Stomach Discomforts by Anonymous C

I'm twenty-five and have a nervous, unpredictable stomach that has plagued me for most of my life. While I do feel fortunate that this is not a life-threatening condition, my stomach can make things quite unpleasant. It's almost as if my stomach's an angry thunder god I have to keep happy all the time. I get painful nausea and heartburn at random times, and eating certain foods (e.g. dairy, some spicy things) is nearly impossible. I throw up more often than most people. Whenever I feel anxiety, it goes straight to my stomach, which will tolerate almost nothing but the simplest food, like dry toast. Worse still, I'm an athlete and I need to eat a lot to keep my body properly fueled. Sometimes my stomach rages at the wrong time, I just can't eat enough, and my performance suffers.

I've seen countless doctors about my condition and all of them have said "We don't find anything wrong with your stomach. You're just going to have to live with it." Then they either send me on my way or give me harsh, awful-tasting antacids which seem to do nothing.

In my first year of college I smoked marijuana for the first time and fell in love right away. I could eat without my stomach punishing me. My anxiety disappeared and that angry thunder god finally mellowed out and let me enjoy myself. In the intervening six years since my first puff, I've become, for lack of a better word, a pothead. I consume the herb mainly in pipes, though I prefer smooth-smoking bongs when supply is not an issue.  I'm mainly a recreational user. Marijuana makes me feel better. It gives me an appetite and lets me consume the food my body needs without nausea. The anxiety which normally rouses my stomach into angry fits goes away when I'm high. Even eating just a few flakes (not nearly enough to cause any psychoactive effects) from the bottom of a sack brings a calm to my stomach.

Cultures around the world have used this wonderful herb medicinally, spiritually and recreationally for thousands of years. I think that our government is showing unconscionable arrogance by prohibiting a simple PLANT, calling it a dangerous controlled substance, and thus saying all these cultures around the world are wrong. I believe cannabis is a gift from God to make our lives down here a little better and I will continue to use it.