Two glass jars filled with dried cannabis buds labeled for medical use. The jars have green crosses and printed labels indicating strain types. A handwritten label on one jar reads "Cold Crash.

Breaking the cycle with cannabis


By Rena McCain

Happy Weedsday, ladies and gents!

In the previous issue I shared the beginning section of a very good friend’s story. If you are just joining me and you want to read the beginning please visit: MontroseStar.com/tims-story-breaking-the-cycle-of-opioid-addiction/ for that content. And please share with your friends as the opioid crisis in this country has skyrocketed.

Many people die everyday due to not having access to or knowledge of adequate medical options to come clean of these harmful chemicals. The more this problem is discussed and more people come to understand the medical benefits of cannabis, this opioid problem could subside. Our health as a general population would significantly improve with the legalization of cannabis.

Tim’s Story, Part 2

Prescribed after corrective surgery following my motorcycle accident, my medication stayed the same for another six months. But honestly, I was probably out of pain within about two weeks of that. But I continued taking the pills because at that point I liked the way they made me feel and if I didn’t take them the pain would show up almost instantaneously — not because I was in pain at that point but because my body would start to go through withdrawals.

When the pills go away, that’s when it becomes a desperate situation. You don’t want to go through the withdrawals and you want to get high but you don’t have a prescription anymore. So you maybe find a friend or relative, maybe someone at work who has a prescription and they sell pills to a select few at work, if you can get into that group. Then it’s waiting ’til refill day….

I will spare details because, honestly, the story always ends up with someone getting hurt if you have seen the progression of pharmaceuticals to street opiates.

I had very limited experience with cannabis at this point.
For those of the opinion that cannabis is a gateway drug, I implore you to read this story. The last withdrawal I had really did change my direction — thankfully. This is the G-rated version.

When you are using 10 to 12 times a day as a daily routine, there is a set dollar amount that you know you need to have. So when it all transforms into nothing, justification becomes a best friend. I’m sure you all know that you can’t trust a junky, right? Right. Well, living in the street or in an $80 a week hotel room should have been my first clue, but somehow my brain was able to justify it. That was pretty much everything I had other than a change of clothes.

When I couldn’t afford the drugs, I began withdrawal and was rushed to the hospital, essentially having a seizure the whole way. From the hospital I was taken to a detox center for ten days, at which point I had someone pick me up so that I could use again the second I got out. The whole time I was in detox, the only thing I thought about was getting out and using again.
I had experimented with cannabis before but only used it on special occasions with friends. I had a friend that was in recovery for the same situation who explained to me that he had used cannabis to fight the withdrawal symptoms and that he continued to use cannabis because at that point it had helped him stay clean for over two years.

I decided to give it a try because after being hospitalized three times, I was now actually worried about the possibility of death. Everyone around me that I knew either wanted to use or were dying.

Please turn to next issue of MONTROSE STAR for the final chapter of Tim’s Story. Rena McCain is a co-founder of the Cannabis Open Carry Walks. Find her on Facebook at Rena McCain, or via Twitter @sassikatt24 and Instagram at ganja_grrl420.

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