By Jasen T. Davis
Profiles in Courage
Patient:
Elaine Washington.
Age:
38.
Condition/Illness:
Herniated disc back injuries, nausea and anxiety.
Home:
Garden Grove.
Using medical cannabis since:
2003.
WHY DID YOU START USING MEDICAL MARIJUANA?
I started using medical marijuana in 2003. In 1998 I suffered a severe back injury at work. I have always had an issue with nausea, so trying to take pain pills was a long, hard road for me. At one point I thought I just had to get used to the fact that I would always be in pain and always feel sick.
It wasn’t until a ruined family trip in 2002, when I spent the entire day vomiting because I didn’t eat enough before I took one of my many pills prescribed to me for the pain. That was the breaking point for me. I was no longer going to feel helpless in my situation.
I had used marijuana in the past and it had always helped me, without any side effects, and I could still function and take care of my family. I educated myself and found that marijuana could easily solve not only my back pain issues but my nausea and anxiety too.
DID YOU TRY OTHER METHODS OR TREATMENTS BEFORE MARIJUANA?
I had tried many other methods and treatments before marijuana. I was really shocked by how easily I could get pills that were highly addictive and were given to me hundreds at a time like Vicodin, OxyContin, muscle relaxants, Xanax, etc.
It got to the point where I didn’t even feel them anymore . . . They were just poison and they never made me feel any better. I always felt worse after taking pills and I wanted to choose a safe natural way to feel better and heal my body and my mind.
WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OR PROBLEM FACING MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS IN CALIFORNIA?
Medical marijuana is one of the most safe and effective ways to manage pain. If people were truly educated with the facts and not the movie Reefer Madness, they would realize that all the synthetic pharmaceutical medications are drugs that are harmful.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO FOLKS WHO ARE SKEPTICAL ABOUT MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE?
Medical marijuana is an herbal, natural medicine with no harmful side effects. Even in recreational use, it is safer than alcohol . . . It’s just simple truth and common sense. (Photo by Tony Catalan)
