Crohn's Disease by Anonymous
I'm going to stay anonymous, but can reiterate the positive responses various other posters have had to THC in their search for a better treatment for Crohn's disease.
As a professional, 33, and father of three, I likely fit the 'it’s impossible that he does that' class of medicinal MJ sufferers. I was diagnosed with Crohn's (and hospitalized) in 1996, and began my search for a better alternative to prednisone about three\years later. Along the way, I've been prescribed with various 'drug of the month' type things from my GI to treat various flare-ups, but inevitably the side effects of those drugs , ESPECIALLY the cortisteroids, made their prolonged use unfathomable. What is life with that much emotional distress and suffering?
With the blessing of my wife, I use a small amount of marijuana each day to maintain a stable balance in my bathroom regimen. For some reason, I see much greater regularity in bowel movements, and they tend to be more solid, and involve less diarrhea and pain. Very little blood now and I've managed to avoid a major flare-up for two years this time using nothing but THC, which I, for one, found amazing.
The direct impact of seeing my diarrhea decrease and getting to almost a normal bathroom schedule makes the drug priceless to me. My typical day went from 7-8 bloody trips to 1-2 trips, mostly solid, sometimes diarrhea, but mostly without blood or too much mucus. I typically use 1/2 ounce in about three months which I know is significantly less than the typical user, but I find that it works for me all the same My approach has been to treat it strictly as medicine, which really translates into not sharing it 'recreationally' with anyone, and trying to maintain a steady pace of use at regular times to minimize the side effects. Truthfully, I don't really feel impaired by the amount I use and I KNOW the drifting/sleepiness does not approach the massive drag of a drug such a Remicade.
Long story short, as a Cub Scout leader/suburban/successful programmer, I feel that I have lost a lot of faith in the government’s ability to do its job effectively in meeting the needs of its people. And I vote. And I have a six-figure income. And lots of people who love and surround me also vote and agree with my perspective on the issues.
It's not something I hide from my family, or treat as a 'dirty' topic. I don't talk to my kids about it (the oldest is seven, and I don't think he has the experience to understand the situation yet), but I will in time and if I've done my job as a parent, perhaps they will use compassion that I've helped them to learn to see that needless suffering is a far greater crime than a god-given, non-synthetic, harmless and yet helpful plant.