why i am cannabis – A Video Arts Project

I want to tell you about a really cool Crowdsourced Video Art Project kicking off now. It’s called why i am cannabis, and it’s a campaign to collect video selfies from cannabis users around the world, edit them together and stream them online. The goal of the project is to give voice to the amazing benefits of cannabis (medical, recreational, creative, etc.) and to shine a light on the human costs of criminalization and socially stigmatizing its use.

 

 

Erik Muenker DC

why i am cannabis, is a project that is very dear to me, for I credit cannabis for saving my life after I was involved in a serious auto accident. As a sworn police officer at the time, I was injured in the line of duty when a drunk driver ran a red light and broadsided my patrol car while traveling more than 55 mph. I broke my neck in the accident, suffering a Hangman’s fracture – as serious an injury as it sounds. During my recovery over the years that followed, I was offered and tried almost every pain killer, anti-inflammatory drug, and anti-spasm drug on the market. Not to mention the medications I took to counteract the side effects of the aforementioned medications.

 

 

Opioids for pain control

Ultimately, it was suggested I use opioids (strong narcotics), to cope with the pain and side effects from my automobile accident. When I stopped tolerating the pills, I was provided skin (transdermal) patches to wear 24 hours a day. Along with the prescription came the warning that the dose would likely need to be increased over time, as its effectiveness wears off, and that addiction was inevitable. I was reluctant, but in a great deal of pain and my doctor said we were out of other options.

Fortunately, I really disliked the effects of these narcotics and I decided to look elsewhere for relief.

“I decided to give cannabis a try. That decision changed my life.”

The cannabis I started taking was not only a substitute for the narcotics, but it also worked better controlling my headaches, spinal pain and muscle spasms – all with very manageable side-effects.

The cannabidiol in Marijuana has clinically proven neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties and it actually appears to be the perfect protective agent to prescribe after a serious auto accident where a concussion and brain trauma is suspected.

Your Brain on Cannabis

Don’t believe me? Check out my article on the effects of cannabis on your brain, complete with clinical references: “Cannabidiol: Good for You and Your Brain?“.

 

Sadie’s Story

Sadie’s story is a beautifully moving story about how cannabis can dramatically change the lives of entire families. Please take a few minutes of your time and watch the story below, courtesy of CannaEffect.

This is why cannabis is so important to me.
This is,

why i am cannabis

– erik muenker 

I want to hear YOUR story. The world wants to hear YOUR story, and I want to help bring those stories to you with this new campaign.

In order to get the word out, collect and stream these videos, I’m going to need to raise some money. $25,000 to be exact. To make this happen, I have launched two funding sites and designed a really cool $24 t-shirt to sell during the campaign:

Limited Edition $24

 

 

 

To learn more about the Art Project, I invite you to visit the campaign websitewhyiamcannabis.com

and follow us onTwitter.com/whyiamcannabis