Carrie King is a wife, mother, grandmother and cannabis user. It’s not just for kicks. It’s the best medicine she has had, but it’s been a long strange trip getting to this point.
In 2004, Carrie was having terrible headaches and something was just not right at all. Her husband rushed her to the ER. Carrie didn’t realize she had suffered a brain aneurysm. While the doctors worked on her, she suffered a second one. Doctors induced a coma with opiates and she stayed in that state for over a month.
It quickly upended her life. “I had really bad short term memory memory problems following this,” King shared. The cycle of opiates and refills that followed didn’t help. Depression led her to a scary point where she realized something had to change. She sought help to get away from the opiates and put all of that behind her, and she did with the help of friends and support.
In 2014, she was diagnosed with cancer. Carrie had two surgeries, followed by chemotherapy. “They pump you full of all kinds of medication and fluids. It’s an 8-hour process and I would be so swollen after a session.” Her oncologist wrote her a prescription for Marinol, synthetic THC. It made her very high. Too high.
A friend suggested she consider becoming a medical marijuana patient. Carrie works at a local hospital teaching yoga to people in substance abuse recovery. Worried that marijuana could be a problem for her, she approached friends working in addiction services. They assured her that there are many in the recovery community who are on the “marijuana maintenance program” and doing well.
She made some calls, got the hookup and started smoking weed. “I’m not loaded down on a bunch of medications and I can function and be a normal person.”
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As a resident of South Carolina, Carrie puts herself at risk from law enforcement by being a cannabis user. It is a risk that she is willing to take. “Why can’t I smoke a bowl, have a good evening and go to bed? I am in my 50’s and just starting to see what this plant can do. We need to legalize this plant.”
Carrie just wants to be as pain free as possible and lead a fulfilling life. She believes many other people can benefit in the same way and vows to continue to share her story with others. “I will continue to voice my gratitude for this plant for helping me through a tough time and for teaching me something.”
