Cannabis Beat Our Addictions: 3 Years Opioid Free Today

0 Shares

Three years ago today a decision was made that would forever change the future of our family – Opioids were left behind in a sudden move that wasn’t planned or expected. Cannabis and extracts stepped into play and took over as the pills and patches were abandoned. This wasn’t the first time our family entered the world of addiction and recovery, in 2017 Anne Mari quit drinking and started working her program.

She’ll reach her 5-year mark this summer after a life of alcoholism and addiction. Both of us have a history that ties our substances of choice directly to our personal problems of the past – together in the now we combat those with love and cannabinoid medicine. The fact is trauma leads to addiction and lacking a compassionate partner in life definitely will further dependency on drugs or drink instead of our raw human need – love.

Throughout the past several years both of us have fueled our recovery by use of cannabinoid replacement therapy protocols – these were created to replace the addictive drugs and drink with the most healthy alternatives of all according to recent news – minor cannabinoids that work in major ways. For several years I’ve been very vocal online about the use of CBGa to defeat PAWS or post-acute withdrawal syndrome. It’s how both of us gain footing over depression and anxiety that comes with living life without that substance that allowed such an easy escape. For me, CBGa led the way out of addiction as THC alone caused too many issues – being lightheaded and buzzed didn’t work well for me in the midst of a withdrawal that causes sickness with dizziness.

To top it off, using a lot of THC oils just to sleep after the first few days caused mornings to be even harder. I had to find a way out as by day 3 of the exit from opioids I was struggling hard – there was no turning back as this was a commitment to my little family and a promise to myself. Our family was built on love and compassion, those that follow the Cannabis Love Story are aware that Genevieve’s biological father perished to Opioids – quitting cold turkey the way I did was purposeful as I felt I needed to suffer as I got off the pharmaceutical drugs I should have quit long ago. That may not be healthy thinking but it fueled the recovery that I’m here to type about today.

Looking back to the first few days and how brutal they were also allowed a vision into the future, as the sickness hit and the battle to beat it became overwhelming there were so few options. I felt as if I had every last piece of knowledge imaginable to create cannabinoid medicines but couldn’t help myself and that was beyond frustrating. I’ll never forget going to our little dab station and knowing that I would get sick from the multiple hits of THC I would use to try to stop the pain that just wouldn’t back off.

I had some CBD capsules that were 100mg each and started using those multiple times a day – they helped quite a bit but I was still plagued by this light-headed feeling that was being caused by the withdrawal. I remember laying down next to Anne Mari and tears rolling down my face as she gave me some THC edibles hoping they would help me – and I had peace finally for just a few hours – it was the first break.

What took a bit of time to unravel was how I was feeling better – and on that day it didn’t matter. I remember looking at the gummy worms from a local dispensary she had given me and asking her to buy $200 worth immediately they had to be the answer. The delivery guy came and dropped off a huge bag with 20 packs of these 100mg edibles. For the next several days Netflix, being sick, and eating those took up the majority of my time as I continued to try to find a path to freedom. I had yet to realize that before I at the THC edibles while dabbing THC I grabbed at a container of CBGa crumble and ate a piece of it.

My first ingested dose was likely around 100 milligrams, it was taken on a whim with absolutely no idea of what it would do to me other than not make me ill like THC was. Keep in mind that I’ve been smoking weed for over 4 decades and love it – THC has been my friend most of my life but definitely wasn’t during that period of time – it needed to be accompanied by its a mother in order to help me. CBGa is the precursor molecule responsible for the creation of THCa.

As time went on I found that ingesting CBGa first thing every day would stop the overwhelming depression and anxiety that hit me after the initial physical withdrawal backed off. It was one thing to get through that dizzy feeling and yet another to live my life without the drugs that once numbed me from the problems of today and both physical and emotional trauma of past events.

Many of us don’t realize that our addiction is often masking the feelings we have about ourselves, our family, friends, and life – we need an escape, and pharmaceuticals are just like alcohol in that manner. Not everyone does this of course – but addicts do and I am one – just in recovery now for 3 years as of today. Being mindful and grateful about every single moment of freedom is so important in order to maintain sobriety and continue down the road of My Opioid Exit.

It’s very important that we recognize the value of Opioids when used in clinical applications and for severe or acute pain. It’s very easy to become a ‘hater’ of substances that we quit as it’s like an insurance policy, most of us won’t go back to what we despise. This is a huge reason why cannabis in all its forms is so attractive as replacement therapy. With opioids, it was a pill or patch but with cannabinoids, the choices are endless of what can be used.

Will it be ingested, vaporized, inhaled or will it be put in a capsule? Will it be THCa, CBGa, THC, CBD, or CBN? The questions and options are endless which is exactly what we need to occupy our minds as we leave the world of addiction to a synthetic substance that’s killing so many people that the whole time I was addicted I’d wonder if it would be Epilepsy or those pills that would get me. I never thought ‘I’ll die in my sleep to these cancers” but I did about those two issues all the time.

In both 2020 and 2021, we’ve seen the highest numbers of Opioid Overdose fatalities ever – they included several people who were very close to me and likely a few that were close to you. Everyone has lost somebody to these drugs so let’s all stop acting like they are so innocent – they’re not. Every day people are getting caught up in addiction and then looking for an answer only to find Cannabis still under schedule one while their drug of choice is not. Many are bewildered when they find out that both Methamphetamines and Cocaine are schedule 2 drugs just like Oxycontin and other opioids that are killing so many people – even the dirty fentanyl made in clandestine labs all over is Schedule 2.

As I celebrate another year of living without being under an umbrella of uncertainties due to a severe pharma opioid addiction there are many thoughts and wishes that come to mind. My hope is to see the end of Cannabis Prohibition in 2022 along with access to the plant for everyone and not just in America – everywhere. We now have knowledge that the same plant that has been minimized through the greedy acts of many a century ago is very well the answer to many of our issues that surround the sickness of this world today.