What do you think about... People who use medical marijuana ?

I am torn about this whole "debate" that rages on and on. It does seem that everyone who has any type of hiccup or cramp can get a medical marijuana prescription these days. There are Green centers on every city block (at least in Van Nuys) several within walking distance of each other. There is no doubt that the prescriptions are being abused, any doubters out there?? And yet I do believe that some people whith chronic issues are being helped by cannabis. I for one never liked the drug when I tried it, more of a peer pressure thing and me wanting to "fit" in with the crowd I was hanging with at the time. It is a stupid drug, and I mean that literally, it will take away IQ points faster than a speeding bullet and it deteriorates short term memory with the same rapidity. I have hated marijuana because it has caused pain in my life, broken promises, tarnished and ruined relationships and generally just the smell of the stinking stuff gives me a migraine. I hate marijuana really and truly down to the very marrow of my bones I abhor and detest this smelly weed. I am however married to a man who has been hit by 2 cars, had Bells Palsy (any undetermined paralysis)three times, has had arthroscopic shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff injury (it only took 14 years to get the doctors to ok the surgery) and he did not heal well, the doctor told him he has the shoulder of a 75 year old. He has back spasms and arthritis and although he looks normal (on good days) on the outside, he is miserable and unable to do much of anything these days due to pain. Chronic and consistent pain that renders him unable to mow our lawn without being practically bedridden for the next 3 days. And so the doctors give him vicodin and soma, but usually never enough to actually "get through" the month pain free. So, I have watched this forty-something man for the last few years fall apart and become depressed and angry and all the range of emotions in between at the fact his body is not allowing him the ability to move as he wants, the ability to sleep when he wants and to do the things he wants to do. And so we go to visit one of "THOSE" doctors to see about a prescription for marijuana.. And sometimes it helps him,other times it seems like a placebo a very expensive placebo. I still hate marijuana, and sometimes I wonder if I am being conned (yeah, he has always had a thing for pot, but was he self medicating or am I just trying to grasp at straws?) The cost is enormous, and with only my income I wonder why the price is sooo high..HAHA no pun intended. Why cant the price be more reasonable? I mean seriously what does it sell on the street for??? I believe people need their medical marijuana, but how the hell do they afford it? I am tired of him smelling like pot all the time, his clothes, his hands...yuck it is a turn off because I dont like the smell or the effects. I want my husband to be as pain free as possible, but I find myself drawing away from him as the cost (I have to put in alot of extra hours just to make ends meet, and then add at least $400 extra for the pot) the smell which triggers some terrible migraines even though I am on medication and his lack of accomplishing anything around the house. I feel like I am alone in this effort, I know he is in pain, but I am tired of coming home after a 12 hour day and there isnt a clean dish to cook dinner in. I cant do it all and I am getting weary of carrying my carcass and his down this road. Wow, I guess this turned into a soapbox instead of a blog.. Just venting into cyberspace because I am ashamed to talk about it to the few friends I do have.

Thoughts and Processes

Hello, I am looking to create a place where I can bounce ideas and out into cyberspace and connect with others who are seeking the same. I am a 48 year old wife, mom and grandma who needs an outlet for some of the challenging and distressing issues that have been attacking me and the family for the last 3 years. Homegrown or homespun therapy as it were. I work for a state agency that monitors physical and mental conditions in the general public and how it effects their ability to safely drive on our highways and bi-ways. This can be extremely stressful since 99% of the driving public believe that their Independence is directly linked to their ability to get into their car and go when and where they please. I am the face, or the voice of the bureaucracy that licenses their driving privilege and hence The Enemy!It takes energy and patience to try and calmly explain to someone that their doctor has diagnosed them with a physical or mental condition that will generate a revocation of their driving privilege, many people are in denial about the seriousness of the condition. They are angry and want names and say they are going to sue the department and the doctors, others have mental conditions that have destroyed their short term memory and so they will call multiple times a day and ask the same questions or repeat the same stories. When you try and explain that you have spoken with them the seem incredulous and deny they have called, but the comments are there and you know the condition is not getting better. Then you also have the family members to contend with, some feel our department is not moving fast enough and some feel that we are just an idiotic system infringing on their lives, either way we rarely "win". With the furloughs that have been set in place by the Governator, our immense piles of paperwork are moving even more slowly through the evaluation and review processes necessary to complete each file. I feel overwhelmed every day as I ride the multiple buses I have to take to work and wonder if the service I am trying to provide is in fact doing what it was intended to do.... Some days you get a Thank You from a customer, but those days are rare and few. Not that I am in it for accolades or pats on the back, but it seems to me I should feel more confident that the job I am doing is helpful to society as a whole and not quite as draining to me in the entire scheme of things. I suppose I believe that I should feel more content with doing a necessary job that keeps the public safe, but I am becoming more and more worn out and depressed with my job. So, the question is: what do you do to regenerate yourself and get back into being energized and optimistic about your job?? Leave your comments and Thanks for taking the time to share!