Do YOU partake?
As we observe 4/20, a day many cannabis enthusiasts celebrate, I spend the morning in quiet reflection.
I’m a medical cannabis user. I have been for years, even before recreational or medical cannabis was legal in my state.
As a pre-teen with a chronic illness that no medicines could help, I accidentally discovered cannabis alleviated many of my symptoms when I was in middle school. Still, I kept my secret to myself (because this medicine was forbidden, illegal, and heavily stigmatized).
My parents would have flipped.
Adults always thought I was high, even when I was perfectly sober. This never bothered me when I knew they were wrong, but I never wanted them to catch me and “be right” (because I’m not a great liar and was sure I’d be caught).
It wasn’t worth the risk.
I was always afraid of getting caught, so I never went home after partaking, stashing my stash at a friend’s place or in a well-considered hiding spot outdoors (to avoid bringing the smells indoors).
Ironically, cannabis has a different affect on me than it does to many people I’ve met, I don’t act “silly” after I partake.
If anything I it makes it easier for me to pass as NeuroTypical, because I am calmer, more focused, less agitated, and my relaxed body has less need to move and sensory seek.
Fast forward to 2024
I plan to partake with one of those adults from whom I hid my plant habit (and my hyperfocus on plant medicines because weed was one of my specialized, focused interests that was deemed inappropriate growing up) all those years ago.
When I was a teen having any amount of pot on you in Texas would earn you a trip to jail.
Now, on 4/20, in the year 2024, Autism is a qualifying condition that entitles one to medical cannabis in Texas (and many other states)-though the medical stuff here is NOT very good (and over-the-counter is better and more potent).
This has caused some confusion because it’s led people to (falsely) believe that cannabis is a good “treatment for Autism” when, in reality, it just happens to be good for many co-occurring conditions that Autistic People are more likely to experience.
For example (though everyone is unique), it helps me with:
- IBS and digestive distress/making me eat so I don’t forget
- Insomnia
- Social anxiety (and other kinds of anxiety)
- Keeping seizures in check
- Reducing sensory overloads & sensory distress – which helps prevent migraines that I used to have frequently
- Regulating my ADHD because I’ve had trouble with the medications
- Helping me with my trauma recovery as part of the self-work I’ve been doing
Individual results may vary.
I share this not to convince anyone to try cannabis (because some people may have very bad reactions to it because, just like any medicine, it is NOT for everyone), but to illustrate that cannabis is not “TREATING MY AUTISM” it is alleviating pain, discomfort, and distress that comes from my otherwise debilitating co-occurring conditions (that many other Autistic People also have), making me more able to keep up with the demands this world places on me.
Funny how time can change things.
On the one hand, we’ve made remarkable progress toward legalization, with many states and countries repealing prohibition at various levels. While all of this is exciting, we still have a lot of work to do.
I’ve written about this topic in the past.
Previous Writings
- Happy 420: Reminder our government used racist propaganda to fuel our country’s fear of cannabis to criminalize its users
- Autism and Cannabis: My Personal Experience as an Autistic Person Using Medical Cannabis for My Co-occurring Conditions
- Beyond Picky Eating: How Autism & ARFID Can Shape Our Relationship with Food
I’m sitting in Texas, enjoying a product that can be purchased at one of MANY legal dispensaries that offer federally legal products that (if you know what you’re looking for) work just as well as what I could get in Colorado and Nex Mexico (but even cheaper). Our edibles are more potent here, too.
Legal weed in Texas is something I never could have imagined when I was growing up. Still, here in Texas, where regulations on Delta and other CBD products are minimal, access isn’t even limited to dispensaries.
Texas cannabis can be found in most Texas cities, even in the smallest of towns, and it’s (currently) accessible and affordable to get.
Though I personally am hesitant to buy them, many gas stations and other stores in Texas now carry these items.
The unregulated nature of this new industry means many questionable products are out there.
While our unregulated weed industry has some downsides, a significant upside is that cannabis has become widely destigmatized in this state, largely thanks to increased access, as well as thanks to brands like HomeTown Heros from Austin, Texas (not sponsored), who have fought cannabis prohibition in Texas as advocates for veterans with PTSD, who found this plant helpful.
Yet, even as we celebrate our victories, my mind is drawn to the many lingering injustices that permeate this holiday and the state of legal cannabis today.
We are out here, enjoying our legal medicines, but what about the many people who are still currently incarcerated for offenses related to these same plants many of us can now grab at the local 7/11?
What about people who have been let out but now have a criminal record for selling, buying, or possessing something legal to sell, buy, and possess in many places (many of whom now find themselves barred from participating in the legal industry)?
Wait a minute.
You mean, the people who were dedicated enough to this plant that they were willing to break the law for it are not allowed to take part in its legal production?
Yep.
Maybe it’s just me, but those are the people I would want caring for my plants—not somebody with no passion or knowledge on the subject.
This has been an excerpt from a longer Substack post.
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