For the majority of my life, I have been exposed to people of authority telling me to never get involved with marijuana. In grade school, I learned that it was a gateway drug, that it could turn one violent and make them unaware of their actions, etc. I had so much fear instilled in me about ever trying marijuana or encountering someone who smoked weed, that up until I was fourteen, I would avoid anyone who even mentioned weed at all.
Entering high school, I made a lot of friends who did smoke weed. Some regularly, some only recreationally. For the first two years of high school, I would worry constantly about my friends getting into trouble or of them being unaware of their words and actions. I was so used to believing the stereotype that I was told; that people who smoked weed were drug dealers, did other drugs and crimes, and were criminals. After seeing first hand that my peers were none of those other things, and instead were just people who liked to chill out, smoke with friends, eat pizza from the pizzeria down the street, and try their best to stay engaged in class, I became more comfortable surrounding myself with those who smoked. By the end of high school, I learned that those who did smoke weed were not bad people; smoking can’t make someone a bad person, so I’m not sure why I was told this for the majority of my pre-teen life.
Entering University, I got into many debates about whether or not weed should be legalized, to which I would defend the ‘no, it shouldn’t’ side. At this point, almost all of my friends had tried smoking weed at least once. I started asking people why they did it, and got answers like, “To relieve stress”, “To relieve anxiety”, “To help me sleep”, “Just to relax me when I’m with friends”, etc. I started analyzing the replies I was getting and compared them to the answers they also gave me when they consumed alcohol: “To get fucked up”, “To forget my shit”, “I don’t want to remember anything”.
It wasn’t until April 20th (ironically), 2016 where I had my first encounter in which marijuana was needed. At 6:25 in the morning, my family and I had found my (at the time) nineteen year old cat, Ricki, laying lifeless on the ground. He was breathing shallowly, was burning hot too the touch, and his eyes were completely black. I rushed him to the vet to discover he had a list of medical issues, including hyperthyroidism, profound arthritis, loss of hearing, and potentially kidney disease.
The vet prescribed us with quite a few medications; pills he had to take twice a day, syringes for his kidney, laxatives, etc. He also was put on a special food which costs us $4 a can, and a can lasts a day. We used these medications for six months religiously, but he would still have spells of feeling so unwell, he wouldn’t move.
After consultation with my vet, she suggested the option of giving my cat feline marijuana. Not catnip, but actual cannabis oil. The product MediPaws can be sold at select pet stores and vets, and is approved by the government for use. I hesitated because of all of the stuff I was told about marijuana; I didn’t want him to potentially forget me, or not be aware of anything. I reminded myself of what my friends had said, and purchased it for him. I was desperate to get him healthy again, because he is my best friend.
Giving my cat feline-approved medical marijuana was by far the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.
Since giving Ricki weed, he has gained an appetite, can meow again, is able to walk around like he used to, can jump on the couch again, and has his personality back. He was in so much pain for so long that medication just couldn’t fix, that he struggled to do anything. He is still currently on all of his medications, as they help to fix his heartbeat and whatnot, but it is truly the weed that is giving him his life back.
I am now twenty-one years old, and I still do not drink or smoke anything of any kind. You may be wondering why. I realized after all of this, that just because marijuana may be legalized or decriminalized one day, doesn’t mean that all people will suddenly engage in it. It doesn’t mean people will forget anything, become unaware, or become violent, because that isn’t what it does. It helps to relieve chronic pain, anxiety, and aid in sleep. It is a natural product of this earth that we could cultivate and use to end suffering on so many levels. I don’t think it is something for me. I have no purpose or interest in ever using it, but I do support it for anyone who does need it. I do think there are limits that should be instilled. For example, Ricki can only have so much a day, but it still helps him. I don’t think anyone should go overboard on it, but that goes for anything really.
It has been almost one year since Ricki nearly left me. I truly believe if it wasn’t for the weed, he wouldn’t be here like he is now.
Special thanks to my lovley friend Kyle for my thumbnail photo, and my amazing friends Melinda and Rachel for these super awesome photoshops of my cat!