New 420Magazine Subscriber - Thanks for a great Website and helpful members

JBUptown;2518101 said:

Hello Members!

I've been lurking around here as a guest for way too long and finally pulled the trigger and joined as a member. I guess I thought my contribution to the forums would be at most minimal since I'm not very experienced with cannabis. But after a few cycles, I realized that I'm a very experienced gardener and have been a general plant enthusiast for over 50 years, so that must count for something! I have always enjoyed outdoor gardening and indoor houseplants, and most folks that see my work tell me I have a very green thumb. I guess it all started when I was about 7 or so when I first truly realized vegetables don't come in cans, but are grown by folks that do all the hard work, harvest and can them for me to buy at the grocery! About that time a neighbor started a tomato garden in his backyard, took me under wing as an interested kid, and I've ever since been amazed that a little seed turns into food when all the right elements are provided. Ahhh the wonder of nature and her gifts of life.

My health was always fairly good until the past decade or so when I started feeling really poor and experiencing strange pain and constant fatigue. Long story short, I was diagnosed with RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), a nasty immune system disease that makes your body not know friend from foe in its immune responses. It's not your everyday "I have arthritis in my knee" thing like most folks including myself thought. It's a whole different ballgame from what most people think when they hear "Arthritis" After a few years of disease activity, the cartilage in my knees, elbows, wrists and ankles are gone and bone on bone friction is my new daily "fun". I didn't even know that cartilage was the "teflon" that cushioned joint movement before I got this disease. I sure do miss my cartilage now though! I started the path of what modern medicine has to offer, and tried every remedy available (there is no cure, only medicines that may slow progression and try to ease some symptoms). The current lineup of RA meds include several that are Chemotherapy drugs and other pricey and dangerous substances with just dandy side effects. Knowing the possible collateral damage to my organs, I tried them anyway, regardless of the negative side effects. A person can get desperate when no treatments cures the disease and the symptoms become debilitating. Enough on my specific health issues, but that's when I decided I needed to try other forms of non traditional mainstream medicine. Enter Medical Cannabis ...

I discussed all alternatives with my crew of Docs and Specialists, and some were aghast at MM usage for my disease and symptoms, a couple of others were on the fence. My primary Doc (of 26 years) was the most sane ... he said that I had tried everything Big Pharma has to offer, and if he were me, he would most likely try it as nothing else seems to be very successful at easing the symptoms. Let me said I did try Pain Killers of opiates derivation, and those drugs are good BUT for just a very short term pain solution. They a great for post surgical or major injury pain, but addictive and a users tolerance turns a good life into a wrecked life or even death ... and I'm not interested in either! I have seen way too many family and friends lives ruined by opiate use, even when medicinal in origin. No Thanks!

I did partake of MJ as a teen in the early 1970s and I remembered it to be a pleasant experience, but for some reason (societal pressure and laws mostly) it's not something I continued to do once I finished college and started a family. Finally, I decided to give MM a try to reduce my pain levels and my lack of quality uninterrupted sleep, my two major problems from RA. After a few different educated and professional consultations and strain recommendations, I have found one that has given me a large part of my life back. I ingest the MM orally, and it's side effects are not unpleasant and do not cause so many of the problems that other Pharma Meds have caused me to endure. I started having problems affording the MM and after much research decided I need to try and grow my own medicine. Believe me, my family and friends would have never thought I would be a Cannabis using or growing person. Let me say without a moment of hesitation, MM has given me enough relief and rest, and for the first time in years I can almost fully function as a husband, a parent, a grandparent and a contributing member of society. So there is my "short" story of how I came to be a member of this forum! Thanks to all the expert advise I have read on this forum the past 2 years concerning cultivation of my medicine, your knowledge has helped me get back into the drivers seat of life. I hope to learn enough concerning the finer details to be able to assist others in the future.

Many Many Thanks!

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