A reader writes:
I have to thank you. For years, I have been in chronic pain from a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Simply put, my collagen is messed up, so my joints don't stay in place.
The resulting dislocations and subluxations, as well as arthritis that comes from such joint damage, is incredibly painful. I have the joints of a 70 year-old woman, and I'm not even 21 yet. I'm on powerful prescription painkillers, and yet my Tylenol intake (as a supplement to my prescriptions) was through the roof.
As my joints deteriorated, particularly in recent months, I was frequently lying down, out of commission, sometimes for days on end. As a full-time student studying music at one of the top conservatories in the nation, I couldn't afford that. I had thought about medical marijuana before for pain relief, but had been brought up to stay on the so-called straight-and-narrow. Your consistent advocacy for marijuana, and your willingness to post articles from the Cannabis Closet like this one, convinced me to finally try it. So about two weeks ago, I got a prescription--ain't it great to live in California?--and got some quality weed.
Andrew, I am a different person.
I used to be curled up in pain every evening from the exertions of the day (hard physical labor like, ya know, walking to class, or carrying a bag of groceries). I would whimper or complain or just plain cry for hours. Now I'm more cheerful, more relaxed, more energetic. Good, painless sleep does that to you, I guess. My pain level is such that I have to be pretty high to control my pain, but if I'm chilling out at the end of the day, I really don't mind that.
I worry now that it will hurt my employment opportunities. I wonder what you're supposed to do, to say to investigators who want your drug history. "Yes, I used to use medical marijuana to control the pain of my degenerative disease. I don't anymore; I'm in pain every day so that you will employ me." What kind of job, what kind of country, considers that inhumanity an acceptable answer?