At age 8, my joint pain began.  At 9, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Fast forward through years of multiple pharmaceuticals including low-grade chemotherapy drugs, a variety of immune-supression medications and pain medicine. At 17, I was living at home in Colorado and decided to try cannabis.

The effect on my pain and anxiety was nearly immediate.  My pain wasn’t just lowered, it was gone. I hadn’t felt relief like this before. I felt energized and happy; I felt like me for the first time in years.  It was time to go home and tell my mom that I wanted to get my medical cannabis card.

My mom – who is an RN – researched medical cannabis in great depth and reached out to a prescribing physician for my appointment to be evaluated for a medical card.   As a medical cannabis patient in Colorado, I discovered lotions were my favorite. I could rub my knees, hands, and ankles and be able to regain full range of motion within minutes. My parents were thrilled.  I wasn’t in pain and life was looking up. 

Fast forward again.  Now in my mid-twenties and pursuing my undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico.  I am successful, pain-free and able to say I have also beaten the depression that came with my diagnosis.  All with the help of medical cannabis. While my journey has not always been smooth, I stayed with it until I found what worked for me.  Now, it is my passion to educate other cannabis patients like myself who are just looking for basic quality of life. There is hope.