If you want to understand why some people are so passionate about the power of cannabis as medicine, just read this quote: “It almost seemed like we had this magic potion that other people couldn’t get to,” said Pete’s wife, Julie.
Pete is Pete Frates- a Boston man who was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, named after the famed baseball player. Watch a YouTube video of Lou’s remarkable career here.
ALS is a monster of a disease. As people lose motor function and struggle with tons of other issues, the stress and anger can be overwhelming.
Frates was prescribed every anti-anxiety medication known to man before he found cannabis. None of them worked. But his last days were thankfully a little easier thanks to quality treatment and medicine and now his family is fighting the good fight for others that find themselves in similar circumstances.
And this where cannabis is special. It’s increasingly common that people like the Frates family become activists precisely because they were there to see the difference the medicine makes. And maybe, just maybe if we can grow and kick our addiction to the racist, destructive and costly drug war, people at the end of their lives might be able to get some relief from pain and stress.
Medicine that works shouldn’t be “a magic potion that works that other people can’t get to.” But in a country where “marijuana” is more deadly and addictive than crack and fentanyl and where legislation is literally written by Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson it’s less about guys like Frates that need help and all about who gets the money he’s forced to spend on medication.
This is why the people need to keep the heat turned up regardless of political outcomes. All the hard work and progress we’ve seen (Frates is a great example) could be for nothing if Big Pharma continues to call the shots regarding our health.
Youtube video of a veteran helping his wife suffering with ALS