HEALTH
Here Mom, Smoke This. It's Good for You.
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Cannabis could help your mother live a healthier, happier life.
Published on May 6, 2016

This article goes out to all the mammas in the house. We wish to honor you with the love and respect that you deserve for nurturing our bodies and comforting us in our times of need. Mother Gaia, Mother Shakti, Mother Mary, Mother Magdalene, White Buffalo Calf Woman, Goddess Isis, all female entities of creation across the pantheons of our great planet, we thank you for your gift of life. And of course, we pay homage to the feminine cannabis plant for the healing that she brings through her flower.

One of the greatest healing attributes of the cannabis plant in our modern, industrialized age is in the treatment of cancer. Consumption of red meat, inflammatory foods, and environmental contaminants can contribute to the high rates of cancer that we see in the United States. Research shows that smoking cannabis can be anti-carcinogenic, helping to reduce the risk of cancer in those individuals who also smoke tobacco.

We've seen evidence that shows that THC may kill liver cancer cells and that CBD may inhibit the growth of tumors. During chemo-radiation therapy, consuming marijuana helps many patients maintain their weight and enjoy a greater sense of well-being. Cannabis also lifts one's spirits—an essential ingredient to any treatment of disease.

Cannabis CBD (Cannabidiol) can be instrumental in eliminating breast cancer as well. In 2011, the Division of Experimental Medicine in Brooklyn conducted a study that indicated that CBD kills breast cancer cells.

This is information I would have loved to have had back in 2003 when my mother was battling breast cancer. I knew then that many cancer patients were experiencing positive results from combining a regimen of marijuana in conjunction with chemotherapy. I reached out to my mother and offered to source her some marijuana to aid her in her treatment. Unfortunately, she declined.

During her chemo and radiation treatment, my mother was wary of consuming cannabis smoke. She said that her lungs had been clean for 30 years, and that she would pass on my offer. She had been through a difficult mastectomy surgery, but was fairing well both emotionally and physically.

The cancer diagnosis had been a surprise since she had always taken great care of herself and regularly sought medical consultation as a preventative measure. She was not a high risk candidate for the disease. We determined that since her tumors developed so quickly, they were likely the result of a hormone therapy for menopause, a medication that is no longer on the market.

My mother was and is very health-minded. She created the Healthy Home show in the '90s which aired on the Cox network and hosted notable guests such as Jack LaLane.

Exercise and whole foods are an important part of her life. She taught me to always carry a positive outlook and raised me with attention to psychological studies aimed at raising a confident, independent, proactive daughter. As an entrepreneur, she was a fantastic role model managing both her home life with my younger siblings and a residential construction company that she co-founded with my stepfather.

I didn't put too much thought into it at the time, but now looking back, I'm surprised that she took the stance she did in declining to incorporate cannabis into her treatment program.

In the '70s, my mother played a strong role in the success of the family business White Buffalo rolling papers. The original business plan stated that the rolling papers were intended to be used with grass, which they anticipated would be legalized in just a few years. Why then had she in the new millennium turned her back on cannabis? Especially, if there was a chance that it might ease her discomfort?

The nineties were a bit of a backlash from the excess of the '80s. I think that there was a general move toward a more conservative outlook where even some of the most previously-diehard cannabis supporters took a break from the cause.

The cannabis movement was still on the fringe well into the last decade and didn't enjoy the headline status that it does now. At the time of her illness, my mother lived in a suburb of Atlanta, access to marijuana was limited, and it was definitely not part of her cultural conversation.

A few years after my mother gratefully celebrated “survivor” status, a friend of my mother's started cancer treatment. Her friend shared with my mother that marijuana was a game-changer for the symptoms that she encountered during chemo and to her overall experience beating cancer. My mother felt a slight pain of regret for not taking me up on my earlier offer.

Today, access to information is so much more prevalent; it is becoming increasingly difficult for Americans to escape the media coverage of the miraculous healing that the cannabis plant brings. Even the DEA is considering a change in the scheduling of the cannabis plant (also a miracle), and the United Nations is also evaluating a move away from the stance of prohibition, which could have a positive global impact.

We are enjoying a renaissance, and I'm happy to share that my mother is onboard with the Green Rush! My family is launching a foundation to benefit Native American sovereignty and environmental safeguards, the proceeds of which will come from the sale of cannabis health and wellness products.

With a kind, compassionate heart towards animals and humanity and an admirable sense of conviction, I thank you Mom. I'm so appreciative of your strong health and your survivor mentality. You are a guiding light in this world, and I can't wait to see how our bright future together unfolds.

Happy Mother's Day from us and our mothers to you and yours!

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Courtney Freeman
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Courtney Aura Freeman is a product marketing expert with a focus in digital advertising and award-winning multimedia content. Before graduating from Columbia University, she interned with the Honorable Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York to support constituent-relations. She continues her advocacy today promoting Native American sovereignty and environmental safeguards.
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