My first post! The Story of A Cannabis User and the journey into acceptance...

My husband told me about steemit so I read some of the posts loved it and decided to join. I love that I can be so open and honest! Each of my posts will include a continuation of my story and of course some of my daily thoughts. I am excited about being a part of such an amazing community with unlimited potential.

I have wanted to tell my story for so long; My journey into the world of Cannabis. I have kept this secret for so long. Now with the legalization of Cannabis becoming a national possibility we need to really start embracing it and start to remove the stigma attached to its users. I hope my story will help eliminate the preconceived notions most people have about "potheads".

The truth is cannabis users are ambitious, we are focused, we do embrace life and we do not sit on the couch all day eating Cheetos. We are not unclean or unkempt. I hope my story will inspire others to speak out and encourage all to have a long conversation about the benefits of Cannabis in our lives.

A little background information on me : I am a Unites States Navy Veteran (Operation Iraqi Freedom, served on board the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship). My grandmother has been living with Alzheimer's for over 10 years and my mother came to the U.S. over 30 years ago. I am a wife to a wonderful man and we have been together for several years. My background includes running the Neonatal Unit at the Military Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Grant and Contract Writing for a Civilian Contractor at the Navy Yard and my last stop was running a medical office as a civilian. I still have family in my mother's home country so my aunt and I started a non profit to give back to the community there. We are also in the process of starting a small store to supplement the non profit. Once a month I take my 93 year old neighbor to the grocery store so she can stock up for the month. A couple of times a month I take a family member 's baby (he is a single father) to my house so he can relax for the weekend and the little princess can get away from the city for a while. My house is always clean and tidy because I am more productive when things are in order. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to get an idea of the person I am, my values, and the origin of my beliefs. Also, I AM A HEAVY CANNABIS USER . I have been for over a decade and this is my story.....

Growing up in D.C. I can't say I was never exposed to the unique aroma of the cannabis plant. It was everywhere anytime. I was just never intrigued to try it. When I went to parties growing up I always said no when it was passed around, it wasn't that hard. I have to admit my image of a weed smoker back then was not positive.

My first time trying cannabis was right after boot camp. Yeah that's right AFTER boot camp . I had graduated and my orders came in for my first duty station....Italy. Before flying out I went to New York to meet up with some very distant family members. The girl I was staying with smoked blunts like cigarettes. One in the morning while she put her make up on, one mid morning, one in the early afternoon, one before dinner and of course one to go to sleep. It felt like I was in a Sublime song. ;-)

She was such a sweet lady and very generous although she was not very ambitious. She did not work and said she did nails at home but I never saw any clients. One day she had some friends over and we were all siting around when the blunt was passed to me instead of politely declining like I always did, I accepted. Before I put it to my lips I looked up at her and asked "How do you do this?" The whole groups laughs and she said "Inhale and hold it and then exhale". Easy enough so I did, and then passed to the next person. I didn't feel different, and I didn't take it during the next pass. It wasn't until years later that I realized I definitely did not get high that day.....

Thank you for your time reading it so far and I look forward to sharing more. Please don't hesitate to contact me.
I would love for you to share the first time you were exposed to marijuana and how was the experience for you?

#introduceyourself #firstpost #steemit #inspiration