Ulcerative Colitis by Vacia Shellington
I am a 36-year-old woman with an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis. It is a horrible disease! There is no known cure at this time, just medications, such as prednisone, pain killers, etc. I was diagnosed with this disease in 2001, and I went into a state of depression with anxiety and insomnia. I began smoking marijuana to rest, calm down, relax, sleep, etc. The marijuana also helped with my bowel disease. It calms my colon so that I won’t have an episode of runny, bloody painful bowel movements uncontrollably throughout the day.
I enjoy smoking it and I wish it was legal here in Maryland. A lot of the depression and anxiety medicines have horrible side effects, and the weed doesn't. I may be a little hungry, and my eyes may be a little red, but hey I can live with that. I was put on Xanax, Valium, Prozac, Buspar, Ambien, Tylenol#3, Percocet—name it and I've probably tried it. None of them helped, or at least they were not as effective as the marijuana.