Update: As of Nov 4, 2020 Montana has legalized adult-use and Mississippi has legalized medical-use.
November 3, 2020
I woke up early today with the belief that if I could get up before the craziness starts and be focused on something else when the images of poll lines hit my newsfeed I would be able to ignore it. I went on a hike with my son, ate well, practiced deep breathing, avoided alcohol; I did everything I could to promote peace and wellness. Two things we all need right now. I ignored the urge to look at the images or turn on the TV until 4 pm CST when I glanced at my phone and “1:15 until the first exit polls” came across my screen.
Today was not a day I was looking forward to. I am a person that often takes on the grief and sadness of others and it takes a great amount of work to maintain a balance of caring for myself and others. I feel very sad for our country right now and very happy at the same time. We are so intertwined and connected to those on our side against those on the other. We have been isolated, told we can’t touch our loved ones, missed out on events that bring us joy, and we are clinging to any connection we can find and we have found it in our troops. We are in this fight together and we have found the support and camaraderie among those on our side. Does tonight mark the end of the coronavirus or not? Will we live or will we die? Will we be allowed to protect ourselves with guns and keep our money or will we lose our rights as women and throw more children in cages? This day ends with sadness for one and happiness for the other. I hate tonight.
As I am full-on addicted to the coverage a few hours later, switching between Instagram, Facebook, local news, CNN, and Fox, of course, to ensure I am diligently fact-checking on my own and that’s when I saw, “Congratulations to New Jersey!” at about 8 pm. Cool. New Jersey passed adult-use like we knew they would. Not that exciting because the medical program in New Jersey is often referred to by my nurse colleagues as “a mess!” They say, “patients don’t have access to medical cannabis!” and patients are frustrated with the medical program too. One patient tells me, “I went back to get that strain that helped my back and they said they were out of it. I was scared to try something else so I just left.” The medical cannabis law enacted in 2010 wasn’t working and it was predicted to change with this election.
Then I can’t remember, maybe it was DC, or Oregon, Arizona, I don’t know, but it was like the whole country just let a joint. Adult-use, medical-use, psilocybin, all drugs decriminalized in Oregon! What is happening to the United States?!? Damn, I feel like I’m in Europe. Does this mean that those who are addicted to drugs won’t be treated like criminals? That maybe some “magic mushrooms” and weed might have real medical value? Yeah, I think that’s what that means. But I thought people just wanted to use cannabis to get high? Um, nope, not anymore. Americans want options. Americans are in pain, tired, and overweight and want to change. They are starting to believe that the five prescriptions they’re on might not be helping them. That medicine found in nature and used for thousands of years might not be as bad as what we’ve been taught for decades. It’s a trend that’s sweeping the nation, not limited to the states we refer to as progressive.
What does this mean? It means we are closer than ever to getting cannabis removed from the Schedule I Controlled Substances list. That there are 1 in 3 Americans who now have access to a plant. People are taking back ownership of their bodies and want to decide what they put in them. Being a nurse for the last 15 years has taught me that patients are in charge of getting well, not health care providers or prescription medications. The people had their voice heard tonight and they all say, “We want plant medicine.”
-April