Cannabis Didn’t Ruin My Life—It Helped Save It

They warned me that cannabis could ruin my life. What nobody warned me about was that it might actually help save it.

For years, people have asked me some version of the same question:

“Why is cannabis so important to you?”

The short answer?

Because it changed my life.

The longer answer is that cannabis has helped me sleep, helped me eat, helped me deal with pain and discomfort, helped me function, helped me meet incredible people, helped me build a career around something I genuinely love—and, most importantly, helped me get away from opiates after many years of addiction.

So when people tell me cannabis is nothing but a problem, I can’t help but laugh a little.

Because my life tells a very different story.

THE PART OF MY STORY THAT MATTERS MOST

For many years, I was addicted to opiates.

That was a major part of my life.

And addiction is no joke.

It can take your time, your energy, your peace, your relationships, and sometimes even your hope.

I’m not going to tell anyone that cannabis is some magical cure or that my experience will be the same as everybody else’s. This is not medical advice.

This is my testimony.

Cannabis helped me get away from opiates.

And that changed everything.

It helped me move in a different direction. It became part of a better life—a life where I could think, create, connect with people, and actually look forward instead of feeling trapped by where I was.

I truly believe cannabis was a gift from God that helped save me.

You don’t have to believe that.

But I do.

And after everything I’ve been through, I’m not afraid to say it.

MORE THAN JUST “GETTING HIGH”

Some people hear the word cannabis and immediately think about getting high.

I think about getting through the day.

Cannabis has helped me sleep when sleep wouldn’t come. It has helped me eat when my appetite disappeared. It has helped me deal with pain and discomfort while still allowing me to function.

And function is important to me.

I don’t want to spend my life staring at the ceiling waiting for the day to end.

I want to write.

I want to research.

I want to create videos.

I want to meet people.

I want to learn.

I want to live.

Cannabis has helped me do those things.

That doesn’t mean cannabis is perfect. It doesn’t mean everybody should use it. And it certainly doesn’t mean every cannabis product is right for every person.

It simply means that for me, the benefits have been real.

CANNABIS INTRODUCED ME TO PEOPLE I WOULDN’T HAVE MET OTHERWISE

One of the biggest surprises cannabis brought into my life was community.

A plant can be a pretty good conversation starter.

You can meet someone you know absolutely nothing about, start talking about strains, terpenes, rosin, growing, or legalization—and before long, you’re laughing like you’ve known each other for years.

Cannabis has opened doors to friendships, conversations, interviews, events, and relationships that I genuinely value.

Some people came into my life through my writing.

Some through my videos.

Some through the cannabis industry.

Some simply because somebody passed something over and said, “You’ve got to try this.”

And suddenly, there’s a conversation.

Cannabis has connected me to people.

Good people.

Creative people.

Funny people.

Passionate people.

People who became more important to me than I ever expected.

IT ALSO KEEPS MY BRAIN WORKING

Getting older doesn’t mean I plan on shutting my brain off.

If anything, cannabis has given my brain a full-time job.

I’m constantly researching new information, learning about strains, terpenes, products, laws, science, businesses, and the people shaping the cannabis community.

Then I write about it.

I talk about it.

I make videos about it.

And by the time I finish researching one subject, somebody has invented a new product or crossed two strains and named it something that sounds like a rapper, a breakfast cereal, and a cartoon character had a meeting.

Cannabis keeps me curious.

And curiosity keeps me engaged.

THERE’S ALSO A WHOLE WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY

Cannabis is not just a plant anymore.

It’s an industry.

And that industry has created opportunities in cultivation, processing, retail, media, marketing, photography, videography, events, education, advocacy, and entrepreneurship.

Cannabis has opened professional doors for me that I never expected.

It gave me stories to tell.

It gave me people to interview.

It gave me a reason to create.

It helped turn an interest into something much bigger.

Through Strain’s Strain Reviews, my writing, and my involvement with the cannabis community, I found purpose in sharing information and telling the stories of the people behind this industry.

And I’m not done yet.

“BUT YOU’VE LOST PEOPLE BECAUSE OF CANNABIS”

Yes.

I have.

I’ve lost some friends.

I’ve lost relationships with some family members.

And I’m not going to pretend that never hurt.

But eventually, I had to ask myself a question:

Did cannabis ruin those relationships—or did it simply expose them?

Because if someone decides they no longer want to know me as a person simply because they don’t approve of cannabis, what exactly were they valuing about me in the first place?

I’m more than cannabis.

But I’m not going to hide cannabis from my life either.

I’m not going to apologize for something that helped me sleep, eat, function, create, meet people, build opportunities—and helped me move away from opiate addiction.

If someone wants to walk away because of that, that’s their choice.

But I’m not going to destroy something positive in my life just to make someone else comfortable.

YES, I’M A CHRISTIAN—AND YES, I STILL FEEL THIS WAY

This might be where some people really start shaking their heads.

That’s okay.

I’m used to it.

I’m a Christian.

And cannabis has not taken me away from my faith.

If anything, it has encouraged me to think more deeply.

It makes me ask questions.

It makes me reflect.

It makes me think about life, creation, purpose, and the things we sometimes rush past without really considering.

And when I ask those questions, I include Jesus.

Why wouldn’t I?

My faith is part of who I am.

Cannabis didn’t erase that.

For me, asking questions and believing in God are not opposites.

Thinking deeply does not mean losing faith.

And no, I’m not claiming cannabis gives me a direct phone line to Heaven.

You can’t call Heaven’s customer service department and ask for Jesus at extension 420.

But I do believe God can work in ways we don’t always understand.

And I believe God knew exactly what I needed when I needed it.

For me, cannabis became part of the road that helped lead me away from opiates and toward a better life.

That’s why I believe it was a gift.

SO, IS CANNABIS GOOD FOR MY LIFE?

For me?

Absolutely.

Cannabis helped me medically.

It helped me psychologically.

It helped me socially.

It helped me creatively.

It helped me professionally.

It helped keep my mind active.

It introduced me to people I value.

And it helped me get away from opiates after years of addiction.

That alone changed my life.

I’m not here to tell you cannabis is the answer for everyone.

I’m here to tell you what it has been for me.

It has been part of my answer.

People are free to judge it.

They’re free to disagree with me.

They’re free to tell me their horror stories.

But nobody gets to rewrite my life and tell me something that helped me was secretly destroying me.

I know where I was.

I know where I am.

And I know what helped me along the way.

Cannabis didn’t ruin my life.

It helped me leave a life of opiate addiction behind.

It helped me find purpose.

It helped me build relationships.

It helped me keep moving forward.

And, from the bottom of my heart, I truly believe it helped save me.

So if you want to know what cannabis is worth to OG Strain, the answer is simple:

It’s worth a lot.

I’m still here.

And I thank God for that.