Testimonial - Oom Boom
My journey with cannabis started in 1991-92 in J-bay. The first time I smoked it left me wondering what this is all about and why are all my friends laughing so much as it did nothing for me. The third or fourth time I smoked it had an effect and it was amazing, I then realised what the fuss was about so became a regular smoker, mostly kaartjie and half “arms” we bought through Jimmy, a friend’s gardener.
I was almost caught buying in the streets once that gave me a scare which made me decide to buy through people I knew and or waited for it to cross my path.
Since then, I have always smoked; sometimes a lot, sometimes only once or twice a month, but it was always there. About 10 years ago a friend told me to try out cannabis tea when he heard about my severe muscle spasms in my back. At first, I found it hard to believe as it did not do much to relieve the pain when I smoked it.
My muscle spasms were severe; so severe that I had not had a good night’s rest in years and at times the pain was so excruciating that I would lose consciousness.
After some research, which seemed promising, I decided to get a bankie and try the tea out. It was a simple tea at first, just 1/4 teaspoon of powdered bud in a cup of rooibos. Figured it best to ingest the whole plant so did not strain out the powder so it had the extra bonus of getting me high.
A few months in I learnt how to extract different types of oils from the plant which made dosing easier and more accurate.
Well, from the get-go it helped, not much in the first few days besides the fact that I could sleep through the night for the first time in years, but a definite improvement was seen so I continued. Over the next month the spasms decreased gradually with each passing day and up to this day I’ve had no problem with spasms again.
I also saw a noticeable difference in my blood pressure and blood sugar levels. At that time I had been recently diagnosed with diabetes but I always had a problem with high blood pressure and heart palpitations. I was in and out of hospital every month or so trying to control my blood pressure problems.
What came as a surprise was that after three months of self-medicating with the cannabis tea, I no longer needed blood pressure and blood sugar medication. It was an exhilarating and relieving experience after so many years of struggling to keep my body regulated.
At first, I kept this discovery to myself as cannabis was highly illegal back then, but after seeing what it did for kids with epilepsy as well, I decided to start spreading the word as much as I could. To see the instant relief it brought them and thinking that this “safe and effective medicine” is illegal is seriously wrong on so many levels that I didn’t care and needed to help others get access to this information. So my journey as an activist to the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis began.
On the growing side, things did not go so well on the first effort. I knew nothing about growing this plant although I loved gardening and growing in general. I planted in mid-winter leaving me with a tiny harvest. The second attempt went far better, and I remember being elated with my 156g harvest which still seems like a joke to me now.
Well, the years progressed and a lot of knowledge was gained through research, interacting online with what are now my close friends and later on joining The Living Collective Group; a bunch of great humans with great knowledge pertaining to the plant and discovering natural clean ways of growing with unequalled fellowship. There are just too many groups and wonderful people to mention but I love and appreciate them all.
I’m extremely grateful for this plant, for the pleasure it brings growing it, the medicine it gives, the people it brought across my path and friends I’ve made in the industry over the years and the many great lessons it has taught me.
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