Hey Dudes!!! 🤙🏼 Today we get to interview one of our female growers and photographers, Jasmyn! Or as we know her @Rhodyreefer. So without further delay introduce yourself, Jasmyn....
RR: My name is Jasmyn, I’m 24 years old and currently residing in Rhode Island. My passion is photography, and I currently work in the Cannabis industry as a budtender.
*Image description: To the right, is a photo of Jasmyn, smiling. Jasmyn is a black woman with dark curly, medium length hair. She is wearing black rimmed glasses. She has several black and white tattoos. One tattoo is a bee in the middle of her chest.
A&A: We seriously love your spooky bud photos!!! The one with the bat nails is Amanda's favorite! What's your disability?
RR: My entire life I have suffered from generalized anxiety, even when I was a very young child. I dealt with a lot of manipulation from an abusive parent, as well as neglect, so I’ve been an anxious kid for as long as I could remember. But growing up in fight or flight mode you do what you can to blend in with your surroundings and just make it to the next day, so I made it virtually unnoticed through my high school graduation. Fast forward two years post graduation and my anxiety caught up with me, causing debilitating pain in my stomach (all while developing endometriosis without knowing it). I did my best to manage it with my primary care doctor using the traditional pharmaceutical route, but one prescription lead to another (along with more symptoms), and it turned into a painful and anxiety inducing cycle of trial and error. When I finally worked up the nerve to vocalize my concerns to my primary care, I was met with a lot of resistance and a lot of commentary that made me feel uncomfortable, so I decided to take matter so to my own hands.
*Image description: Below is a GIF of a black "Rosie the Riveter". She is flexing her right arm.
A&A: Wow! You are one tough warrior. Good for you for advocating for your own care! We find that that skill is so necessary for good health. How do your disabilities affect you and when did you discover cannabis?
RR: At this point I wasn’t eating, wasn’t sleeping, and was constantly in pain, chronically dehydrated, and ended up having to take a year long medical leave from my job, so I figured why not try cannabis? The first week of using cannabis proved to be a turning point in the best way. While I wasn’t pigging out and sleeping as expected, I was able to actually form an appetite enough that I was able to snack, which made it easier to drink water as well.
But the biggest thing was cannabis was able to knock down my pain levels enough for me to truly focus on getting a diagnosis. While I’m still a never-ending medical mystery to all of the medical professionals I work with, I was able to discover that I also suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, which put a lot of puzzle pieces together in my life. And much like the other issues I was facing, cannabis was able to quiet the chaos that came along with it, so that I could get back to living my life each day and pursuing treatment further.
*Image description: Above and to the right is a GIF of an animated cannabis leaf character, growing into giving the peace sign. The letters W-E-E-D appear in different colors above his head.
A&A: We think you touched on a VERY important point that medical cannabis helped quite the chaos so you could be HELPED! BRAVO! How have you handling the pandemic?
RR: This was all especially helpful during the pandemic. While I am a more reserved person, I felt like I wasn’t doing so well during this pandemic. At first, I felt very isolated in the very beginning, and was full of anxiety and worry (given the current state of things I knew I wasn’t alone, but still wasn’t sure how to vocalize this with the people I cared for most). However, cannabis and the creativity it sparks helped me to discover a few different hobbies to pick up and enjoy indoors while doing my part in flattening the curve, without feeling lonely.
*Image description: To the left is a GIF in pop art style. It zooms in on a nurse with thought bubbles. The first states, "Save a life!" The second says, "Stay home ..."
A&A: Way to pick up safe new hobbies! That's why Amanda and I started this website in April; as a way to stay busy helping others, at home! For someone struggling with your diagnosis what's something you want them to know?
RR: While I’m still figuring out what path is best for me, I can say cannabis has been a gift I couldn’t be more thankful for. For me personally, I’m really not sure where I would be right now without this plant. For anyone struggling with anything I mentioned, BPD especially, I would just like to say that you’re are one tough badass. Whether or not you choose to use cannabis is up to you, but I would highly suggest looking into the benefits and how this plant can naturally help the symptoms that are hindering your quality of life. Everyday there is new research being done on this plant and all of its medicinal properties, so never EVER stop learning and researching as this new information continues to be presented.
Thank you again for giving me the time and space to share my story. It isn’t unique in the slightest, so I hope that someone can read this and take away something to help them in their everyday life💜
A&A: Thank you, Jasmyn! May your story help many! Till next time, dudes!!! ✌🏼
*Image description: To the left is a GIF zooming in on a toddler chewing on something. The text at the bottom says, "Damn! That shit good."
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