Resourcefully Adaptable

Luckily, it was the generation of laptops and I was lucky enough to have one at my bedside.

Coming from a well educated background I found myself using the laptop to keep my mind stimulated. I started writing for fun at first and then I found myself writing about things that mattered.

Medical Marijuana was starting to gain momentum in Michigan and across the country. I watched it go from just California to a large segment of the states changing laws from decriminalization to medical and recreational legalization.

It was through that bedside laptop that I was first introduced to the intellectual and political movement in Ann Arbor and the professionals leading the movement. I reached out and shared my story with one person and it was passed along to important people. They reached out for quotes and my story was featured with others during Michigan’s Proposal 1.

It was the first time I had ever gotten any media attention and though it was exciting some things did not sit right with me. Many of my quotes were used as filler to bolster the points of the writer which I found a bit offensive.

It wasn’t a quick decision but after a number of times having my quotes used to fill space in a story that had nothing to do with the message I shared it was time for me to start writing. I started to write content as a way to tell the story, the truth, as I see it, no more and no less.

Being quoted in the media was not the best experience for me. It was disappointing to see my words used to support the story created in someone else's mind. This motivated me to start writing. My first published articles were through websites like yahoo’s content publishing website and other content websites.

One aspect of the medical marijuana movement that has gone unnoticed is patient testimony. Patient testimony has been key to this movement yet it rarely gets a mention for the scholars. Across this country people are standing up and going public at great risk to their personal safety and their families safety.

As we continue to watch the news which shares stories of patient arrests we rarely get good news like the release of Jeff Mizanskey on September 1, 2015. He served over 20 years of a life’s senate before his sentence was commuted by the governor of Missouri. An example of why so many patients risk life and limb to share the truth.

This movement is about TRUTH. At it’s core, cannabis is a wonder plant. The amount of good things we can produce and the potential of this plant are limitless. Not only have we discovered medical treatments for illnesses from AIDS to Cancer it was done while cannabis is still considered illegal by federal standards.