Friday, March 06, 2009

Pain sucks


Had to stay home yesterday. I don't take many days off from work. There was a day when I could go years without missing a day. Not anymore. Seems the years are catching up to us. (and grabbing us from behind, kicking the shit out of us and taking our money)

I have some grief with circulation in my legs. Not to get too graphic but I have to go to the vascular clinic every week to have my legs wrapped up. Not a pleasant experience.

The pain was off the chart yesterday so I stayed home to writhe on the floor, crying like a toddler with a toothache as opposed to doing it at work. I couldn't sit still long enough to post anything or concentrate on the next part of my series on cannabis.

Which brings me to my next point. After talking to my primary care provider (those are doctors, right?) I can get a prescription for medical marijuana. WTF?

You mean, after years of stalking about back alleys, going to some stranger's apartment that reeks of strawberry incense and beer, whose walls are plastered with Judas Priest posters and Mexican blankets; dudes that look like Cheech and Chong's alien love child and pay exorbitant prices for shit that's still wet...now, I can go to a place and buy some Bhab legally without fear of Johnny Law coming down my driveway with a warrant to turn my life inside out?

Good god, Martha, am I in Heaven?

Not quite. Now, the reality...

I can get medical marijuana but only if it comes from a recognized source. The law is kinda iffy about getting it from 'other than official' sources. That said, there are no official sources. There are cannabis clubs but they are miles away and I can't drive too much any more.

I haven't been a customer of the ghanj in a long time. This is new territory for me. The other impediment is my employer. You see, in the liberal world I live in, if the state says its OK for me to smoke pot for my pain, then my employer will just go along with it.

Yeah... right.

I work for a large international corporation that has every new employee pee in a cup upon hiring. They frown on people coming to work with the munchies and smelling like bong water. Regardless of what the State of Washington said about my ability to use cannabis for medical purposes, federally I would still be breaking the law. And that law would be the one my employer would follow.

Simply put, if I use my prescription and start smoking pot; I look for another job.

This is the conundrum of medical marijuana. As long as the federal government has cannabis listed as Schedule 1, meaning there is NO medical benefit from the drug, there will always be a solid legal foundation for anyone fired or dismissed for using it.

So, I have my prescription but can't use it. I am in pain and can't find relief short of nasty opiates and pain killers that would make me dependant or worse. (Visions of Rush Limpballs come to mind - 'shudder')

Today, I'm not so bad. We'll take it day to day and hope for the best. In the meantime, I'll keep pounding the hammer on changing the laws to allow folks like me to, not only get the medicine they need, but get the legal right to do so without fear of reprisal.

Addendum: Heartfelt thanks to Grandpa Eddie and Liberality for their words of support. I'm not one to put my aches and pains on the Toobs for all to see, but I felt that a point needed to be made about the shortcomings of the medical marijuana laws.

I'm not as bad as some folks who really need this law changed and its for them that I do this work. I was a recreational user for years and would be again if circumstances were different. I feel that makes my marijuana needs secondary to those of folks who really need the herb for relief.

Addendum 2: Thanks One Fly, you bring up a point I neglected to make very clear. I am old school in that you show up to work at the best you can be. If you're too sick to work, stay home. I hope I didn't give the impression I would be quaffing the ghanj while working... no, no, and fuck no. But One Fly made a point in that even if I'm completely sober while at work, I still would test positive on the Whiz Quiz. For whatever reason my employer wanted to request a test, I would fail due to prescribed use even if only at home. On a federal level, being only a state prescribed drug doesn't offer any protection against dismissal. If I were hurt at work through no fault of my own and I were tested for pot, I could be denied benefits due through employer-based workman's comp.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

6 comments:

Grandpa Eddie said...

Sucks, dude.
I know it helps with the pain I get from the RA and Fibromyalgia that I suffer from, but medical hemp ain't legal in 'Sconsin.

Hopefully one day soon...the sooner the better...the Feds will change all that.

Hope ya get to feelin' better, David.
I know how bad things can get to hurtin'.

Life As I Know It Now said...

Hope you are feeling better soon. You have my sympathy and my ear. Maybe Obama will change the drug laws to more accurately reflect logical thinking but I wouldn't hold my breath.

David Aquarius said...

I appreciate your thoughts, folks.

Thanks for the consideration.

One Fly said...

Changes are so long overdue but no one is even talking about that possibility. If I get hurt at work I will pay it myself rather than let them fuck with me.

Don't do it at work and never have or will. Don't let me catch you out there doing it either.

The catch 22 of course is that if you get hurt and you're not high you still test positive.

I'm so goddamn sick of the mentality concerning this and nothing has hardly changed in decades. Sonsofbitches! Good luck and may you get better soon.

Anonymous said...

.
There is nothing positive about the 'War on Drugs', absolutely nothing. It just makes all drug related problems worse.
.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
marijuana is evil

especially to stop pain
must use costly chemicals

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
disregard states' drug laws

the Federal Government
must protect the drug war

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
never create more addicts

if it makes less criminals
and leads to less prisons

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
outlaw all alcohol

make cigarettes illegal
organized crime takes over
.
USpace
.
All real freedom starts with freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech there can be no real freedom.
.
Philosophy of Liberty Cartoon
.
Visit: HaltTerrorism.com
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:)
.

Bukko Boomeranger said...

That's America! Your piss in a cup counts for more than your performance in your job.

There's urine testing here, but it's not widespread. Mainly for transportation workers like train drivers. But it's not like the U.S., where if you get hurt on the job, the company wants you to pee in the cup in the hopes that you'll test dirty and they'll have an excuse to deny you any bennies. It's all about screwing the worker there.

One of the reasons Oz doesn't pull that crap -- in spite of the antiquated notions about pot (even young people believe it causes schizophrenia) -- is because of unions. Bosses try to implement random drug testing to harrass workers, they're going to have to deal with "industrial action" (Aussie for workplace slowdowns/picketing/strikes). I'm so glad I got outta the U.S., Sham.