​That was then...

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Funny thing about stereotypes.

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In my case, it was true. I was the kid with her nose in a book -- even getting into trouble in school for reading too much. The kid who got lost in the swashbuckling adventures of the pirates, or raced her horse across the English moors and into the swirling mist... only to be rudely jolted back to reality by the teacher's angry shout that it was time to be working on fractions.

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At home, if I wasn't riding my horse (sadly, not across the English moors), I was often unpopular due to my reporter/spy/lecturer/entrepreneur activities. Holed up in closets, under the stairs, tables, or behind furniture, I would spy on my older siblings and write down their conversations and activities, then turn in the report to Mom. For pay.

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My sister and her current boyfriend on the sofa were no more amused than were my brother and his friends who had been busily dropping F-bombs all over the house.

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And, based on Dad's favorite parenting method, I wrote lectures about all the things we should and shouldn't do, setting up a booth in the kitchen with a hand-lettered sign: Lectures, 25 cents.

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No takers.

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This is now

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​A strange start to a writing career I suppose, yet here I am writing about the last thing on earth I ever thought I'd write about.

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Due to some rather unpleasant experiences with cannabis as a teen, I decided it was a nasty weed that deserved its evil reputation and I wanted nothing to do with it.

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But as life would have it, by age 30 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which I managed to ignore for several years. Unfortunately, the chronic and severe insomnia that often accompanies this dreadful condition was impossible to ignore, yet nothing helped. And finally, the fibromyalgia pain became so intense I was in constant misery.

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Then a friend told me about CBD oil and cannabis. Amazed to find that even the CBD oil with trace amounts of THC helped both the pain and insomnia, my attitude toward the humble cannabis plant did a much-needed 180. And now, the more I study this fascinating plant, the more in awe I am of its manifold benefits and amazing potential.

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The kid with her nose in the book, who also observed, listened and wrote, is back -- sort of. But she's morphed from the pint-sized entrepreneur/gossip columnist out to make a quick buck, into an older and wiser person who writes about and advocates for medical cannabis for the benefit of others. 

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And I'm pretty sure my siblings and their friends have forgiven me.

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