Medical Marijuana, or Not? Anyone Tried It?

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Ok, this is going to be somewhat different than the informative posts I have been trying to write. I am trying to open up a conversation on this subject and get some honest opinions to help me make a decision.

I don't know how many Ohioans are here on Steem, but for those who don't know as of September 5th, 2018 Ohio should have it's first dispensaries open for business.

This is going to sound like a sob story, it is not intended to be. I am not feeling sorry for myself, nor am I asking anyone to feel sorry for me. I just feel it necessary to qualify my questions.

The only law allows medical marijuana for certain medical conditions. As of the last I read, there are 21 qualifying conditions.

I have been diagnosed with 6 of the qualifying conditions, some dating back to the mid 80's. And I have been subjected to years of steroids, which stopped working and were very harmful. I am allergic to sulfa antibiotics and mesalamine which are commonly used to treat my crohns's disease. I have been on a biological for a little over 5 years that had been helping with my Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis, but has lost it's effectiveness. I have extreme fatigue, and chronic pain.

My whole life Drs have been throwing opiates at me. I used to take them hoping they would work, which they never did. I found out recently thanks to the Cleveland clinic that I do indeed have a genetic tolerance to opiates and I might as well have just been taking sugar pills, although some of the harmful effects were still there. Addiction was never an issue, I assume it is difficult to become addicted to a substance that doesn't have any effect on you.

Anyhow, I hate talking about my health in general, but the pseudo-anonymity of this platform makes me more comfortable putting a very brief summary out there.

The questions I have a numerous, but I will try to start with the important ones.

Is there anyone out there who has any experience with medical marijuana, who would be willing to share with me how it helped if at all?

I have been referred to a few websites by my doctor, that explain it a little. I am at the point I will try just about anything, because there isn't much left to try. I just don't want to get my hopes up about another treatment that isn't going to work.

Also, with my childhood and growing up in the hospital as much as out... with more prescription meds than I wanted to take... I was never exposed to marijuana or any other recreational drug. I do not know what to even expect, or honestly what to do with it once I get it... I am happy to read that it can be vaped. I did experiment with vaping, and sub-ohm vaping for awhile and know something about that. I am wanting to try extracting the oil myself and making my own e-juice.

Anyhow, I'm tired. I'm not thinking straight right now, otherwise I may not be throwing this out to the community to ask you all your thoughts. I am open to any response. Do you think it is a good idea, or bad? Do you have experience with the medical use? Please qualify your responses, just saying do it, or don't do it, is not really what I am hoping for... Maybe there won't be much interest on here and I won't get much of an answer, that is fine too...

Thank any and all for any information they provide.