Whether or not youve read my campaign yet, I need to make sure you all know I keep updating/adding information to the page, which includes adding cannabis research links to show how cannabis has helped me and my familys lives... If for some reason you cant click to it from your phone or something, heres how it reads now. This campaign is primarily to help finance much needed assistance to continue supporting my daughter. Were both autistic, and have been dealt a bad hand in some ways, but together with your support we can be okay. I love her very much, and really need some help to give her the life she deserves to have. Please read on to know more... For those who dont know me yet, Ive been around a long time, and Im known by many thousands of people spanning over 100 countries around the world as josh cannabis sativa. Sometimes, youll see my name with a ™ at the end due to my presence as an independent musician. You may also hear people calling for me out loud by nicknames like josh cannabis, josh sativa, or simply sativa. Im most often on Facebook. However, you can also find me on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, SoundCloud, Myspace, ReverbNation, and many other places... Why am I in so many places? Maybe its because marijuana saved my life. If not, this autistic computer junkie couldnt be here, there, and everywhere possible, to tell as many people as possible, about the miracles of the cannabis plant. For example, I like to speak of the neuroprotective antioxidants from marijuana. I also like to talk about how cannabinoids cause apoptosis (natural programmed cell death) in tumor cells while protecting the healthy ones. Heres just a couple of my favorite recent studies on that subject, Targeting multiple cannabinoid antitumor pathways with a resorcinol derivative leads to inhibition of advanced stages of breast cancer, and Systematic review of the literature on clinical and experimental trials on the antitumor effects of cannabinoids in gliomas. I WORK FOR THE WORLD, as I fight for the repeal of cannabis prohibition, which affects us all. Even if were not friends in person or on a social network at this time, its quite possible youve seen me or my work somewhere since I have a profile on nearly every social network which exists, and I run and/or help administrate several cannabis-related Facebook pages. I am the Founder & Co-Director of Iowa Cannabis Coalition, a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to educate the world about cannabis, in hopes to eradicate its prohibition worldwide. Im also a Co-Administrator for Marijuana Legalization Alliance of America - MLAA on Facebook. Ive been an extremely vocal advocate for the repeal of cannabis prohibition for many years, and for many reasons which I could sit here to write about all week long or more, because Ive actually become quite obsessed with learning about cannabis and teaching others what I learn... Im autistic and computers are my safe zone. So, when I discovered the beautiful medicine which is found in cannabis, what else could I be expected to do? I LOVE to research PubMed, JAMA, and other medical resources for studies about cannabis of which Ive yet to read... With most parts of my personal life, Im usually quite private, even though Ive been a public figure as a cannabis advocate for many years. So, with all that said, this is somewhat hard for me to be asking for help online since recently, and there are so many reasons I need help, Im not even sure where I should begin. Now, Ive had a seriously rough life, persecuted by many people in many ways just because I use and promote cannabis as a medicine to replace many pharmaceuticals. However, my daughter is my number one priority and the primary reason Im needing help now. So, thats why Im starting there; I might add more to this as time goes on... She is, of course, also the primary reason behind the continued long-time secrecy of my legal (birth) name to the general public because Ive always been worried that because of her mom turning anti-pot, and due to my advocacy for cannabis users rights, that the state of Iowa (where I used to live) might try to take her away into foster care or something. When my daughter was first born in 2004, I was working with full-time paid employment. Her mother wasnt working at the time (nor has she worked much at all since; eventually started collecting SSI,) and so we decided she would have primary custody. Even though that decision was made without court involvement, the state of Iowa started forcing me to make child support payments around that time, even though I was already spending a large amount of money directly for her in the way of food, diapers, and clothes. On top of that, the state made me carry an additional insurance plan for her through my employer(s), though shes quite well covered by Title XIX/Medicaid. Since my job(s) rarely paid much above minimum wage, these things made it very difficult for me to save any money at all. Being autistic, Ive also struggled a lot with keeping jobs and have had nearly as many jobs as years in my life, 33 of them. Now, when she was nearing 2 years old, my little girl started showing signs of autistic behavior, which mostly included repetitive motions and activities, and a few other things... The suspicion of her having an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was confirmed as soon as we could have her scheduled for the appropriate testing where they just gave her a general diagnosis of autism. Thats when I decided I needed to learn everything about autism I could, and I ended up learning a lot about myself at the same time. It was then I learned through confirmation with a psychologist I have Asperger Syndrome (AS), also known as high-functioning autism, and my daughter soon received that same specific diagnosis. Now heres the part about my daughters young life which saddens me most. Because of continually having a difficult financial situation; working so much at varying hours for not enough money, I missed out a lot when it came to doctors appointments and school stuff. A lot of my input of experience with my daughter wasnt passed on to teachers and doctors when necessary because I was rarely able to attend conferences and doctor appointments. I think we missed out on a lot of time together, but I also truly think what little time weve had together has been enough for me to get to know her well, because weve always just kinda clicked, perhaps due to us both being afflicted similarly with AS. However, I feel strongly that because of my input being left out, my daughter has been unnecessarily prescribed a plethora of different pills to treat her various mental conditions. I highly believe the pills shes being made to ingest are having more negative effects on her than positive ones; theyre breaking her down, and Im certain theyre causing physical problems (for which shes prescribed more pills)... Shes been on and off so many medications Im unsure I could list them all off the top of my head anymore, but CURRENTLY, she is being prescribed (and is taking) Vyvanse, Escitalopram, Loratadine, and Risperidone... I feel very strongly most, if not ALL, of her damaging prescriptions can be replaced with cannabis medicines. A small portion of my research regarding cannabinoids treating symptoms of autism include the following articles, and I can find plenty more: Cannabinoid receptor type 2, but not type 1, is up-regulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children affected by autistic disorders. Targeting the endocannabinoid system in the treatment of fragile X syndrome. Consequences of Cannabinoid and Monoaminergic System Disruption in a Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders Can autism be triggered by acetaminophen activation of the endocannabinoid system? Would some cannabinoids ameliorate symptoms of autism? Now some good news, I FINALLY have primary custody of her!!! Let me explain how, but you need a quick backstory first. I finally got out of Iowa, first of all. That happened after many years of hardships due to continually being arrested for pot and pot-related offenses multiple times, for a total of 7 different stays in jail, as well as paying tons of money to the state, for lawyer fees, and more; all due to having a plant which was helping me substantially to live a better life with less issues from autism! Fortunately, Ive found some great friends here in Colorado who have given me a place to stay for now. However, the bad news is my last employment was in July of 2012, after which I was unable to even get an interview from 100 or so applications I completed. Thats because my autistic tendencies in combination with several traumatic events (assaulted for false reasons by peers and put in a coma for 4 days in July 2000, assaulted by police over pot more than once, stabbed in the face by my own hand pulling a knife from a suicidal ex-wife, and so much more I dont want to keep explaining to people) led to severe PTSD, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. My family and friends convinced me it would be in my best interest to apply for SSI/Disability for myself. I was denied my application at the start of 2013, and from what I understand, that happens to almost everyone who applies. Well, what doesnt happen to everyone, is moving to a new state just before appealing (I had to get out of Iowa; got my chance, and took it). I also lost my paperwork for the appeal, and was then disallowed the ability to appeal because it wasnt done in a timely fashion (even though they told me on the phone that because of my mental condition, the amount of time wouldnt matter). I was forced to start a brand new application in Colorado, which got transferred from Colorado to Iowa and back several times. Why did they keep transferring it? They claim it was because I kept telling them I moved back and forth. I never did that; thats ridiculous. To make it worse, I was required to call a specific toll-free number for my case, but every time I tried to call that number, it routed me to an automated out-of-range or disconnected cell phone message, which Ive been asked to verify for people at least 50 times or more; not joking... To this day, I still cant call that number, but everyone else can call it from any other phone, 1-800-532-1223. AT&T determined after 2 months that its an unsolvable technical support case due to what appears to be my number was restricted by the recipient (the Social Security Administration)? I really think I should be suing the SSA for mental anguish over the whole thing because AT&T said theyve gotta be blocking my number, and since the whole situation being even further and further delayed has been causing me greater and greater stress; more and more bills stacking up... Anyway, with many more details to go regarding that, to make a long story short, Ive now got around that complication (finally), but my disability case is yet to be approved, and Im falling farther behind in debt as well as things I need soon to survive... You can feel free to ask my roommates how these crazy variables to my case have only exacerbated my excessive anxiety, making it even more difficult to live my daily life... Sure, smoking pot helps to calm those anxieties a little bit, but of course doesnt cure the root of my issue which is a need for money when I cant work a paid job. My current income is $189/month which I get from the state of Colorado as cash EBT, which will have to be PAID BACK to them once I get approved for SSI (because Colorado doctors confirmed my disability). Again, Im so thankful for my friends who have helped me get by with a roof over my head and otherwise while Ive been struggling with getting my life in financial order. Now my daughters in the picture. Shes here after being estranged from me for 14 months after I moved here because she begged her mom for a vacation to see me this summer. She was only going to stay with me for a month at first, but then her mom decided she would move to Colorado as well because of how happy my daughter has been to be here with me. However, her mom has had difficulty with her finances and currently is very unstable, living in a homeless shelter. So, with my roommates support, I had to step up and take over as my daughters primary caretaker. However, getting her SSI and other benefits transferred is another process that is going to take some time. Not only that, but when it does finally get completed, and even after my own disability/SSI application finally gets approved, life is still going to be tough for us because those checks arent going to be very big when I finally get them... I cant even begin to count how much money we need, but heres the deal. The number I set as my goal is an idealistic approximation of what it might take to help us get through whatever time it could take to get everything straightened out with the SSA... My daughter is 10 years old and growing quick. We need money for food until the end of the month when I can get food stamps for her. We need money for clothes, new shoes; both of us, because Ive barely bought myself anything new since shes been born, and I actually still wear a lot of clothes that are older than she is. She needs a bed; sleeps on an air mattress right now... I need at least an inexpensive car to get us around because I had to sell mine to survive... We need money to get our medicine(s)... I owe thousands of dollars in medical bills. I have to pay my cell phone bill, not only so we have a phone in case an emergency may arise, but also to help me be able to continue my work as a civil rights advocate. My roommates are so awesome they let me give them whatever I can whenever I can to help with bills, but its barely been anything most of the time, and I know it would only be fair for me to give more... Furthermore, the state of Iowa still wants me to pay nearly $700 for the last time they caught me with .3g of pot, and they just recently sent that debt to a lawyers office who contacted me. That $700 has to be paid to Iowa in order for me to get a drivers license again since my license was taken due to that pot possession charge, even though I wasnt driving when it happened. I cant work for any employers anymore because of my excessively sporadic attention span and PTSD; no one will hire me. So now, because of that, it would be nice if I could just spend my days raising my daughter while I teach people about cannabis all the time... I also hope to eventually establish my nonprofit organization as a registered 501(c)(3) with a way to generate its own revenue, primarily through the ability to receive tax-deductible contributions, but that takes time and money to get going as well... Guess what else? Theres another HUGE reason I had to get to Colorado when I did. My mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) a few years or so ago, and Ive known for awhile how cannabis is able to help her and others like her. So, when I first got here to Colorado and knew how to connect her with cannabis curing oil, I made it happen. Due to many factors including how well its been keeping her from getting any worse, my dad had to take a big risk and move to Colorado with her to start a home-based business hed been planning for awhile, all because she needs someone at home in case she falls, the cost of driving to Colorado to get her medicine was becoming quite expensive, among other things. For a fantastic resource to learn about how cannabis / marijuana helps people like my mom with MS, you can check out the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. More of my research on the effects of cannabinoids to alleviate the symptoms of MS: Cannabis use in patients with multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis: What are the advantages or disadvantages of a cannabis extract (Sativex)? The endocannabinoid system: a putative role in neurodegenerative diseases. Role of cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis. Control of Spasticity in a Multiple Sclerosis Model is mediated by CB1, not CB2, Cannabinoid Receptors My dads business, The Bandwagon Radio Network, has been planned out as a fantastic network of radio stations to stream independent music from artists all around the world for free, and as originally planned should work out to support my parents needs. Unfortunately though, my dads nest friend of like 50 years agreed to help do various things for the radio, but ended up misappropriating THOUSANDS of DOLLARS for his own personal benefit, used my parents home just to try to get himself a red card, and really set my dad quite far behind. Now, since theyre out all that money and the business hasnt quite been built up to an income-producing level yet, my mom and dad are about to lose everything. Literally, everything... Their car payment just bounced, and with rent due just around the corner you can just imagine what might happen if they dont get some help soon, too... On top of all that, the financial stress is killing my mom; making her neurodegenerative condition worse... The bottom line is, my daughter and I finally have a great place to live where we dont have to worry about me getting arrested for a plant anymore, and shes in a fantastic school system, but we really need help to keep going, keep stable, and maybe have some fun together once in a great while... I also need to get her off all these pills to save her life, and thats going to take a lot of doctor visits to make sure we can make a proper transition from that pill routine to a much safer cannabis medicine regimen (two doctors recommendations are required for a child to use cannabis medicinally in Colorado, by the way). I swear the government doesnt seem to want to help me, and it actually seems theyre messing with me in getting the help I need. My mom and dad are in a seriously desperate situation as well. Please help.. gofundme/joshsativa ~ For those of you who wish to donate through PayPal instead of GoFundMe, you may send money for this campaign through PayPal to joshcannabissativa@yahoo
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 01:31:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015