UNCLE CLIFFY, MEDICAL MARIJUANA, PISTIL POINT CANNABIS

Why does it take a dramatic event like a health scare to break out the medical benefits of marijuana?

Former Portland Trail Blazer Cliff Robinson, Uncle Cliffy in the industry, had a stroke.

Is medical marijuana a cure? Here’s Robinson’s take from oregonlive:

“[I want] to knock down the myth that athletes and cannabis don’t mix,” Robinson said. “I played 18 years in the NBA and I used cannabis on and off along the way and I didn’t have a problem.”

Did it help his career, hinder his career, or was it a break even deal?

After Uncle Cliffy had a stroke the answer is the same. It was part of his journey.

Do I agree with his opinion of medical marijuana? After reading this tell tale quote, I agree whole heartedly.

“Robinson, who recently had a stroke due to high blood pressure, has been using his own products to aid his recovery and says it helped him deal with the constant anxiety associated with his health scare.”

Constant anxiety associated with a health scare may sound like a great excuse to get loaded, but only if you’ve never had a health scare.

I turned the corner with a health scare of my own: neck cancer. More specifically, hpv16 neck cancer.

The whole cancer treatment ordeal with cancer comes with a full load of prescription drugs for pain, nausea, and anxiety.

The whole line up comes with medical approval, but they didn’t work for me. It’s the old story you hear about everyone being different. No one reacts the same.

The anxiety part for me was feeling like I was lining up a shot at drug addiction with oxy and liquid oxy.

At the end of my patience I decided nothing worked, so I didn’t take the pain pills, the pain juice, three levels of anti-nausea, steroids, or the rest.

And I failed miserably.

The container of medical marijuana brownies in the freezer, donated by a provider friend, didn’t register until it seemed like I needed to check into a hospital or just lay out and die. Which at the time had some pretty positive aspects going for it.

One morning after a thrashing night of anxiety where everything looked like illness and doom, I tried a MedMar brownie and tea. Took about an hour to slide down my radiated throat one nibble, on sip, at a time.

That’s what you do when you’ve got a gag reflex that kicks in with thoughts of food, images of food, and the smell of home cooking. Take an hour to avoid the hurl.

And guess what? I sensed all of the effects of ingesting weed, except the stoner part. No zombie walking, confusion, or balance problems.

Instead I felt my anxiety shift a few degrees to where I could see the benefits of cancer treatment without focusing on the side effects.

It was enough to give me hope of seeing this whole deal through to completion, which isn’t always the case with my kind. I signed up for thirty five hits of radiation and three doses of chemo. Not everyone finishes. They don’t die, it’s just too damn much to take.

Medical marijuana decreased fear and pain and anxiety better than the pharmaceuticals. More than a win, or a win/win, it was a win/win/win.

Pistil Point Cannabis works for the same win.

“When you have brand ambassadors like Cliff Robinson, you are speaking to a much wider audience,” Pistil Point co-founder Sid Gupta said. “You really need voices to reach a wider audience about what this medication represents and how it is to be controlled. Having people like Cliff on board can help make a difference.”

It’s only makes a difference if you get over the stigma of the stoned out derelict laying in the street with a cement curb for a pillow.

Uncle Cliffy says it helps with his stroke recovery.

I would testify in the highest court that medical marijuana made the BIGGEST difference in my recovery from cancer treatment, and my continuing recovery.

Call it wishful thinking, or the placebo effect. Call it anything you like, but when I called for an assist, MedMar answered.

If you, or someone you know, starts with a harsh treatment for a bad condition, talk to them hard about the benefits. Uncle Cliffy gives the go ahead.

You can even quote Steve Kerr, coach of the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, from oregonlive:

To help with the constant pain from his back surgery, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr used marijuana briefly during his lengthy recovery. Kerr believes that marijuana is much safer than prescription pain pills and hopes one day professional sport leagues will allow the use of cannabis products.

“If you’re an NFL player in particular and you got lot of pain, I don’t think there’s any question that pot is better for your body than Vicodin,” Kerr said on a 2016 CSN Bay Area Podcast. “And yet, athletes everywhere are prescribed Vicodin like it’s Vitamin C, like it’s no big deal. There’s like this perception in our country that over-the-counter drugs are fine, but pot is bad. Now, I think that’s changing. You’re seeing that change in these laws that you’re talking about in different states, including California. But I would just hope that sports leagues are able to look past the perception.”

There you’ve got it from three out of three reputable sources: Uncle Cliffy stroke, cancer, and back surgery resulting in spinal fluid leakage for Coach Kerr.

What’s your problem? Do you see medical marijuana in the picture?

Maybe you should.

Don’t wait until you’re a full blown addict calling for a tar delivery.

More from Steve Kerr on unclecliffy.com:

“It’s a very important issue to talk about. Having gone through a tough spell over the last year with my own recovery from back surgery, and a lot of pain, I had to do a lot of research. You get handed prescriptions for Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, NFL players, that’s what they’re given. The stuff is awful. The stuff is dangerous. The addiction possibility, what it can lead to, the long term health risks. The issue that’s really important is how do we do what’s best for the players.”

Listen to the coach and do what’s best for you.

I turned from MedMar skeptic to advocate after all else failed.