Dear Hillary: We HAVE Research..We NEED Legalization

You know, I really love you. I really do. And I’ll vote for you if you’re the nominee. But girlfriend, we really need to talk. You said on Thursday that you support state efforts at legalization but that more research needs to be done before any legalization federally happens. But with all due respect, my sister, you couldn’t be more wrong.

The research is out there. Federal prohibition prevents states from moving forward on legalization. They use it as an excuse to defend the lie we’ve all lived under for the last 70 some years. People have and continue to serve time in prison for that lie. Does truth even matter to any of you who hold the power over the rest of us? Does it? Because from my perspective it does not.

When I became a cannabis patient in 2010, I was 52 years old and suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. When it exploded on the scene, it did so at an extreme level and stayed that way for thirteen years. I yearned for moderate RA. I never saw it. All the drugs the doctors prescribed did nothing but keep me in that place. Within three months of concentrated cannabis preparations, I was in remission. I began discontinuing my prescribed medicines in a responsible way and it’s taken until last September to finally be free of all of them.

I delayed stopping the Humira because I was worried about a return of symptoms. But when the Department of Defense decided to force me to use their mail-order pharmacy for my Humira, I refused. My husband is a disabled veteran and I have Tricare. When I don’t participate in their intrusive specialty pharmacy care program where I have to endure endless questions from nameless nurses who call me monthly to question me about my care, they don’t send my Humira on time. I’m supposed to inject every other week. If I don’t do their bidding, then I will NOT receive it in time for my injection. The last time I ordered it, it was over a week late. This is unacceptable, so when I got the letter informing me of the change I said no more. I informed my doctor and she agreed to monitor my progress. I’m a herbalist, so I supplement now with herbal formulas I prepare along with cannabis. It’s been over six months and I’ve had no return of symptoms. So, fingers crossed.

The research on the efficacy and safety of cannabis is in. In case you didn’t know, it’s been done extensively in Israel and other places in the world, as well as in kitchens across this country. Patients aren’t simply old hippies smoking pot. We’re everyone and we’re tired of lawmakers who don’t listen to the simple truth.

We all have an endocannabinoid system in our bodies. And if I’m any kind of an example, then it’s clear that we need cannabinoids for our bodies to properly function. Using the plant raw doesn’t result in any psychoactive effect, and is the best method, in my opinion, to heal using cannabis. But other methods are just as useful and need to be available to everyone.

Federal prohibition makes it more difficult for cannabis businesses to open because the banking and tax structure isn’t there for them to function in the same way as other businesses do and that’s a problem. The DEA isn’t known for listening to Presidents who tell them to back off of states where legalization in some form is in effect. In other words, patients still fear arrest. And for what? Laws based on lies?

Greed has caused all of this. Industrial hemp production was problematic for those corporate giants at the time who wanted their crop to be at the forefront. So hemp, and cannabis along with it, was made illegal. Cannabis was used extensively in medicine, but suddenly it wasn’t safe? All because someone else wanted to make a buck? They used racism and patriarchy to achieve their purpose and the country has suffered ever since.

So, you do none of us any favors when you say that more research is needed. Those of us whose lives have been saved with cannabis aren’t listening anymore. Instead, we’re talking, screaming if necessary, so that those in power will hear us.

Cannabis is safe. Cannabis is necessary. The lie has cost us everything. Please listen to our stories. They’re not just anecdotal; many come with X-rays and medical reports showing our progress and our healing. We’re depending on the progressive voices to stand with us and tell lawmakers that enough is enough. We want the right to heal our bodies with something that doesn’t cause additional problems which pharmaceuticals typically do.

We want off that roller coaster, that treadmill because we never seem to heal with it. Glen Frey is a more recent and shocking example of someone who died from rheumatoid arthritis. We think it can’t happen because it’s arthritis but it can. When I heard the news of his passing and why I couldn’t speak. I came that close to the same outcome. And in all this time, none of the doctors I had over those years ever asked me how I healed without them. None of them.

Hillary, I’m 58 now and in the best health of my life. I walk between five and nine miles daily, when before it was all I could do to walk from my chair to the bathroom. I used a cane for most of it, something I haven’t done in six years. And I have cannabis to thank for it. I even self-published a book on Kindle last January called Confessions of a Back Porch Herbalist, telling the story of how I healed. You can even read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. It’s not long and the cannabis part is at the beginning.

But whatever you do, please stop saying we need more research. We don’t. We need lawmakers who are willing to stand up for the truth and to stand with us. Women in particular need to stand together against the patriarchy that has caused us so much grief. Speaking the truth on cannabis is the right thing to do. You have that voice. You ARE that voice.

Sincerely,

Jan Erickson