Christine Collier works in the cannabis industry and utilizes CBD everyday. She spends three days a week making topicals for Cannabombz and two days a week caring for an elderly woman. Christine uses CBD for aches and pains but primarily for her Chron's disease. She spreads the word about CBD to clients and friends and is extremely passionate about the cannabis plant. This is Christine's CBD journey...
Why do you use CBD?
It helps with the pain from Chronâs disease -- all my pain -- back pain, leg pain, I notice a difference with all of that. It helps with my anxiety because of Chronâs, everyday is different you never know what to expect so I find comfort in knowing I can get pain relief from something other than a pill. I donât like to take pills I donât like how I feel on things like opioids so I feel fortunate to be able to have an alternative medication that helps.
Does anyone else in your family use CBD?
My daughter, my sister in law, my mom, my great aunt, my clients, and my dog.
How did you discover CBD?
At first I was just smoking weed at parties when I was young and had no idea about the medicinal part. I really wasnât having so many problems with Chronâs like I am now, and I quit smoking weed for awhile and noticed the pain. And this was back when there was no studies that marijuana helped, I just noticed myself. Then when someone told me that what it was for I was like âWow! I didnât realize we could use it as a medicine.ââ So I know the difference from using it and not using it and my Chronâs medications do not control my disease. Now we get to hear, I think, more honest opinions. Back in the day it was âReefer Madnessâ and big pharma did that. So once people started putting this other information out there to be read because they felt empowered or whatever to help other people is how I found out. Reading and talking to other people and noticing the benefits myself; then my daughter also showed me things like topicals and other uses of CBD.
Was CBD hard for you to acquire?
No, I knew it was out there and I knew it helps but financially itâs a hardship. With insurance I can afford to pay for medications, but this out-of-pocket payments for alternative medicines is costly -- something I canât afford.
How has it affected your relationship with friends/family?
I feel judged and I feel like people are very close-minded, they donât want to read the research because they donât believe it can be true from all the things they heard back during âReefer Madnessâ times. And itâs totally assaulting and offensive when people tell me that I shouldnât use it, that itâs bad for me, these are the people that are ignorant and itâs a natural herb⌠how can it be worse than manmade chemicals?
Has it affected your career in anyway?
I donât have to miss so many days of work because of pain. It has provided me income because I love it. I believe in it and it makes me happy to make products for myself and other people, and people who are not in a lot of pain donât know what theyâre talking about.
Do/did you take any pharmaceutical drugs with/before CBD?
Yes. I was offered all kinds of pain meds like Percocet, Delotted, Xanax Attivan -- all mood altering, addictive medications. Fortunately, I donât have such a strong addictive personality and I donât like the way they make me feel. Otherwise I believe I would be addicted, too, like so many others.
Do you feel like there is a stigma associated with CBD?
Yes, thatâs because people who donât understand. People from older generations just donât understand, and I can understand their close-mindedness because theyâre from a different time, but Iâve gotten a lot of older people to try. But the people who donât want to take it are insistent that they donât even want to know about it. They say, âI donât want to know how good for you it is, I would rather take a pill because I trust a pill more than a plant.â
I just wish it was more affordable. It should be covered under insurance but big pharma doesnât want that because they canât make money. And that is so wrong. So wrong to do to people. People who are hurting and need help. And you can get majorly penalized with the way the laws are. You know, if I get pulled over I have potential to get in serious trouble. It needs to change, it just has to change. It will change. Weâre getting there though, the more you talk about it the more accepted it is. Itâs a process.
Especially since it works. The people who donât want to take it take pills because they really believe there is no other choice because theyâve been told, âHere take this pill or lay there and suffer day after day.â If the doctors, the marijuana doctors, the chiropractors, if everyone just got on the same page with the end goal just to help people, I donât know why we donât do that I donât know why they canât all work together.
Tell me your CBD journey in a few words.
Iâve gotten to the point where I donât care what people think. I donât care if Iâm judged, I donât care because I am more important and I need to do what makes me feel good. CBD has changed my life. Iâm here working because of CBD Iâm not in the hospital because of CBD.