Many people medicate with cannabis simply because they want to function as human beings. They don’t want to lay in bed or on the couch all day; they want to live life just as they see everyone else doing.
This is the opposite of the lazy-stoner stereotype you hear so much about. A perfect example of this is Lonnie A., an electro-mechanical technician who not only works over 50 hours a week, but who is also a writer, middle school baseball coach, Royal Rangers commander, bible study leader and a wannabe/sometimes stand-up comedian who also bikes and runs.
The Marijuana Times: What ailments do you use cannabis to treat? How do these ailments affect your daily life?
Lonnie A: Chronic Migraines (since I was a baby) and PTSD (combat service veteran).
MT: What were you told about cannabis growing up?
LA: All my life I was told that it was of the devil, that it makes you lazy, that it would lead to much worse things, that it is a gateway drug.
MT: What do you have to go through to obtain the cannabis you use and how does it make you feel to have to rely on the illegal market?
LA: I have been in “crack houses”, projects, mansions, hotel rooms, back of bars, and even strip clubs (which I do not frequent, as I am married and Christian). Every time I am in a new town and trying to find a new connect, or when a connection is dry, I am scared that these steps I am taking to obtain medicine could cost me everything, maybe even my life. The hardest part is playing the roulette game with my job and testing. I am very blessed to have a good job, but I have to sacrifice my well-being, with my family’s financial security, all because people do not know, or want to know the truth, that cannabis is a God-given, natural plant; a medicine.
MT: What is your preferred method of cannabis ingestion and why?
LA: For immediate migraine relief, smoking, but for prevention — edibles.
MT: How is your life different now that you have found cannabis?
LA: Without any medication I have between 4 and 5 migraines a week, or more, and the intensity level is off the charts, with continuous vomiting. With traditional preventatives the best I ever got was about 1 a week to every ten days and still very high intensity, and no traditional breakthroughs worked. However, with the right cannabis, I can go months without a single migraine, and it always works as a breakthrough (some cannabis strains do induce them). While I was in the service my PTSD was getting out of hand, so much so that it affected my work, my family, and my life. After discovering cannabis, I was able to balance out, work through my anxiety, my issues, my memories and get refocused.
MT: What prescription drugs, if any, were you able to stop using because of cannabis? How does cannabis work better than the prescriptions?
LA: I stopped taking Zoloft, Zomig (which never really worked) and Topomax.
MT: What strains have you found to helpful to your specific aliment?
LA: I’m not sure about strains since I buy illegally.
MT: Have you have any encounters with law enforcement over your cannabis use?
LA: Only when I was in the service. I tested positive 3 months before I got out of the military after 14 years of honorable service (thankfully, they did not have time to prosecute me). I was interrogated by OSI, and I told them the whole truth, it did not stop me using. I could not, they tried, but I quit long enough to get clean for a pre-work screening to get my new job.
MT: Are you involved in any sort of activism in your area or state?
LA: No, I wish, but it would put a bullseye on me at work for “random” drug testing.
MT: Have you ever thought about moving to another state to gain better access to medical cannabis?
LA: Yes, and I should have when I got out of the service, but I had to move quick, and had to follow the work.
MT: How important is it to you that legalization comes to your state?
LA: Extremely.
Are you a medical marijuana patient who medicates illegally? I want to tell your story (anonymously, if you prefer)! Email me at stonerjesus420@gmail.com and I’ll send you our set of questions.
Your story could help others in the same situation and help spread the truth about the amazing abilities of the cannabis plant. Help me spread the word!
