It was the summer of
2011 when I reached out online. I had just stopped taking another biologic for
my Crohn’s disease, and I was determined to find a solution to my medical
problems that didn’t offer horrible side effects. I had tried nearly every drug
for my Crohn’s colitis when I posted about my despair with pharmaceuticals, and
that’s when the comment was made to me, “try cannabis.” I wasn’t sure what the
gentleman meant by his comment so I sent him a private message. He explained
that smoking wasn’t the answer. It was ingesting cannabis oil that would make
all the difference in the world. He even introduced me online to a woman who
wrote a book about her story with cannabis oil and how it helped with her
Crohn’s disease. I quickly ordered her book and read it in 2 days. It felt like
a part of me was somehow connected to this woman’s story. We were both
survivors, and we had both overcome days where we thought tomorrow was not
possible. In her book, she explained how to make small amounts of cannabis oil
from home with a glass dome vaporizer. She even had an online video showing her
method. It seemed easy enough to do, so I ordered a vaporizer and began making cannabis
oil daily.
At the time, I was
buying anti-diarrheal medication in bulk because I was taking 3-10 pills a day.
I was also taking prescribed codeine sulfate to help slow down my bowels along
with a list of other prescription drugs. I kept a journal of my journey through
this period of ingesting cannabis oil. I began with one rice-sized drop of oil
daily for the first 3 days. On the fourth day, I began taking two doses - one
in the morning and one in the evening. On day 5, a miracle occurred: I did not
need any anti-diarrheal medication! I had taken this over-the-counter medicine
for so many years that I couldn’t even remember the last time I didn’t need it.
Something great was happening to me. I continued ingesting cannabis oil twice a
day for months and started weaning myself off most of the pharmaceuticals that
I was prescribed.
My husband and I made
the decision to begin making large quantities of cannabis oil so that I wasn’t
having to make it every day. We purchased a rice cooker and began soaking plant
material with grain alcohol in glass jars. Every couple of weeks we would
reduce the alcohol using a rice cooker. We burned out several rice cookers
doing this process. It always made me nervous knowing that what we were doing
was not yet legal in our state, which led me to decide to stop ingesting the
cannabis oil. With my next Crohn’s flare-up,
I relied on steroids and continued them for a couple of years while we patiently
waited for the law to change.
In the meantime, I
had a revelation. I knew that a kitchen appliance with a removable lid could
make tinctures and cannabis oil - all in one machine. I began drawing pictures
and collaborating ideas with my husband. For a week, I would wake up in the
middle of the night and write down my thoughts on a notepad that I kept next to
my bed. I was not used to having dream recall, so this experience was
extraordinary. With my husband’s full support, we began pursuing this dream. We
recently received our patent on the apparatus and method of use, and our
Slow-Mix™ working prototype is nearly complete. As a sufferer myself, I want
nothing more than to be able to help others who are sick. It’s compassion, and
it will make all the difference in the world.
