cannabisnews.com: Chelmsford Man Praises The Healing Herb!





Chelmsford Man Praises The Healing Herb!
Posted by FoM on June 01, 1999 at 06:22:57 PT
Source: Map Inc.
Barry Burkholder places his hands on the kitchen table of his Chelmsford home.They resemble, at first glance, the bent, gnarled roots of a tree.Reddish, chapped and disfigured, they are like most of the bones in the 34-year-old's body racked with excruciating pain every day of his life.
When he forces them to move, his fingers creak and crack as though he is rolling several marbles between his hands. But in a few moments, something quite surprising happens. Burkholder lights a cannabis cigarette and takes two quick drags inhaling deeply, holding the smoke in his lungs before exhaling with a long, soothing sign of relief. His aching fingers become more flexible; his pain is relieved. Wherever there is cartilage in my body, there is constant pain, says Burkholder, who suffers from chronic arthritis, clinical depression and hepatitis C. Pot, he and some medical experts say, relieves the symptoms of all of his various physical and emotional afflictions. Sometimes, I tell my wife that my feet hurt so bad, I'd like to cut them right off, Burkholder says. But within a few minutes after taking my `medicine,' my pain goes away and I'm able to carrying on my daily chores.Although Burkholder has a history of self-destructive behaviour, pot despite its reputation as a brain-squelching substance is decidedly non-destructive to his body and mind, he says. I've been an addictive person most of my life, Burkholder says. I was drunk or stoned most of the time. Pills, alcohol, cocaine, acid, mushrooms anything I could get my hands on. I loved pharmaceuticals, especially. You know, prescription drugs. But I've finally cleaned myself up. I've been sober and drug-free for three years. I've got a beautiful wife, children and a new home. I even found God. I mean, things are good, and I want to live a good life for as long as I have left. The pot helps me deal with my pain so I can enjoy my life more. It does wonders. But wonder drug or not, pot is still illegal in this country, and that was made blatantly clear to Burkholder last September when he was arrested and charged with the offense of possession for the purpose of trafficking. To him, his supply of pot oil was a pain-killer; to the law, it was an illegal drug.A lot of people who use cannabis for medical purposes have been arrested, Burkholder says. The police came right into my home and charged me.I mean, should my children have to face the chance of losing their daddy because he was using the one thing that made him feel better, the one thing that wouldn't make him an addict again? It's just not fair.It was after being arrested that Burkholder discovered, for the first time, a national network of organizations, lawyers and politicians who are fighting to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes. Burkholder jumped at the opportunity for assistance and to be a part of their cause. He started his own page on the Internet:http://www.legalize.com/herbgarden/burkie/ to publicize his situation. He asked his doctor to write a letter on his behalf to the Compassionate Cannabis Club of Sturgeon Falls, an organization which provides medical marijuana to people suffering from serious ailments. Witnessing Burkholder's somewhat miraculous pain relief would give even an anti-pot purist pause for thought. Maybe there are legitimate healing properties in the stinky weed. Dr. Beverly Potter's book The Healing Magic of Cannabis makes grandiose claims for the healing herb.Potter says pot has a soothing, even a restorative effect on arthritis, back pain, asthma, depression, epilepsy, glaucoma, insomnia, menstrual cramps, migraine headaches and multiple sclerosis to name a few.The knowledge of these healing wonders is nothing new. Marijuana has been smoked or consumed for centuries as a natural medication, the book suggests. Activists are pressuring federal Health Minister Allan Rock to enact legislation which will legalize pot use for medical purposes. They cite doctors and researchers who claim the drug is non-toxic, non-addictive, does not cause crime, has no potential for harm or danger, and does not lead to the use of stronger drugs. Doctors such as Lester Grinspoon of the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass., argue that, in time, marijuana may ultimately turn out to be a very important medicine, especially for people suffering from arthritis and rheumatic diseases that debilitate people like Burkholder. For Burkholder, who does not want to use addictive drugs, it is his only medicine.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 01, 1999 at 14:26:49 PT
Good Comments!
Angela, I'm going down the page and reading your comments and they are very good! Have you thought of submitting a letter to Cannabis.com's new Ezine magazine? It just opened for submissions this morning. I'll post the link belowPeace, FoM!This is brand new and I don't think any articles have been put up yet!This is how to submit an article.http://www.cannabinoid.com/wwwboard/politics/messages/11620.shtmlHere is the new Ezine magazine!http://www.cannabis.com/ezine/
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Comment #1 posted by Angelia Brown on June 01, 1999 at 12:42:55 PT:
Print Out This Article and Post It On Your Fridge!
This is a perfect example of what makes us activists tick! Anyone with any kind of heart at all can see how innocent people are being hurt more and more every day by marijuana prohibition. The questions are: Does the government care? and Can they overcome their bias in order to refrom the laws? This man, among the other medical users, is continually in my prayers! Hang in there guys, maybe we can do some kind of good out here!
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