Pain
by Shannon Perrow Although I used marihuana recreationally as a youth (and still do occasionally), my reasons for using it have changed in the past three years due to an accident. On December 31, 1996, I was in a near fatal car wreck. To describe what I didn't break would be simpler than what I did break -- everything but my left leg. After six weeks I was released from the hospital. Despite almost crushing my spine, I walked two days before I left the hospital. Lucky to be alive, yes, but I still had severe pain in my back and left arm (which was almost severed, but thanks to a very dedicated surgeon was spared). As for pain medication, because of a past drug history, the doctors refused to prescribe anything worth using. This is where marihuana played its role. Although I can't honestly say it relieved the pain completely, it did subside it to a manageable point and helped me in dealing with it mentally. After two years and three surgeries, today I can say marihuana has made life easier to deal with. One of the after-effects of my accident has been severe insomnia, which was prevalent before it, just intensified afterwards. Marihuana helps me to sleep when I have a serious bout with insomnia. No, I do not smoke it every night to sleep. As with every other medication I've tried for this problem, if I used it every night it would stop working. Thank you for the opportunity to help the cause. |