Beginnings
How the Journey began
The adventure of cultivating and growing cannabis on my own began many years ago. In college, I was taught that MARIJUANA was a gateway drug, incredibly illegal, and had no medicinal value, and if a "druggie" wasn't careful, the road would lead to a heroin needle in the arm. We all know where *that* story goes.
In the years that followed, my future partner was a aficionado of cannabis and it concerned me when he moved and we began to share a home. He wanted to grow a plant, and I was adamant that he get a medical cannabis card as the laws in California didn't yet allow for recreational use or possession. I have a professional license, and did not want to take a chance of losing that license as it was my main source of income. He did get the card (thank you!), and though his attempts to grow weren't terribly successful, I felt it did cover us legally.
Turn the clock ahead a few years and a personal hell returned. I have had a cancer that spreads fast and can be quite deadly if not treated. I had had surgery once before, but more tumors were found unexpectedly and I went into the hospital for a four hour surgery to remove them. Thank the gods the tumors thought to be malignant only mimicked cancer, but were benign. That didn't mean that the after surgery recovery was simple, it was not. The surgical site pain was intense, and as is appropriate, I was given opiate based pain killers.
It was at this time that I thought, "Why not cannabis?" I certainly qualify as a cancer patient, and sought out my first medical cannabis physician recommendation card. That process is a story for another time, but suffice it to say, I was now covered. I went to a couple local medical cannabis dispensaries, found my way around, and though I cannot inhale smoke, edibles were the way I chose to "medicate." Back then, we weren't customers, we were patients; we didn't "do" pot, we medicated; we didn't buy anything, we made a donation. All the semantic gymnastics in order to trade money for cannabis without breaking the law. It was exhausting.
Bottom line, I found that edibles with some over the counter ibuprofen had the same analgesic (pain killing) effect as the Hydrocodone (Vicodin) I had been prescribed for pain. Amazing, to say the least. For me it boiled down to, take too many Vicodin, I could stop breathing and die; too many cannabis edibles and I would be glued to the couch and all the chips and snacks in the house would disappear--but I would still be alive! Besides, cannabis provided some of the same effect as alcohol-based drinks and was easier on my liver, to boot!
That began my journey with cannabis.
Over time, though, the amount of money being spent at local dispensaries, though less than drinks at a bar, was adding up. Friends I knew grew cannabis at home, and I thought, "why not?" I have a tendency to be obsessive-compulsive in what I put my mind to, and the growing of cannabis at home would be no exception. Since no one even speculates that I have a grow at home (within the legal limits, by the way!), as I'm more of an upper management kind of person, the moniker, "Executive Grower" seemed quite apropos!
THAT, boys and girls, is how this adventure began. And I am unanimous in that! (thank you, Mrs. Slocomb!)