Pubdate: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 Source: Northwest Herald (IL) Copyright: 2010 Northwest Herald Newspapers Contact: http://www.nwherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2762 Author: Richard Atwater Note: Richard Atwater is a licensed clinical professional counselor. He can reached by e-mail by visiting Northwestcommunitycounseling.com. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) MARIJUANA USER FINDS ENDLESS SOURCE I'd like to title this story "Mitch and the Magic Marijuana Van." "Mitch" was a good kid although he grew up with little parental supervision. His dad was busy all the time with a contracting business, and when he wasn't working, he was thinking about ways to manage Mitch's mom. She was a physically stunning woman, obsessed with her looks, night life, dancing and male attention. Between these two, Mitch lived a pretty fast life, seeing things a young teenager probably shouldn't see. All the obsessions and compulsions resulted in an ugly divorce. Mitch started smoking pot at 12, was a regular user by 13 and in his first treatment center when he was 15. He had many of the same characteristics as his mom, except he added pot and later other drugs to the mix. His second treatment was at age 17, and ended in a Minnesota half-way house for six months. This period of sobriety lasted about a year at which time, doing quite well, Mitch decided to move to California to live with his dad. He didn't realize that it wasn't as much a decision as satisfaction for a long-term craving. Upon arrival in California, Mitch managed to come completely undone and ended up in a sober living facility for almost a year. Again doing well, Mitch "decided" to move in with a friend. Needing a job he took a "management position" in a medical marijuana clinic delivering pot to "patients" with ailments like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic headache and chemotherapy patients. Probably about 10 percent of the "patients" were legitimate and the rest were chronic pot smokers with a license. It was then that Mitch developed insomnia. There seemed to be no cure until, like a miracle, his doctor (coincidentally the clinic physician) recommended medical marijuana. I think I might have recommended knocking off playing "Red Dead Redemption" every night/morning until 2:30, but that might have been too hard. So a kid with a rehab record as long as my arm gets a prescription for the drug he's been to rehab for three times and is still driving the medical marijuana delivery van. The only difference is now he's doing it stoned. News flash - medical marijuana, the miracle cure? - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake