Yes, I’m definitely done

There’s not been a lot to say lately, hence the lack of posts. I just don’t have the time or energy to keep up here. I’ll be shutting down commenting today, though the contact form may remain up for a while since I still get occasional questions from people in tough situations like ours.

Alex’s situation hasn’t changed a lot since his return from KKI. We’ve stopped with the cannabis tinctures despite having a wonderful donor (TJ’s Organic Gardens), because we just couldn’t figure out what he needs. We’ve found that while our initial struggles were lack of knowledge and supply, our struggle now is figuring out how it’s actually affecting Alex. His inability to communicate has always made medications difficult, but in the case of cannabis, this country’s bullshit paranoia has made research so spotty that it’s 100% up to the parents to guess at dosage, strain, etc.

So it’s with a lot of frustration that we decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to keep trying. While we still believe in cannabis, it’s just not going to work for Alex until there’s a lot more research and understanding of which components (THC, THCa, CBD, CBN, etc.) are best for different ailments. And as long as that’s the case, we just have no choice but to watch the idiot lawmakers keep screwing up the rules instead of making smart, compassionate decisions.

Quick update – Alex has oils again!

We got Alex’s OMMP card recently, and we now have a donor (TJ’s Organic Gardens), so we’re able to give Alex a blend of high-CBD and high-THC oils, mixed to whatever ratio we think will work best. We’re not sure how much he needs or what ratio, so it’s still a bit of a guessing game (TJ’s has been giving us pointers), but we’re back to being able to dose him again, which is obviously very important. And we can dose him TWICE a day since he’s so close to us. In practice, we’ll probably miss a dose here and there, which sucks, but so far we’ve hit a lot more two-dose days than not.

In other news, the U.S. Senate is considering a bill to reschedule cannabis. Please support the Carer’s Act so that kids like Alex can get cannabis without jumping through absurd hoops. (For instance, if we go on vacation, nobody is legally allowed to dose him)

Why 2015 could be Alex’s best year

I touched a little on it recently, but Alex’s new home’s upper management seem to be significantly more concerned about doing what’s best for Alex than his last home. This is just one of many reasons I’m thinking this year could be the first one where things really start looking up. Continue reading “Why 2015 could be Alex’s best year”

Updates – KKI, hash oil, and general news

I’d like to say first and foremost that we wanted to thank all of our supporters. in the past few months, even with very few updates from us, we have received tons of emails and Facebook messages supporting us and our cause. The responses and emails about my recent blog post, “I think I’m done”, have been extraordinary. To answer the most common concern I’ve seen: no, we’re not giving up on cannabis — we’re just not writing updates as often. Continue reading “Updates – KKI, hash oil, and general news”

Why cannabis must be legalized – a non-user’s perspective

The federal government recently refused to reclassify cannabis, stating it still hasn’t been proven to have medical value. Of course, it’s a tough thing to prove when the government allows very limited research on the subject. And to be honest, even if they do reclassify it, we don’t much care anymore. We want full legalization, even though neither Alex’s mother nor myself use cannabis. Why? Continue reading “Why cannabis must be legalized – a non-user’s perspective”

Another month of quiet

I write to tell about what has happened in Alex’s life, or to mention exciting activism-related information. But Alex’s status hasn’t changed in such a long time that there hasn’t been much to say other than describing the up-and-down nature of our visits or talking about the (still several months off) vote on Measure 80. With the full-time job, 2-3 Alex visits a week, and our family situation in general, it’s tough to feel like writing after a long day.

Writing becomes even harder when Alex’s mood takes a turn for the worse. Continue reading “Another month of quiet”

What’s the problem? Why can’t Alex just come home so we can figure this out?

With the recent surge in traffic I’ve seen variations of these questions posted as comments as well as asked directly. Some people think that if cannabis works to calm Alex, then we have no good reason to not take Alex home and just dose him ourselves. Back when Alex was first moved from Salem, one woman suggested, directly to my face, that if we cared enough, we wouldn’t keep Alex in a group home, and that we didn’t have any right to complain because we had made our choice.

I should note that some of the confusion may be due to the Treating Yourself article — as in any article trying to get a lot of information across in a concise way, there are a lot of details left out, and some elements are slightly changed to simplify the explanation of the situation. The article is a great way to expose people to the damaging effects of prohibition, but it does gloss over some details that can make our plight seem confusing.

Unfortunately, the story is a lot more complicated than it seems at a glance. I tend to sound like I’m saying, “cannabis is Alex’s miracle drug”, when I really mean that it is his best option, and probably better for his situation than any drug available. Cannabis is an amazing substance. But Alex’s situation is extreme: Continue reading “What’s the problem? Why can’t Alex just come home so we can figure this out?”

Thanks, Treating Yourself, reddit, and family

The past two months have shown a big surge in traffic to the site, and a TON of supportive comments and emails.

Last month I made a big post on Huffington Post, and got a lot of traffic, but it turns out it was more due to a share on Reddit than anything else. So to all the fine people on r/trees, thanks! If you haven’t seen r/trees, it’s a great place for 420-friendly people to exercise their right to free speech, something cannabis consumers too often feel they can’t (or shouldn’t) do. Continue reading “Thanks, Treating Yourself, reddit, and family”