The Brain on Cannabis by Siegel Rebecca; Starbuck Margot

Author:Siegel, Rebecca; Starbuck, Margot [Siegel, Rebecca; Starbuck, Margot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

The Myth of Harmfulness:

Whether purchased from street dealers or

in regulated dispensaries, marijuana is harmful

and a waste of money.

Maureen’s childhood was one that few of us could even imagine. Her mother, a young single woman who’d had a traumatic childhood herself, abused Maureen emotionally and physically in the cruelest ways. One of the many intrusive memories Maureen lived with was a time when she and her mother, having been evicted from their small, rundown apartment, spent night after night riding the subway in empty cars. Whenever Maureen would express a need—for food, or for a toilet—her mother would beat her.

Maureen was twenty-five when she first came to see me. Suffering from PTSD, her life had shrunk down to the size of the one-bedroom efficiency apartment she could afford on her disability check. She was unable to ride trains, and even the sound of them felt devastating. In fact, Maureen’s old memories could be triggered by so many things that she was unable to experience a fulfilling life. Her crippling anxiety and her uncontrolled anger had cost her jobs and most of the relationships in her life.

We tried a few different medications, but none seemed to give Maureen the help she needed to function well in the world.

“Have you ever thought about cannabis? Many people who share your symptoms report finding relief,” I suggested.

“Wait,” Maureen said. “Weed? You mean weed?”

“Well,” I corrected her, “I’m certainly not talking about lighting up whatever the dealer on the corner sells you. I’m talking about using legal, tested cannabis products to find relief.”

“I’ve been smoking on and off since I was eight,” Maureen reported. “And it actually does help me feel better. But I don’t do it very often. If I could afford it, I’d do it more often than I do.”

“You’ll need to pay for this legal medication,” I advised, “but if there’s anything else you can cut from your budget to afford it, I think it’s worth a try.”

“Well, do you think it will cost me more to get it from a dispensary than on the street?” Maureen asked.

“Actually,” I offered, “it might be cheaper in the dispensary than whatever you’re paying now.”

Maureen pressed, “Does Medicare or insurance ever cover it?”

“No, not yet. Maybe one day they will, but we’re probably a long way from that day.”

Maureen and I discussed what she might find at the dispensary and the safest ways to use medical marijuana.

Over the next six months, the changes I saw in Maureen were incredible. Her mind, which once spun constantly in overdrive, had settled. In combination with talk therapy and medication, the consistent, supervised use of medical cannabis gave Maureen the relief and boost she needed to begin to manage her life well.

Nine months after we met, Maureen called me to report that she’d been hired as a guide at a local museum for children. She sounded as happy as I’d ever heard her.

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