Jacqueline Patterson, a Missouri mother of 4, has been in the media spotlight ever since she shared her story with the world in the 2007 documentary, In Pot We Trust. Patterson has suffered from cerebral palsy from a young age, a debilitating neuro-muscular disease that has set the stage for her lifetime of struggles. Fortunately, this all changed after Patterson started smoking pot.
Patterson’s diagnosis found her with painful muscle stiffness, as well as a severe speech impediment which restricted the pronunciation of her words to the point where they would literally seem stuck at the tip of her tongue. The condition normally affects body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. People with cerebral palsy may also experience visual, learning, hearing, speech, epilepsy and intellectual impairments.
Jacqueline
Patterson, mother of 4, says medical cannabis saved her and children’s
lives. Patterson believes that without it, she wouldn’t be half the
mother she is today.
“I hate my speech so much,” she said at her marijuana possession trial hearing in Missouri, The Pitch reports. “I drrr- … I dr- … I drove my husband to suicide, you know.” The widow believes their arguments and her inability to forgive him for making fun of her stutter is what caused him to hang himself in their basement.
In 2007, Patterson almost lost custody
of her children due to marijuana possession. In retaliation Patterson
headed to California, where medical cannabis is legal, to plead her case
with successful avail. Patterson says that marijuana has changed her
life.
“I — I — I smoked cannabis for the first time when I was 14,” Patterson said to the Pitch. “For the first time, my muscles were not tense. And words slid from my mouth, from gggghhh — from me at a fluid pace instead of sssss-stuck on my tongue like a g-ghh — like a train wreck.”
Patterson says her medical smoking habit is mainly for her kids, so that she can be the mother they deserve her to be.
“I’d be half the mother I am without [marijuana] because I’d be in too much pain,” she said. “I smoke to be the mother to my children that they deserve.”
The video below showcases the powerful
suppressing ability of medical cannabis on Patterson’s cerebral palsy.
Within seconds of smoking, her speech impediment drastically improves.
The fact that someone suffering from a
debilitating condition ever has to face challenges treating their
symptoms with cannabis is completely backwards. Any government willing
to take someone’s kids away for smoking a naturally occurring plant
absolutely needs a re-evaluation from its people.
Today Patterson spends her time as a medical cannabis advocate living out of California. “It’s
been nice … to not worry that I’m going to get a knock on the door for
Child Protective Services,” she said to legislators. “It’s nice to not
be treated like a criminal.”
Although Patterson now lives without
worry of losing her own children for her marijuana use, she knows this
isn’t yet the case for many others suffering from debilitating
conditions across the U.S. and other parts of the world. Patterson
continues to push for the extended legalization of medical cannabis with
high hopes.
Do you know of anyone who has treated
their cerebral palsy or debilitating condition with medical cannabis?
Share your story with us below!
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