Written by "I love Cannabis, It's gaining momentum and acceptance as medicine every day." -Nick Ashmore
One thing about telling someone’s Cannabis story is that you get to know them a bit better. “As of right now along with Epilepsy, I’m treating a heart condition known as Tachycardia. That’s when your heartbeat is too fast, combined with a seizure disorder it’s beyond dangerous.” Nick explained to me when I asked him about his reasons for the medicinal use of Cannabis. He’s always struck me as an interesting person on social media with various recipes for his own cannabis edibles that look so good they make my mouth water – but that’s not what this story is about. Although, his caramels and brownies really get my mind off the subject – but not as bad as his cannabis-infused popcorn! Like myself and nearly 3 million other Americans, he fights Epilepsy. 65 million globally do the same without the benefits we have in America even though it seems our access to Cannabis has been limited to please the likes of the government and large corporations with other interests. But there’s more to it. Many are unaware of the abilities of the cannabis plant when it comes to treating heart conditions. Many are unaware that when these two conditions are combined it’s known as classic “Autonomic Dysfunction” which Cannabis treats successfully, but Nick is very conscious of research like this:
Autonomic dysfunction refers to a collection of diseases that develop when nerves that control involuntary bodily functions are damaged. Studies suggest that cannabis’ neuroprotective and antioxidant effects, as well as its ability to interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system, could be beneficial for treating and preventing the progress of autonomic dysfunction. https://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com/autonomic-dysfunction-medical-marijuana-research-overview/
Basically what the study concludes is that although Cannabis has been known in some studies to increase a person’s heartbeat, when multiple cannabinoids are studied and not just THC the outcome is much different. This and other studies prove that a combination of cannabinoids often will slow the heartbeat and that the cannabinoid CBD especially will protect from V-Tach or V-Fib.
Like many that take prescription medications, he’s had his problems which led to the need for the beneficial weed, “My body metabolized both of my first prescription medications so fast I’d never have a therapeutic level” he told me. This means that although a person is taking a medication, it moves through the body so quickly there’s no blood serum level. With Epilepsy medications that blood level must be so many parts per million in the blood, if not it can be completely ineffective. “I’m on one right now but it doesn’t completely stop the seizures without the help of cannabis,” he told me – and he’s far from alone. Nearly 1/3rd of all people with seizures do not gain control over them through the use of pharmaceutical medications. As a person with a severe form of Epilepsy myself it’s rather simple – if the medication won’t help we keep seizing and risk SUDEP or Sudden Unexplained Death In Epilepsy Patients. An alarming 50,000 people a year perish to this – that number comes from a 2009 study.
It seemed as if the tide turned quickly about 5 years ago for Cannabis when young Charlotte Figi of Colorado was featured by Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN on multiple segments and specials. I asked Nick when he first discovered that cannabis was medicine and would be an option for him: ” I heard about it being used for medicinal purposes back in 2013, and in turn began to buy medical-grade cannabis illegally within the state of Texas where the law prohibits the sale and possession of cannabis.” I asked him what he thought of the changing laws around the nation, his response was as expected. “Recently becoming a decriminalized state within the past year here, it’s difficult to obtain thanks to the current regulations in place. You have to know the right people. I feel that Texas is too strict on cannabis and it will more than likely be an ongoing problem for years to come for people like myself fighting illness naturally with cannabis here in this state.”
And he’s right. the language in the Texas Compassionate Use Act, which was signed into law in 2015 by Governor Greg Abbott, specifies that patients would need to be “prescribed” medical marijuana from a doctor to have access to the program. This means that Doctors are given the power to prescribe DEA-scheduled drugs, but because cannabis is still federally classified as a schedule 1 drug with “no currently accepted medical use,” it means that doctors are legally not allowed to write a prescription for cannabis. If they do, there is a chance they could lose their medical license and be prosecuted – especially in a state that has never been too keen on the green! When doctors do write a prescription for CBD in the state of Texas a second doctor must concur. So while Texas may have decriminalized Cannabis in certain aspects what they’ve done is create a bottleneck for consumers wanting CBD. “Most will just order it from a source online” Brad Charles, a father in Houston responded to me online when I asked where a parents group in Texas was getting their oils. He went on to tell me, “They take their chances that it will be good. There’s some available in stores but it seems to be very low grade.” From what all parents and patients from Texas have told me, Nick is right in that it’s not so simple to get the beautiful green plant in such a big state. “I have to be careful and getting bud isn’t always easy,” he told me.
Nick went on to tell me more about how Cannabis specifically helps him. “For me, the cannabis medicine slows my heart rate as well as treats my seizures. If I could tell someone considering using it or seeing how it works on others something, one thing I would tell them is that cannabis isn’t a medication for everyone and doesn’t work for everyone, but if it works for you then don’t let anyone control your choices of self-medication to help yourself alive, not even the law.” Then he took it one step further and showed me his Blood Pressure and Pulse before using his Cannabinoid Medicine (Cannabis).
Now that’s scary. Recently changes were made by the American Medical Association to reflect a ‘new normal’ with any readings over 120/80 to be considered ‘borderline’ or ‘high’. What is intense is to see the changes that occur after Nick uses Medicinal Cannabis. Quickly his blood pressure and pulse plummet to acceptable or very near rates – take a look!
I asked Nick what he would tell the global crowd if he could shout from a rooftop and this was his response, “If I could send the world a strong message I would say that if you find a law to be unjust then it is your responsibility to stand with others against it.” Wow, and he’s not alone in that feeling at all. At one point many will debate what is a fact – it was our obligation as citizens of America to do exactly that!
With all the hoopla over California passing Proposition 64, many people across the nation thought that there was an end to prohibition in the state. Slowly the word is moving about outside of the state about the cumbersome regulations that allow the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) to survive. The California legislature provided roughly 500 pages of regulations and nearly a dozen required licenses with hefty fees to back the voter-approved initiative up. This has many wondering what the future of Cannabis will look like in their state. Since I’m in California and watching as the Prop. 64 scene I thought I’d ask him what he thinks about his state a decade down the line. “10 years from now I hope to see Texas legalize cannabis, if not for recreational use, for medicinal use. That means empowering others like myself to have a solid means of receiving treatment by cannabis for any illness they are facing.” I cringed at the thought of waiting an entire decade for legalization. Nicks’s words made me grateful for what I’ve been complaining about – new laws and regulations that seriously hinder what we could do under the work of Dennis Peron (RIP) and company with the famed Proposition 215 Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Nick continued to tell me his thoughts on the future, “I don’t see a positive change for Texas in the near future as far as cannabis is concerned but I am optimistically awaiting the day we hear good news.”
Nick’s intense knowledge of making edibles kept nagging at me. I had to know more so I asked exactly how the Cannabis-Infused Popcorn was made. I was imagining infusing butter the way I do – it’s always dark green. That would look and taste a bit different. He gave me a bit of advice, “The cannabutter is really good after you decarboxylate it. That activates the chemicals the same way as smoking it does and then you make it into the butter and that turns it into the means of infusing it. Basically, just put the bud on a cookie sheet until it’s golden brown around 225-250 degrees.” Well, it seems some of us have intense knowledge about the plant, others have intense knowledge on how to grow the plant, and even better yet – people like Nick have extensive knowledge on how to EAT the plant!!
All kidding aside, my final question to Nick was very intense. I wanted to know about his struggle. Not the physical part of Epilepsy or the mental part of it as I have severe Epilepsy myself. Most of us are aware that it’s far from an easy life. When I asked him if he’d gone through adversity over the use of Cannabis with family and friends the response was one that I’ve heard way too many times. “Yes, the rumors were horrible. The biggest part of the fight for my use of cannabis was back when I was being discrete about my use of it as medication. I was so discrete and kept it to myself so much that it gave life to rumors that I was using methamphetamines and other hard substances instead! That made my family treat me as though I was on those substances – in a sense, they distanced themselves from me and many didn’t want to have anything to do with me and at that moment I decided that it was better to be open about it than to let it tear my family apart.” That part seemed so personal I didn’t want to put it in his story but he insisted and went on to tell me “People need to know what we struggle through and the scrutiny we go through in order to understand we give up everything to fight for our lives even running a risk of losing our families.” Without a doubt Nick is a Medicinal Cannabis Warrior that’s battled far worse than physical ailments – he’s battled rumors, hatred of the plant, the law that’s against him, and a distanced family.
Mike Robinson – Medicinal Cannabis Patient
https://www.facebook.com/MikesEpilepsy
https://www.facebook.com/ThePlantMatters/
@NaturallyAwaken – Twitter
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-robinson-~-cannabis-heals-256b3192/
https://www.mikesmedicines.com/preferred-products/
It was refreshing to have a chat with a very proactive individual like Nick that is so willing to step up to the plate and talk about what matters. If it was up to him I’d be stating his exact hometown in Texas. I admire people who will stand up and talk about what they believe in and what they’re doing. We seem to agree on plenty of issues but the biggest one? Do what you gotta do and get the cannabinoids in your body if you’re fighting an illness that can and will kill you. If you’re fighting an illness that’s taking your life away… that’s taking everything good in life and making it bad – why give in to a government that wants to take away your right to medicate naturally? Especially a government holding patent #6630507 on medicinal cannabis and it’s benefits while swearing up and down to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth – the United States Government. The same government that says the same plant that has zero medicinal benefits and made it Schedule One along with Heroin, LSD, and Angel Dust while allowing foreign companies to explore with patients in pharmaceutical creation and testing. And, the same government that allows Cocaine and Methamphetamine to be Schedule Two stating that coke and meth are medicinal. And… the same government that stands and watches as millions of its citizens die to the selfish acts of greed that created Cannabis Prohibition in the first place.
Mike Robinson – Medicinal Cannabis Patient
Sign up to receive informative and exciting email updates from Mike's Medicines!
You can sign up for our mail list here:
Didn't find what you are looking for?
Find exactly what you want to when you want it.
Browse through our archives by date, category or by entering a topic in the provided search field.
Archives
Categories
More to come as we have time to add them – there’s 100’s of additional publications!
