Garth Wilson
Patient Name: Garth Wilson
Age: 55
Condition: Severe Chronic Pain, PTSD
Using Medical Cannabis since: 2012
Why did you start using cannabis?
Mental health medication all had unpleasant side effects. The pain medications impaired me; I was vomiting, constipated and I had little to no focus. I was unable to drive because of my feeling uncomfortable behind the wheel.
Did you try other methods or treatments before cannabis?
Yes. Opiates, as well as mental health pills for depression, anxiety and bi-polar disorder (which I later learned were not needed or beneficial for me at the time).
What’s the most important issue or problem facing medical cannabis patients?
There are unnecessary delays in issuing patient cards with a broken system that relies on the Department of Health. I feel like there are unnecessary and arbitrary rules, regulations and legislation, where numbers are simply pulled out of the hat.
What do you say to folks that are skeptical about cannabis as medicine?
The risk of death and the potential side effects from taking opiate-derived analgesics (pain pills)—these were the things that made my life nightmarish. When I use cannabis to control my pain, I do not consider death. However, before I started using cannabis, I would take a pain pill and I would worry about losing my life. Now, that worry has disappeared thanks to taking cannabis.
