My name is Cimone, and I am a cannabis user and a PA medicinal card holder.
I am a mom, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a business owner of two local businesses, an artist, an educator and an advocate.
My love and appreciation for the cannabis plant has evolved drastically throughout the past two decades.
There was a point in my life where I spent most of my day consuming cannabis, though smoking only.
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I was “stuck” for lack of a better term, in both my lifestyle and my mindset. It was not until I met my future husband, and turned 31 and decided to change what I didn’t love about myself.
I got a new job, and made amazing and positive health changes. I lost a bit of “stuck” weight I had gained, and I began to really love who I was again, the way I used to!
However, there was one thing that remained the same, and that was the presence of cannabis throughout this great change.
I have been off pharmaceutical anti-depressants since 2013, after spending the past 15 on. It was around the same time that I graduated from talk therapy, with a therapist I highly regarded.
I have always been an honest patient and told each and every doctor that I was a cannabis user.
It has never been a topic that has been argued or negatively discussed in depth with my physicians.
This past fall I turned 40 – and I feel incredible and more full of life than I could’ve ever imagined I would.
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I am incredibly proud of the woman I have become, and I am not afraid to admit that I owe some of that to the cannabis plant.
She has been there to help with my social anxiety, which people may find odd since I love to be in the spotlight, however sometimes I get anxious, and that’s ok!
She has been there to help me with my health and well-being. I went through three very difficult emotional years through IVF, and not being able to conceive naturally.
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I was constantly in and out of doctors offices and in and out of procedures both painful and not. It left me feeling hopeless and sad.
She has been there to make me a better and more patient parent. I do not feel the need to parent “high”, but I am able to use a few milligrams to help alleviate the pain or stress and allow me to be more present and in the moment.
I have taken classes and courses on how to correctly dose any type of cannabis – and by spending a little bit of time and money in the right areas, I believe that anyone can figure this out.
I use my medical marijuana, and cook it down in a safe a proper method to create all sorts of different products to work with, from olive oils to hemp oils, etc.
I am currently running a small CBD business called Cook Proper and within that business I help teach medicinal card holders how to use their medicine without having to roll a joint (which is illegal by PA state law).
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It is time for us to break the reefer madness mindset that so many people have – and show them how beneficial this plant can be.
If we could focus all of the negative attention that cannabis gets on possibly the education of our public schools in the inner cities, or the nations gun epidemic, it would be amazing how far we could come in such a short period of time.
I will be a mom who speaks up for other moms and dads – and a voice for those who have not yet found theirs – in hopes they will join me and we can walk together in solidarity!
We need to normalize cannabis and help the people who benefit daily from this amazing plant.
It has made such a great difference in my life, I hope my story can help to inspire others.