Pubdate: Tue, 06 Dec 2016 Source: Truro Daily News (CN NS) Copyright: 2016 The Daily News Contact: http://www.trurodaily.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1159 Author: Harry Sullivan Page: 3 CLIENTS SEE AUNTIE'S AS A GODSEND Medical marijuana users give thumbs up to retail dispensary At one point, following a severe industrial accident in 2005, Craig Upham was taking 28 different medications per day. Five of those were to counter side effects of the prescribed narcotics he was taking. Upham eventually became addicted to oxycontin, which robbed him of his personality, made him hostile and ruined a marriage. "In 2007 they didn't know what to do with me," he said. "The doctors told me I wouldn't be able to walk, I would be in a wheelchair." The same year, Upham began exploring medical marijuana. He was 42 and hadn't used marijuana since he was 19 but after his research, he acquired a medical marijuana card. Upham's industrial accident required numerous surgeries and left him with painful, degenerative disc disorders in his neck and back. Medical marijuana restored his life. "I haven't taken a pain pill or aspirin or anything since 2007," he said. "What it did was allow me to focus," by eliminating the "fogginess" that came with using pharmaceuticals. After moving to Nova Scotia about four years ago Upham was granted a licence to grow his own marijuana. He has also purchased his marijuana through Health Canada but for the past several weeks his source has been Auntie's Health and Wellness Center, a medical marijuana dispensary that recently opened in Bible Hill. "I eat it, I smoke it, I vape," he said. Tommy, 56, also injured in an industrial accident, has likewise been purchasing medical marijuana from Health Canada. But as with Upham, Tommy - who asked that his real name not be used for personal reasons - - said another issue he has with the marijuana provided by Health Canada is that it's irradiated and "I don't want to put that in my body." And because it is delivered through Canada Post, he has issues with the waiting time and lack of privacy. "I don't have my mail carrier knowing," Tommy said, where with Auntie's, he can do so on his own terms. Also, like Upham, Tommy said reducing his reliance on pharmaceuticals by switching primarily to marijuana his enhanced his quality of life. "I can eat. I have an appetite rather than it being suppressed (by narcotics)," he said, adding that within the past couple of months, his weight has gone from 103 lbs. to 125 lbs. Previously, Tommy said he spent much of his time bedridden, and with his "head in the toilet." "I can get out, I can get around now. I was actually housebound before. I'm not now," he said. And because Auntie's is so close, "I can get immediate relief within an hour." "I don't want to get high. I don't want to use it recreationally, that's not my intent," he said. "By managing it properly, I don't have that high ... " - --- MAP posted-by: Matt