Cannabis-Friendly
Breaking The Stigma
When I was in high school, I was not like much like the other high schoolers I saw growing up...I was an athlete and didn't partake too much in others' particular "extracurriculars." So my intro into cannabibs felt like walking in a kiddie pool. It was a great experience and I never felt there was anything "wrong" with it, I just didn't do it like everyone else. I didn't quite get the recreation of it...until college. This experience lead me to shed my good-two-shoes ways in college.
Only then did I started dating "potheads," even so far as to say true marijuana, or "drug dealers" (which was totally taboo in every way). I actually began to really appreciate marijuana - the effervescent aroma that wafted through our living quarters (that damn smell was heavenly), the stickiness, the beauty of its green leaves covered in crystals, the way the smoke drifted from room to room catching every light in between (I could go on)...
And, of course, the high - the intense feeling of relief, and the sense of relaxation in mind, body, and spirit that found with cannabis was needed in the rather volatile world I was living in. It was hard to find peace of mind going to a top tier university, not knowing anyone in a foreign city (especially from LA to Nashville), and finding I highly disliked this whole "college girl" thing. Cannabis became a much needed friend of sorts.
A few tries here and there turned into a few times a day and a few times a day turned me into me becoming a true cannabis smoker, aficionado and ultimate advocate of the plant as medicine and innocent, and much needed, therapy, relief, and recreation. I ended up trimming cannabis in NorCal for a couple of months after college and dove deep into the cannabis lifestyle from there on out.
After a couple of years in experimenting, I finally began to bake with it...eventually returning to Los Angeles and worked for a medical dispensary and a medical marijuana baked goods company. I learned to understand more uses for it and reading up on its medical benefits, I met more and more people it was helping, heard more stories, and became member-for-life of the Cannabis Community. I fell in love with the plant. It's gotten me through the darkest and lightest times, through utter pain and everyday pangs, and a plethora of ailments I'm sure many, if not most people, can relate to.
Cannabis helped with day to day woes as a college kid growing up, the eating issues, the emotional angst, et all as I grew into adulthood. Then it began to form into a true medicine for all that ailed me, finding solace and rejuvenation from a single puff. Nothing made me more aware of the beauty of life as I opened my mind through cannabis.
After life-changing car accident and chronic pain that just doesn't quit, I have now found cannabis, its cousin we like to call hemp, and all of its mysterious properties to be a true solution to physical and mental pain. My story still continues as I heal through self-care, yoga, and plant medicine.
Although it is said to be a gateway drug, I believe it was a gate away from almost all other drugs, especially the ones that killed some of the people I was closest to. Cannabis can be a life saver, if used properly. Anything can be misused, so it is up to us not to abuse it.
Cannabis is medicine.