He was diagnosed as bi-polar about ten years ago. His sever mood swings had begun affected his marriage so he saw a bunch of doctors who 'tried out' a range of tablets on him to see which one would have the least side affects. These types of drugs take about a week or two before they show any affects ... so essentially he could not tell what was affecting him .. the drugs .. a good day ... coffee ... a happy event .. who knew!
He knew that something was not right when he stopped having moods at all. He was emotionally flat-lining, but the doctors were pleased. Success .. they had made him emotionally balanced and no longer a problem to the state. Friends and family slowly became friendly strangers who he vaguely recognized through the state sponsored, drug-induced haze.
Then one day he forgot to take his meds .. or should I say he didn't remember to care anymore .. and in a moment of clarity, he had an epiphany ... maybe he was over dosing and needed to consult another doctor? It's a tricky situation trying to ascertain if a patient feels better when the patient feels nothing at all.
Understandably this is not a process he wanted to endure too many times. After the third 'try out' with yet another generic drug .. desperation drove him to seek out a solution. He was a capable 40 year old, who could fix just about anything .. why not his own body chemistry? After doing a lot of research on the internet, he discovered that there were many natural cures to his bi-polar condition, but they cost a fortune and required homeopaths as well as a range of expensive tests .. and guess what, they were not covered by his national health plan.
The cheapest and easily most available ingredient needed for his first trial therapy was marijuana. Yes - mary jane, doob, ganja, weed, zorl, grass .. or as they call it in educated circles - cannabis. He already smoked cigarettes, so smoking joints seemed like an easy method of 'delivery'.
I'm not sure what qualifies weed as medical cannabis. What does it offer that regular pot does not? Anyway he got hold of some illegal weed and began his treatments. To begin with, it was just great not being depressed. After a short time, he learned to judge how much he needed to smoke to maintain his mood 'balance'. In general it was about one joint - smoked at intervals throughout the day. Someday's he did not smoke at all. There were no side affects and the results were immediate. He quickly learned how to responsibly 'self medicate'. Doing the monthly shopping totally stoned was not a good idea, it took too long and was not good for his monthly budget.
After a few years of successful treatment, he got tired of the stress and cost of finding weed through disreputable channels and dealing with people he did not want in his house. He discovered that just as the name says .. weed grows like a weed! In no time at all he had weed growing in his tomato patch. His medicine was now totally free. What state institution do you know of that can offer free medical therapy? I have as yet to find one!
So the story goes on. He is not a moron and realized that the weed he was growing was against the law, but he was not forcing it down children's throats or selling it by the container load to Sweden (who so desperately need it). It was for personal use only and kept a secret from the neighbors.
You can imagine how surprised he was to find the police at his house one day. They had come to confiscate his medicine. And to add insult to injury, they put him in hand-cuffs and locked him up for 5 days while they investigated his 'drug operation'. Not what any of his doctors recommended as proactive treatment for the depression or bi-polar disorder.
The naive assumptions he had made about the system being understanding were quickly dispelled. His having to shit on a toilet in front of fellow inmates was an alarming experience that quickly focused his thoughts and clearly outlined how little the system cared about the individual. When you do no abide by the law, you quickly become irrelevant.
We are disappointed that the drug industry has a tighter control over our government than we do. It is all about money after all. Drug companies make billions every year and their patients are too medicated to notice. Health problems continue to increase, but the drug companies keep making more and more drugs to treat all the mounting side effects.
Cannabis offers a cost effective solution to many illness's, but it cannot be patented by the drug companies so they will ensure it stays illegal. The drug industry has become unsustainable by putting a price to health that we can no longer afford. In the process, the system has lost its soul and we have relinquished the responsibility to look after ourselves.
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