Before you get into reading this I want to forewarn you that I am in rare form. I don’t spend a lot of time getting my emotions wrapped up into political issues, I’ve been around politics and law enough of my life to know more than I wish I did. Hearing the stories I’ve heard during my life, I’ve learned a thing or two about motives AND how to question everyone in politics to figure out their motive for supporting or opposing things. My dad always says, “Follow the money.” so I am a questioner for sure. I asked my daughter and her college friend if they knew what a lobbyist was and neither had a clue. These are our Oklahoma high school graduates with some college, and that is an important piece of information to have tucked away. So, what I am frustrated about today is Question 788 and I am going to share my heart on the subject for those of you who would like to read on.
This past week I began another round of pain in my neck, shoulders, and down into my hands and it has been almost unbearable. Even writing this is a challenge but one I decided to take on for the sake of being heard in the midst of this pain. I saw my pain manager today, for the last several months we have decreased my medicine, by my request, to a place that I was praying to get off all together. Last November I had ablations done in my neck the day before Thanksgiving and after a full six weeks of recovering, I have been so much better that doing life has been an option. (For new readers, I have metal shoulders due to an automobile accident when I was 30. Since then I have had an additional several surgeries on my arms and shoulders for tears and nerve impingement. I’ve also had 8 surgeries on my left foot and 4 on my right in addition to two fully open abdominal surgeries, one of which saved my life nearly nine years ago. We’ve done many more procedures on many parts of my body including the seven I endured in 2015 for pancreatic stones. In January 2016 I was hit on the drivers side of my car in the rear and it has damaged at least four of the facet joints in my neck and that is the area I had ablations done.) I have definitely felt better although it felt as if he missed one of the facets and so it’s hurt the entire time. I began to itch in the upper part of my back about six weeks ago and had no idea why it was happening until I mentioned it to Hubby and here’s the deal, the nerves have grown back and my neck is on fire and hurting SO badly! The recovery from the procedure was hard on me last time, I hope that I will do better with it now that I am not anemic. Today she told me I may have to do this every 6-8 months for the rest of my life, holy crap! My only other option is when at its worst, I lay in bed on ice packs and take stupid amounts of pain medication; that does not sound like a long term plan to me.
Needless to say, I live life at about a 4, some days worse and some a little better. With pain you have increased cortisol in your body which causes weight gain and all kinds of problems Hubby has told me about, none of which are good. Your mind and body cannot withstand high levels of cortisol on continual mode, it’s highly damaging. In America we thrive and survive on adrenaline and our cortisol levels are out of this world! Everyone hurts and that just isn’t the way it should be. So, how do we counteract that? Or can we? I’ve been to two places where marijuana is legal and I have eaten the forbidden fruit and tried it, can I just say wow? My body was so relaxed and my mind was quieted for the first time in years it felt like I could breathe. I’ve done a bit of research as to why this is happening and it is really scientifically sound as an anti-anxiety medication. If you never have tried, even edible or oil forms, I would encourage it. God had a purpose for that plant and He is the one that created it.
I didn’t finish this post yesterday because I was hurting so much, so today the damage to the voters’ question is done. Mary Fallon has signed the “rules” for how and when marijuana can be administered to Oklahomans and it is bullshit. Please excuse my term if using cow feces offends, but it is the only word a friend of mine and I can use to describe what they have done with our vote. They have truly made it a mockery by going all the way to taking out the sale of all smokeable forms of the plant. Are you kidding me? What are we, children? I thought the legal smoking age was 18 in Oklahoma?
Anyway, it’s just wrong. They are not thinking of the people that are sick and in pain that truly need this instead of opiates that are killing people all around us. Pain is hard to deal with because you are not only dealing with that pain, but then all of your nervous system is on heightened alert and not only is your mind anxious, your body is anxious as well. Doing any kind of normal life and treating those around us with kindness becomes fully impossible some days, pain takes over and patience is out the door. I personally don’t want to smoke marijuana, I was looking forward to the opportunity of getting other forms that will work just as well. I am not looking to hurt myself anymore, I am merely seeking the benefit of this plant because I can’t and won’t take the anxiety medicines that are also killing people. I am here to say that if it weren’t for Jesus Himself helping me out of the storms, I might be taking those pills. I am so very grateful that I am not today, they are truly bad news and I can’t do it today. I used to take them and it was hell on my marriage, on my kids, on my work, and today I say no to those as boldly as a nurse did on Sooner Politics to marijuana. She wants us to go traditional medicine routes and frankly, I get it, she refuses to try it though she has severe autoimmune diseases and is terminal. I don’t get that either, you’re dying and always hurting, people say it works so try it for goodness sakes. Experience trumps so many people’s words and thoughts for me though. Smoking it is harmful to the lungs, but it is still the right of the adults of our great state to decide, they do not need these types of laws added as if they are children. If you haven’t ever smoked, you probably won’t choose that first, right?
I am frustrated and I think the people of the great state of Oklahoma are getting screwed. I’ve already read one gentleman’s post who stated that he voted no on SQ788 but the people said yes, therefore now he is signing the petition for recreational question to be on the ballot in November. If you would like to sign it, they have until August 1, I believe, and there are several locations you can go by and sign. They are still needing about 20,000 more signatures to make it happen. It is a plant my friends, and yes there are some harmful things to it, but there are a lot of harmful things to all the pills and the alcohol we consume daily to do life better. Please educate yourselves and listen to testimony, it is the most powerful thing we have to share. I love Jesus and I am grateful for marijuana becoming an option for my life to have some relief. Please make an informed decision, you may have someone that is close to you that would benefit and they may never get to find out.
“Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit the trees for food.” Genesis 1:29
“”I assure you, we will tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you will not believe our testimony.””
John 3:11
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