How has Marijuana helped you in your life?

@TxGrowman Our nurse practitioner (she’s a bit of a hippy) suggested that Hubby learn to play the digeridoo to help train his breathing, and help with his sleep apnea. He is supposed to use a C-PAP, but he can’t sleep with a hose attached to his nose. So she suggested the digeridoo. Also, when he told her about his “new lifestyle modifications,” (as she so tactfully phrased it in his medical summary), she was delighted! She encouraged him to keep it up, lol. @Traumamedic

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^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^ Much respect to all that have served. I thank you for your service!

I’ve always thought of myself as a recreational user but the truth I use it as medication. I am, and always have been, the hyperactive, ADD type. It helps level out my thoughts. I also helps me to relax when I’m wound too tight (often). The lazy stoner stereo type is not me. I smoke and then bang out complex projects of all types.

& of course I also use it to tolerate “stupid”, as it is always all around me.
^ I think that one my be a common thread across a large population of MJ users.

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It has introduced some nice new friends from ILGM forum into my very small social circle.

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Started smoking in the late 60’s - early 70’s as a freshman in HS. Got me out of my shell and talking to people. I smoked heavily with a lot of bikers in knew (had a '57 Harley Panhead as a junior in HS) and continued until I graduated in '73. I went into medicine in 1975 and pretty much left it alone until I got medically retired due to disability in 2012.

Now use it as medication for my PTSD, Anxiety and Depression. Didn’t have any problems with any of those until I got out of the military. Used meds to try to treat my problems but all they did was make my problems worse. Finally when I didn’t have to worry about losing my medical license (gave it up when I got disabled) I started using pot as my medicine and my life got better fast! I can have good days now that I wasn’t having when I was on meds. Cannabis is my medicine of choice now !

Also has brought me to a community of friends at ILGM that believe in Cannabis as a medical treatment, not just as a fun time thing, although there is NOTHING wrong with using it like alcohol to relax you.

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@TxGrowman true, very true!

Outta likes :+1: :+1: :+1:

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:heavy_check_mark: @TxGrowman
:cherry_blossom:

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Took the words out of my mouth Jerry

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I know this thread is old but i just now read it. I am like many of you on here. I have anxiety and depression. I am also very afraid of crowds. My dad was at The Who concert in 79 and my mom was pregnant with me. So i have heard the story so many times that any time there is a crowd i panic. I am unfortunately on 2 pills right now to help all of that but i hope once i get to smoke again it will help me like it did when i was younger. I hope everyone gets the rellife they need and deserve.

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PTSD and Cancer as well as related anxiety,depression…etc
MJ takes the place of 17 meds…:}

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I originally started smoking in high school, completely recreationally. Looking back, I was self-medicating things I probably understood so poorly I couldn’t put them into words…more than the typical high school drama, anyway. But, I honestly never bought it back then! One of my friends always had some. And then one summer, I found some growing wild on our land. It was terrible, of course, but it was free, and was something anyway. And I never knew a damned thing about it back then…just got high. I quit after high school when I joined the military.

Fast forward to late 2016, and after a rollercoaster of meds for you name it, I was watching one of many documentaries on Netflix, trying to learn more about cannabis. My wife has smoked as long as I have known her, and for as long as she can remember. Rather than knocking it, I wanted to learn about it. The more I learned, the more I thought I could benefit from it. So I went and got my medical marijuana patient card, and gave it a whirl.

The first night I smoked, I remember laughing and saying to my wife “I can’t be a daaaaaad like THIS!” She told me I’d be a better dad, and she was right. I’m more present, more patient, and more into my kids. Besides being a better father, it’s helped me with my depression, anxiety, appetite, and sleep.

But most recently, it’s been my pain medicine, because I have refused opiates. I’m scared to death of getting addicted. I was in a very bad car wreck (not high, btw) last summer, and injured my brain and several discs in my back. I’m physically capable, with pain, but mentally dazed, still, and I’m unable to work.

I have a hard time focusing on tasks, especially where planning out steps is required. It’s difficult for me to remember…pretty much anything, some days. A good sativa helps me get going, stay focused, and get things done with minimal “wtf am I in this room for again?” If I don’t have much going on (HA!) a sativa-dominant or 50/50 hybrid helps with anxiety and calms my mind, helps keep me from thinking “what if…” crap, and helps me just chill. And I use indicas and indica-dominant strains for help with my appetite in the evening, and to help me wind down, switch off my ptsd, and even help me sleep when I need help.

I have decided to grow because it’s very difficult to find everything my wife and I both want at the same place. So we inevitably end up searching around, looking for what we want, while trying to stay within our tiny budget. And every time we find strains we like, that work well, they disappear from the dispensaries for months at a time.

It’s very frustrating that it’s really not taken seriously as medicine. I’ll explain what I mean: Could you imagine going to Walgreens, or CVS, or RiteAid, or Duane Reed or whatever pharmacy/chemist you have wherever you live, to fill a prescription for your much-needed medicine, and they’re out. Then you call around town, and find out everyone is out. “We have this similar pill, have you tried such n such? Dude…it’s fire, son…” …it would never happen. But this is exactly what happens with our medicine, should we choose to avoid pharmaceuticals. One place that I absolutely love because of how they take care of vets, is frequently OUT of sativas. Completely. Sorry!

So I’m trying to eliminate the dependency on the dispensary, know exactly what’s in what we’re consuming, and if we save some money, too? Great! And in the meantime, while I’m unable to work, the time I spend in the garden is very…centering. I feel at peace, and one with nature, as cliche as that sounds.

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Are you seriously? What the hell help? If you are not seriously ill, then marijuana can not be useful to you! They wrote here that it saves from depression, maybe you should go to a psychotherapist? Problems with appetite? Cannabis will not help you with this, because you have problems with it because of smoking.

Like any foreign substance added to the body, marijuana can affect a person’s brain, heart, gastrointestinal, and lung health. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis is addictive and increases the risk of mental health complications. Moreover, even though many consumers use marijuana to cope with their pain, there is little known about the drug’s effect in the treatment of chronic pain. - And this is just a little of how cannabis «helps» you.

You did not think that many of your problems (not counting serious illnesses) can be solved or at least try to do this without resorting to smoking? It allows you to distract from problems / depression / difficulties / anger - sports, in any of its manifestations, maybe just a gym or swimming, and maybe a contact - boxing, wrestling, and so on. And believe me, this 100% will return your appetite and improve your condition.

I used to think how you, or rather justified your actions with your problems and finding a solution in smoking, but this was a profound delusion, and every day I was increasingly drawn into it. It is an addiction and it is really scary when it starts to spin out of control…
If you want, you can read the article about the actual effects of marijuana on your body for yourself in this article:

Summary

Green Fleets. Proven Solutions to Pass a Drug Test

and just think about it and look at your life from a different angle, not all as colorful as you imagine it and the problem is actually more serious than you imagined, that it’s just self-indulgence … It’s a whole industry, it’s millions of dollars, if not billions, and of course, it’s profitable for the sellers, so you’ll think that it benefits you.

I finished! All good and good health!

Interesting viewpoint. Purposeful activity is by far one of the best “therapies” for the ailments members report treating here.

Some of us just like the effect of cannabis. I’m one of many.

Who exactly do you think profits when i grow it at home in my own yard?

Psychotherapy is one of the biggest scams in “medicine”.

I like the effect of cannabis. I don’t use it medicinally, I just like getting high whenever I can.

I think you mean to use “I” rather than “you” in this post.
I could be mistaken, but it also appears perhaps you’re not from the USA.

I’m a physically fit and active human being who doesn’t participate in mainstream society because the thought of it makes my skin crawl.

I use cannabis to make tolerating the intolerable ignorance of the general population effortless.

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I would like to know where you studied medicine @Zakar
And how you can be so closed minded ?
I will say this Cannabis is not the answer for everyone but know of many that it helps daily
I’ve been self treating for decades and I’m a productive member of society I Own my own land etc work 40+ hours a week ?
We can all post numerous articles that would dispute your ingnorance but I will allow you to research that yourself if you’d actually like to enlighten yourself ??

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I was a daily smoker for about ten years, then quit cold turkey about 6 years ago. I was getting fat and lazy and unproductive. That’s not an indictment of daily smokers, everyone handles their herb differently, and for the place I was in at that time, it was the right decision. A few months ago I was hanging with a friend and ended up smoking some fine ganja and was almost overwhelmed at how good I felt. I know it’s a term that gets thrown around a lot, but I felt extremely spiritual. I ruminated on all the usual stuff: greed, family, love, duty, the universe, etc. It was like the cosmos was holding up a mirror for me to look at to make better decisions in my life. Friends, that is not an experience alcohol can give you.

I still have to watch my intake, it has to be every few days for me, and usually just a hit or two, but I love the patience and mindfulness weed gives me - how it lets me be in the moment and truly appreciate whatever it is I’m doing, whether that’s playing with my toddler, listening to records or eating an orange. It refracts the light of reality just a little differently so you can be outside of yourself for just a little bit. Growing my own (I’m a few weeks into my first grow - and making tons of mistakes) has been delightful and zen-like and I’m looking forward to the day I can smoke something I brought up from a tiny seed.

TL;DR: When I use it the right way (for me), I believe it makes me a more complete, aware, person.

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