My name is James and I suffer from Parkinson’s disease. When I say I suffer from it, I mean I shake uncontrollably and suffer from extreme pain. My symptoms make it difficult to walk or speak properly and require me to take nearly 20 pills a day.

Right now, my symptoms are more obvious than ever and I am willing to try just about anything to help.

A doctor asked me if I ever tried medical marijuana to help with my symptoms and approved a medical marijuana card for me to give it a try.

My family members were nervous at first because a medical marijuana card can get me access to the drug, but it is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government and in most states.

On the one hand, they didn’t want to break federal law.  On the other hand (a shaking hand), they knew I needed help to calm my symptoms.

Let me give you an idea of how much it costs to treat the shaking and pain that comes with my Parkinson’s Disease.

A refill of all my prescription drugs costs about three thousand dollars.

It cost $250,000 for deep brain stimulation, and another $80,000 when the batteries need to be replaced.

So, I gave medical marijuana a try.  To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect the first time I walked into a dispensary, but considered the experience my latest thrill.  I was a little nervous, but the staff at the dispensary was very helpful and put me at ease right away with their knowledge of medical marijuana.

The person who helped me out made several suggestions from the kind I could smoke, to edibles, which he said have a longer-lasting effect.

I decided to buy the drops, which cost about $40.  After spending thousands of dollars on prescription medication, I figured 40 dollars was worth a try.

A fellow Parkinson’s patient came over and offered to show me how to use it.  He told me to take one drop and then try to relax and let it take effect.

Within five minutes, my symptoms had calmed down.  In fact, they calmed down so much, I was able to talk normally and even felt like going to grab some lunch.  Normally, when my symptoms are hitting me hard, it is a painful chore just to leave the house. I don’t want to say miracle, but it took five minutes to feel somewhat “normal” again.

It was definitely 40 bucks well spent.