Recently I spoke to my neighbor, who happens to be a County Sheriff’s Deputy about my decision to use medical marijuana to treat my illness. Her take on the issue was pretty surprising, given her job title and the people she has to deal with inside the county jail.

What did she have to say?

She actually thinks that medical marijuana is a real way to treat a variety of diseases. She herself suffers from a spinal disease that is sometimes referred to “Bamboo Spine”, which causes a lot of constant pain as well as a lot of swelling. She told me that if she were not involved in law enforcement, she would likely seek out a prescription with medical marijuana, as she definitely feels that it could help her.

We went on to discuss the current laws, and she told me that I needed to be extremely careful. While it is legal to possess and consume medical marijuana in my state, she said that many members of law enforcement are not in support of the law, and will keep a close eye on you and potentially harass you if they know or suspect you to use medical marijuana. I asked her if that was legal, and she said that it isn’t… but it still happens.

Her advice is to keep your usage as private as you can. She says that you need to make sure that you know your laws and to follow them. In other words, DO NOT give the police any reason to harass you. Just because they are obligated to follow the law, this is not always the case.

I have to admit that it was really refreshing to see this kind of attitude from a member of my local law enforcement. She said that a lot of the officers in the city and county are cool, and the majority will work with you and understand. However, those officers are still obligated to follow the law, and if you are doing anything you are not supposed to, they will bust you.

Bottom line: follow the law, keep it private, and stay healthy!