For the last few years, I’ve had issues with arthritis in my hands.
At different times throughout the year, my fingers swell.
The knuckles become stiff and painful. I can barely manage to make a fist. I struggle to perform everyday tasks, such as braiding my hair, pulling weeds and chopping vegetables. It’s difficult for me to type on a keyboard. That’s a big problem for me, because my job requires me to work on a computer for approximately eight hours a day. I tried home remedies such as yellow raisins soaked in gin and rubbing Vicks into my fingers. Those treatments worked for a while. Eventually, my symptoms worsened. My fingers swelled up so badly that I needed to cut my rings off. I looked into the prescription medications and was scared off by the side-effects. I was delighted when medical marijuana was finally legalized in my state. I immediately went through the process of getting my card. The visit to the medical marijuana dispensary was surprising. I wasn’t expecting such a wide selection of choices. There were big glass display cases of gorgeous flower, shelves of pre-rolled joints and blunts and a wide selection of vapes. There is every type of cannabis concentrate, extract and edible. After discussing options with the budtender, I decided to try a cannabis-infused topical. I chose an ointment with high CBD and CBN and minimal THC. The topical doesn’t cause any psychoactive effects, absorbs quickly and I can apply it multiple times her day. The cannabis ointment relieves both the pain and the swelling. It is infused with essential oils, so it smells really nice.