Hello friends,

Have you ever felt confused and frustrated with the lack of concrete information about the medical benefits of cannabis sativa (“cannabis”)?  I have.  Is there a body of human-based scientific research we can explore?  Not to my knowledge, although I’ve read individual studies.

Perhaps we all might help to validate some of the many claims made on cannabis throughout the millennia.  Do you have a personal story about how cannabis has changed your life for the better?

Here at Canuvo, budtenders like me speak with many people every day. I hear your moving stories of suffering and of the unexpected ways cannabis has been able to help you cope with pain and stress. I have had the privilege of bearing witness to your lives changing with the help of cannabis — frequently and by far for the better.

We’ve heard that cannabis can work in our bodies to relieve muscle spasms and nerve pain, that it can calm anxiety and lift depression, and that it can significantly improve one’s quality of life. We long to find solid evidence that supports our faith in cannabis as a medicine, but we cannot, for there is not enough human-specific research that has been documented. A pity, really, considering that cannabis has been used medically in a wide variety of applications for thousands of years.  Only in the past half-century have we begun to understand biochemically and physiologically how it helps us with pain and more.

So I invite you to be a part of this venture with me.  Share your stories with me, and I’ll write them up for you and in turn share them with our Canuvo friends right here.

Stories like this one:

One Friday, shortly after I began working at Canuvo, “Molly,” mid-30s, wife and mom of two teenaged sons, came into my room at the dispensary.  Her hair was blonde and dull, her eyes were blue and dull, her skin was dry and dull, her clothes were worn and dull.  She had been on pain meds (opioids) for four years due to unsuccessful back surgery and reported in a dispassionate voice that she had lost her “self.”  Her sons were concerned teens who felt their mother had been replaced by an automaton, and her husband missed his vivacious partner. She could not remember the last time she had felt any emotion.

Referred by her doctor and by the Pain Clinic, Molly knew that she had to get off of all of the painkillers she had been consuming.  After four years they had not only become virtually ineffective in treating her pain, but she felt they were killing her by robbing her of the joy of life. Molly recognized, even through a drug-induced haze, that cannabis was the last resort for her to obtain pain relief and freedom from addiction.

After she decided upon a medicated olive oil that combined CBD and THC in a 1:1 ratio, we completed the transaction, and Molly went home.

Six days later she returned and burst into my room.

I was shocked. She looked marvelous. Her skin glowed, her eyes sparkled, her hair was brushed and curly, and she was smiling. Molly had taken herself off opioids in three days by ingesting the cannabis-infused olive oil instead.  That morning she had been gardening for three hours and it was only 10:30 a.m.!

Her sons were thrilled to find their mom had re-emerged from the drug cocoon that engulfed her for the previous four years.  Molly’s husband thanked her repeatedly for “coming back” to him. The best part is that Molly’s cannabis-balanced self is still contentedly digging away in her garden well over a year later!

Sharing these brief tales is my aim with a goal of offering reliable anecdotal evidence that confirms the medicinal value and success of cannabis sativa.  I believe we can help to spread the word that cannabis is an effective medicine for many ailments. As you offer me your histories, I will write them up and share them here.  Are you excited?  I am — I cannot wait to get this rolling!

May these true stories give you hope.