoking cannabis now for 14 years now and have grown since I first started toking (cuz what's the point in buying street *****, right?).

So, in closing I'd like to hear your story, whether funny, happy, or sad. Be it recreational use only or medicinal use, I'd love to hear about my fellow MP'ers. Much Peace & Love to all here...



eace:,

7greeneyes

Thanks for sharing 7....glad it has helped you as well as it has. I am working now but when I get some free time tonight I will try and add my story to this thread.

Where to start...

Well i never slept right, from a child i would sit in bed for hours and stare at the ceiling. I just couldnt sleep. It never really affected me. I got good grades and made it through a 4yr college...just never was able to sleep much. So as i made it into my teens i realized that i had a whole day AND night to do things . So i started sneaking out of the house in my early teens to wonder the streets (different time, no way thats safe anymore). Around 15 I started smoking marijuana, and i started making friends. I realized that marijuana slowed me down to a level where most people could comprehend me i guess? I just have too much energy. Like the amish im lucky to sleep 4 hours a day :rofl:

Well as time progressed I made it to highschool and of course i started to get in trouble. This was around the time of prop 215 was passed. I was seeing a doc at the time about my problems and he told me to take these sleeping pills he prescribed. I took a few but HATED the effects. So i flushed them for a few months while i continued to self medicate on the side of my house in the late night hours when everyone was sleeping. I began to sleep 5, 6, 7 hours a day. I felt relaxed and not so on edge all the time. I informed my doc a few months into the sleep meds that i had not been taking the meds but instead i was smoking marijuana. He was puzzled and immediately told me he could not prescribe marijuana for me. I never saw him again.

Flash forward to 18, i stopped smoking to see if i still needed it to sleep. Well that was a mistake as major depression set in (late puberty depression along with anxiety). I again visited a new doctor and was prescribed Xanax, Zoloft, Paxil, Welbutrin...etc...it was the worst time of my life. Near suicidal.

I dropped all the synthetic drugs and went back to self medicating with marijuana. I have since graduated with a Bachelors and am getting married this summer. Me and the misses have a home we own, a dog we love, and a life we share together. I think i am a very well rounded person with a lot to look forward too.

And i owe it all to great parents that were there for me no matter what, and no matter their own personal morals and beliefs (strongly against smoking); and I also owe it to marijuana for being a natural and safer way for me to continue living happily.

That's awesome to hear, I have bouts of insomnia but cannabis has greatly helped with that too. Thank you so much for sharing your cannabis story ogkushman, I greatly appreciate it.

No problemo. Now im interested to hear otheres

I'd also like to thank you for sharing your stories for those that have pm'd as well...

Much Love....

eace:

Indica eases my anxiety and enables me to sleep. I used to take Xanax for insomnia (a symptom of Pills To Swallow Daily) but I developed a tolerance to it after six-seven years and I was prescribed Valium. I started smoking at night so I wouldn't develop a tolerance/addiction to Valium and because vitamin V turns me into a zombie in the morning.

I will start out by saying (admitting) that I am 60. I have smoked marijuana since the late 60s, pretty much only taking breaks from it for pregnancies and a stint on probation. My smoking was totally recreational. I don't/cannot drink much alcohol--it doesn't agree with my stomach and many in my family have problems with alcoholism. You would say that marijuana was "my drug of choice".

I have spent a lifetime beating myself up. I smoked for far too many years and took some nasty drugs along the way. I have never watched what I eat as my activity level generally keeps my weight in line. My work and my play activities have taken a toll on my body. I have pretty bad osteo-arthritis in my hands and one wrist. Both knees are bad. Most of that is from the demands of being a plumber. A severely sprained ankle when I was 28 complains often. The disks in my neck are deteriorating from an auto accident 30 years ago when I was rear-ended by a car going almost 50. I cracked a hip when we flipped in a whitewater raft at extremely high water. We had to reflip the boat on the water to get it upright. This happened several times, but this was the only one resulting in an injury. I have spent a lifetime working and playing hard and my body feels it all now. However, I find that I can control most of the pain with smoke and an occassional aspirin. I've never been much for opiates. Can't take Demerol. Can't take Dilaudid. But I sure like my smoke! There is no one anywhere that could ever convince me that marijuana is not medicinal.

However, as I got older, I saw those around me struggling with pain from ailments that I also had, but with, apparently much less pain. I have also never had to take sleep aids at night any stronger than a nice cup of camomile tea. I require pain meds for a far shorter time than my friends after surgery. Bottom line is that marijuana, whether you consider it medical or not....is. It has helped me a lot.

YYZ my fiancee takes benzo's all the time and her new doctor wants to get her off'em. He claims there as hard on your body as drinking all the time ...Smoking cannabis has def helped my opiate cessation. Awesome of you for sharing...

That's quite a posting there, HempGoddess. Wow never knew that (duh, of course ), thank you so much for your story. I appreciate hearing from everyone

Well as alot of kids growing up, I occasionally smoked starting maybe around 14. Not alot, but if it was around I would. I actually stopped smoking at maybe 18 or 19. Just wasnt my deal. At that time had zero knowledge of indica/sativa, or strains. It was what the dopeman had, or your friend scored. I'm a pretty active person, and it just always seemed to slow me down, so I stopped.
Pass a handful of years and I tore ligaments in my back. Long story short, I have a permanent disability that i'm supposed to just "deal with as long as I can tolerate the pain, then surgery." Well add to that, I have past injuries from skateboarding, and now working construction for 12+, arthritis, tendinitis, and the added back injury, and I'm only 30......
Well about 7years ago I got fed up with all the opiates, and side affects that come with them, and got my MMJ recommendation. (After smoking and seeing that it really did help with a lot of my ailments.) Since then, never looked back. Finally, last year opened my eyes, and gave growing a try. Now, totally addicted Hopefully someday I'll be able to set up a legit full indoor grow.

I'm glad mj helps you with yours pains, ston. Lets keepem coming guys this is good stuff.

I smoked pot as a kid, loved it. I never liked alcohol as it made me sick, such a delicate flower you know. ha.

Then we had kids and quit smoking pot when they were like 5 or so. I got hurt on a job, I was a teamster, when I was 35. I had a back injury. Worked for 20 years as an xray tech. I had a five year hydrocodone habit.(1 a day) I started buying street pot, which is not easy in your 50's in a small town.

I went to the MM doctor about 4 years ago and he told me to use cannabis and that I was addicted to hydros and how to get off them. I got off them within weeks and haven't looked back. The pot I use now is better for the pain then the hydros ever were. Of course they are, why would we be born with cannabanoid receptors if we weren't supposed to use it....

Oh that is a lousy argument as we have nicotine receptors too. shoot.

I am with THG, it is my drug of choice and always has been.
That's my story.

I am also a lifelong "Pot Head" as we were called back in the seventies. I started at 13 when my family moved to a more progressive neighborhood. The parents were teachers, firemen, and architects and all about letting kids find their own way. We had lots of open space to smoke in and city schools to score those good drugs. I did everything from Quaaludes to Windowpane, Grass to Mini Bennies. Attended the first Earth day and got higher there than I had ever been. Gave up on the Hallucinogens after that.

Ah well, many J's later and many shots of whiskey I only do the MJ now along with a Hydrocodone or two for hip pain. I been addicted to a few things, and have never given up my MJ for less than having a kid winning a bet or major surgery. I smoke less now than I have in earlier times of my life as I have some COPD concerns but......I take a hit or two in the evening to help with the sleep and to enjoy,, yes, just to enjoy. I miss smoking as much as I used to but the lungs are better off it seems. Eating it just dosent do for me like smoking. I still love the smile smoking my beloved MJ puts on my face.

I am glad to hear so many getting the Medical Benefits out of Marijuana, just goes to show, voters are getting it right state after state. Wish the Feds would hurry up and see the light. I guess they just don't want to see those smiles for us who use it for smiles.

I try to sit back read learn and grow... I too have an amazing love for the herb.
I don't have much of a story execpt the fact that i was a kid about twenty two years ago when i first begun to smoke. And wow was I amazed. A buddy of mine made the comment that "it would be amazing to grow our own "... and then from there i began to grow and I still remember my first 3 plants.
For the last four years no i have been trying to improve my skills as a grower.
Not for my sake but for my wife who has M.S. and lupus and believe me the **** sucks
seeing her in pain. Tingeling palms and feet which sometimes burn. Dry eyes which become very sensitive to light sometimes it feels to her like someone sticks her with icepicks. So see im her caregiver now and do my best to keep her supplied. I have not reached that point yet but am trying.
I do enjoy the fruit of my labor also 22 years since I first began and i see first hand now the proof of the medicinal value in our beloved plant whom gives herself graciously time after time. It has showed its love to me so i show my love for it with every seed i sow. Peace i love you all and wish you all the best in love wealth and health.

Rose it's funny how many of us here have taken to using more natural pain killers. It's good to know there's a doctor out there with a conscience that realized your hydrocodone addiction and actually helped you with (getting through) it. Good on him.

TCbud, thanks for sharing. I Appreciate your input greatly. And your OD grows are always just stellar and something for us growers to strive for...

dekgib that's awesome you're providing pain relief for your wife. I like to hear stories like that.

Let's keep'em coming if we can. Thank you everyone so much for takin time and sharing how cannabis has helped you.

eace:,

7greeneyes

Sadly, MJ do not works on me as a pain killer... i made a motorbike accident when i was young and now that i'm 38 years old i'm starting to feel the consequences of it. It's already 4/5 years that i co-live with a very big (and growing) pain in my legs because, since that accident, i walk in a way that eats my bones (those ball shaped bones at the top of the femurs). To be short, i have the pains that could be considered normal if you are 80yo and even pretty unlucky...

I can't make any prothesy surgery atm because medics says i'm still too young and dynamic and those fake bones works well for max 10/15years, so i would have to do too many surgeries to both legs during my life and they recommended me to try to resist as long as possible.

My idea is that MJ helps a lot psychologically if you have to co-live with a pain. It's very hard to always feel a pain and this can influence your humor a lot and also the way you interact with other persons. MJ helps me a lot with this, i use to smile a lot during the day, even if i feel pain... but i still feel the pain... but smiling!:icon_smile:

But, well, this is just my personal experience/opinion... i'm sure that MJ have a lot of properties that i can't talk about and i'm very very happy that is helping you! Probably it's also a matter of strains and personal characteristics.

QUOTE "It's very hard to always feel a pain and this can influence your humor a lot and also the way you interact with other persons. MJ helps me a lot with this, i use to smile a lot during the day, even if i feel pain... but i still feel the pain... but smiling!"-endquote

Yeah, people's physiologys definatley react different from strain to strain, i.e. everyone raves about WhiteWidow yet I've only found it to be so-so...

(your quote above) That's beautifully stated. I've had the same problems interacting with the rest of humanity because of pain that just can't be numbed completely by pain killers. I'm exactly the same way, almost unbeararably grumpy (socially) w/o it so I feel ya there. Thanks for posting pistil, it's good to hear from you...

7greeneyes said:

YYZ my fiancee takes benzo's all the time and her new doctor wants to get her off'em. He claims there as hard on your body as drinking all the time ...Smoking cannabis has def helped my opiate cessation. Awesome of you for sharing...

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Benzodiazepines are some truly nasty poison. I took one diazepam (generic Valium) yesterday evening for the first time in two weeks and I have a hangover beyond all comprehension. :hitchair:

:ciao: Hiiii, YYZ, how you doin'?

She offers them to me all the time (which i decline) and I really don't "feel" them or at least to the point they help with daily anxiety. Other then their libido-killing tendencies, that is... I just don't see the point in them... Thats sucks about the hangover...
:confused2:

I hope you and yours are doing well, YYZ.

eace:

7ge, would you believe I am prescribed three of them (10 milligrams each) per day? I used to take quantities of benzos that would kill a lot of people before I started substituting medbud for them. Now I only need to take eight pills a day as opposed to eleven. :doh: