My Journey as a Medical Marijuana Consumer

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I have been a medical marijuana consumer in California since 2008. The reason I’m writing this article is because I wanted to let others know my experience and maybe help them navigate through a young and very exciting industry that can be very tricky to understand at times. Understandably so. I mean Cannabis is illegal on a federal level after all.

Mainstream doctors can’t prescribe it without fear of losing their license. Marijuana companies can’t advertise their products in the mainstream media. Banks won’t work with marijuana companies so consumers must pay for everything in cash. There are no approved clinical trials for Marijuana as a medicine. Consumers are left with nowhere to turn for reliable information. For skeptical people like me, it was a challenge. That was then… Now I’m a true believer.

My story begins 8 years ago when I went through a painful divorce. The first thing to go was my ability to fall asleep naturally. I was 37 at the time and had never experienced sleeplessness before. The guilt over the divorce and fear of living alone gave me a serious case of insomnia that wasn’t going away and the lack of sleep was taking a toll on my mental and physical well-being. I began to search for solutions on and offline. I called my doctor. I spoke to friends. I asked my parents. I got all kinds of answers. “Take an Ambien,” “Have a glass of wine before bed,” “Run on the treadmill daily,” “Xanax knocks you out”, “Benadryl does the trick,” “count sheep” “white noise machine?”, “get a memory foam mattress” and lastly “warm milk and melatonin.”

Ambien worked for a few hours of sleep, but it made me say and do crazy things before actually falling asleep AND it gave me headaches. Plus I’m not a huge fan of taking pharmaceutical meds on a regular basis unless my life depends on it. Wine? No thanks. In the past I have found alcohol to actually ruin my sleep. Milk? Without cookies? No thanks! I hate going to the gym, but I even tried that. No luck. My last resort so I thought was the Xanax. Well, Xanax did work, but I did a lot of research and found it’s a dangerous drug and very addictive. I took it for thirty days straight and when I ran out, my insomnia got worse. The ability to fall asleep at all completely vanished. I was desperate.

cannabis plants

Finally, a childhood friend of mine going through a similar situation told me to try Marijuana. He gave me a few buds of an Indica strain to take home and told me to take a few puffs and close my eyes. WOW!!!!! I not only fell asleep within 10 minutes, I actually slept through the night. I woke up more refreshed than ever. I was a new man. Could it be possible that this was the answer? Marijuana? The drug that teachers and parents have been warning us about for decades? Sure I had tried it during college and it was fun, but that was long ago. I had never been a believer in alternative medicines. As I said, I’m a very skeptical person.

As time went on, my situation improved dramatically. I was inspired to learn more and more about this medical marijuana that solved my sleep disorder. Could it really be that simple? A plant can solve my health issue? I was becoming a huge fan. This didn’t mean I was going to become a recreational user. Not that there’s anything at all wrong with that. I just didn’t want to use it during the day. I found my cure for insomnia and I didn’t want to rock the boat. But my success led me to want to learn more about this “miracle” solution. So I began reading and listening to podcasts, talking to people, attending local events, lectures and various meet ups. What I learned was fascinating but I became aware that there were negatives along with the positives to this fledgling industry.

I learned that not only did Marijuana help with insomnia, but also a whole host of other diseases and disorders. Kids with Epilepsy, people with cancer, Crones disease, Parkinsons, Autism, chronic pain, PTSD, the list goes on and on. More and more states were passing ballot initiatives and legislation approving of medical marijuana. It was exciting to watch the progress.

environmental growing cannabis

I’ll be honest, it was not all a rosy picture. I also learned about the environmental harm going on with regards to large outdoor growing of Marijuana. Large scale deforestation? Pesticides entering the ground water, rivers and streams? Illegal growing in state and national parks? I also learned about dangerous pesticide use. So, I dug deeper.

I didn’t like some of what I read. I kept thinking to myself, how can cancer patients protect themselves from exposure to cancer causing pesticides? On the one hand, they are getting relief from Cannabis, but on the other hand, shouldn’t they be avoiding these awful toxins? I also wondered how are people who are sick and possibly not working, affording this expensive medicine? It’s definitely not covered by insurance. My research continued and led me to learn about growing my own plants. I didn’t realize at the time that it was completely legal to grow 6 plants wth my medical marijuana card in the state of California. But once I did, I became highly motivated. I wanted to take things into my own hands and grow my own medicine. What a cool concept!

So, my research into home growing began. I visited a few hydroponic stores and asked a lot of questions. One day I attended a local marijuana event with grow equipment on display. One of the vendors (“Cabinet Garden”), was selling grow cabinets specifically designed to grow 6 plants in a fully enclosed eco-system that was all automated and controlled by an app. It looked awesome. What I really liked was that it could fit inside my closet, it had a lock on it and it had an odor filter for the smell. We all know that smell. But what I really liked best was that I could control the grow cabinet from my phone and it would allow me to be able to travel without worrying about my Cannabis plants dying. I didn’t exactly have a green thumb, but I was sold on the idea of growing at home and very excited to begin my new “ gardening hobby.”

I did the math. I was spending about $400 every month at the dispensary down the street and what I was buying was not pesticide-free. Since there are no real regulations guiding the growing and selling of marijuana, you never know what you’re truly getting, as far as quantity and quality, what pesticides are being used or how much. It was a wild west out there. All I knew was that I was determined to grow organic Marijuana from my home for my own personal use.

I plunked down the money and bought the grow cabinet. I found a dispensary that sells seeds and I bought books about growing. I have had hobbies in the past, but this was truly an exciting hobby for me. Very rewarding! I was growing my own medicine and felt a real sense of pride and passion. Let me tell you, It’s exciting to wake up every day and watch the plants grow and boy do they grow fast. I learned all about these amazing plants. After my first “harvest” I was able to produce 6 ounces of high quality buds. I was blown away by the quality. I couldn’t believe that I alone was able to produce such great results with having absolutely no experience whatsoever. It was actually very easy. Best of all, it paid for itself after only one harvest. What other products out there allow you that kind of return on your investment.

If anyone out there is interested in growing their own medicine, I can tell you that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It saved me a ton of money, it gave me 100% pesticide-free medicine and it is definitely a superior way to grow from an environmental point of view. Not to mention, it has given me a very therapeutic hobby that I enjoy daily. Thank you all for reading and I wish you many sleep full nights.

I Ended My Xanax Habit Using Cannabis, Now I Grow Weed.