Tourette's Syndrome by Warren G.Dolbashian
Hello, my name is Warren. I'm 32 years old and I live in Cranston R.I. I am a regular marihuana smoker. I use it help with numerous neurological disorders that include Tourette’s Syndrome, ADHD and OCD. I first was diagnosed with Tourette’s and ADHD at age 12 at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, My symptoms included severe motor tics and vocalization(coprolalia and echolalia[repeating of words]).I grew up in a divorced household with my mother and sister here in Cranston.. My mother was a full-time worker for the state who went to school and brought up my sister and me on her own. I had a very loving and supporting household to grow up in.
My twitches started early in my childhood (about age 5-6). As I got older they got worse. By the time I was in high school, I was at full blast Tourette’s. I had my academic troubles, and growing up in the 70s and 80s, not a lot of people recognized or understood my disorders. I did graduate high school and went on to college but I didn't get too far at that either I was in many medication studies for my T.S. and ADHD. I developed OCD in the meantime. My twitching was at an all-time high by the age of 19. It was crippling, and I developed dislocated joints all over my body. I would pray to God to let me have release from this disorder. My mother was always by my side through all this, supporting me. In high school I smoked pot rarely, and I remember that it would repress my tics, but I thought it was just a fluke.
At the age of 22 I was getting interested in computers and would go online occasionally. When online, for curiosity I typed in “marijuana.” Many Web addresses came up. I continued my searches and came upon medical study reports on the treatment of Tourette’s with marijuana. I read and was intrigued. At that time I was taking many different medications to control my powerful outbursts of T.S. They even had me on Haldol. I shortly found out that that was a drug for severely mentally ill people. I tried many other meds. All had awful side effects and reactions. I was a mess.
My mother, a liberal person, saw how much pain I was in and gave me a joint in hopes that it would suppress my tics. I smoked and within 4 minutes my tics STOPPED. That’s right, completely stopped! For the first time since I was 6, I could go more than 2 hours T.S. symptom free. It was a blessing. And I am ever so grateful to my mother , the last person I would think would come up with this solution. There are many new medication out there that "help" with the treatment of Tourette’s, and I have at this time found one that is o.k. but with the addition of marijuana in moderation in a controlled dose I am now able to live a gainful life that has become productive and substantial. It's just a shame that I have to fear legal conviction for what is helping me have a better quality of life....I hope this very true story will help and inspire more and better views of the treatment of Tourette’s syndrome with this wonderful and life-giving plant.