'Marijuana doesn't make us crazy, the illness does'

SPEAKERS CORNER
By Lynn Harichy

I would like to correct some responses to my recent arrest for using
marijuana. I never once said marijuana was a cure for anything, let
alone multiple sclerosis. I recently heard a woman in Sarnia say that
on the news.

All I am saying is that the herb marijuana helps me cope better with this
terrible disease. It is an embarrassing, indignant and frightening burden
that God felt I could handle. When I first got multiple sclerosis, I used
to wet my pants, but since I’ve been smoking small amounts more frequently,
this hasn’t happened. I have more control.

I know not everyone believes in God but I do and I believe God does
everything for a reason. I have been searching for a reason God thought I
should have this terrible disease.

He put me here to fight for the sick, disabled, elderly and everyone else I
feel compassionate about. I love people and always have. My mom used to
say when I was younger I was going to save the world. All I am doing is
using God’s plants for my benefit. I know it’s from God because tests show
it is relatively safe, unlike tobacco, which has been proven to be the
opposite. If you’ve ever smoked and tried to quit you know what I mean.
Smoking, cooking and drinking the oil of marijuana means I can confront
other challenges, such as the poverty our children face day after day and
how our elderly and disabled are being treated.

They are being scared out of neighborhoods because of crimes being
committed against them and others. I can’t believe we worry about who is
smoking marijuana and where it’s being grown, wasting tax dollars on this
and taking that money away from other big issues.

Let’s say the relief I think I am getting is only in my head. Isn’t that
where multiple sclerosis is? Based on the reading I’ve done, this is a
disease of the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) which
also affects the immune system (a network of body cells that protect
against infectious agents).

Marijuana should be available for medical users. The only person who is
going to know if they get some relief from it is them.

Not the only thing

Marijuana is not the only thing I do for my condition. I also exercise
when I smoke. I think more and write letters such as this one and make
decisions to better my life when I smoke. I also greet people and talk a
lot when I smoke. When I don’t smoke I’m introverted and quiet. I’m too
tired to do anything with my life, especially to go to school. Even going
to the corner is too hard a chore.

I mean no disrespect to anyone. I want to further myself and will do that
the best way I can. If that means smoking marijuana, then who has the
right to stop me or others with this belief? If any harm had come to me
from what I was doing, then I would stop and that would have happened long
ago. Not everyone is going to experience the same benefits as I.

A lot of people out there are just like me. Marijuana doesn’t make us
crazy, the illness we have does. Some of those trial drugs we use seem to
make it worse. Friends excuse me after my outbursts, saying, "I know you
don’t mean it, you’re on that medicine again."

This is a hard disease to figure out. Many people say, "You don’t look
like you have multiple sclerosis," or "I guess it’s not as bad?" But I feel
bad when I haven’t smoked marijuana for a while.

Lynn Harichy, 36, is a resident of London. She has had multiple sclerosis
since she was 18 years old.