Adopting Love: How Cannabis and Compassion Created My Family

 

Many will say that a person doesn’t have to be biological to be a father, which has always seemed like an odd statement until it became one of my own. Back in 2016, on the compassion trail where I traveled giving away cannabis oils in copious amounts to patients in need, I came across Genevieve after her mom contacted me, and what’s known as the cannabis love story by many began.

Cannabis, Compassion, and Autism

Genevieve, a 13-year-old with severe Autism and Epilepsy, was the patient that August day back in 2016. Her Mother, Anne Mari, made contact by social media messenger the night before, unaware that the supplier of the oil she sought for her daughter’s severe, intractable Epilepsy was only a few hours away.

Genevieve’s life had significant challenges; her mother believed she reacted to vaccines at only 2.5 years old. Genevieve was deep into the world of Autism – a similar story shared by millions of others across America that have children like her. Genevieve lost the ability to speak and walk well and eventually became so developmentally delayed that she needed around-the-clock care from her family. To top that off, her biological father overdosed in 2007, creating an even larger struggle for her mother.

When I met Genevieve, she was unable to answer questions even with a head nod, was utterly nonverbal, had few expressions, and was seizing. I administered rescue THC oils to her, stopping the seizures, and her mom then went over her pharmaceuticals. Two of them were psych drugs with seizure warnings, so we planned to discontinue them immediately. A third drug was a seizure medication to which she had terrible side effects, to the point of hospitalization – yet it was prescribed again. I threw it away with her mom’s permission.

The road of compassion always brought new faces, names, cities, states, and sometimes even countries – there were so many people in need back then that no single face stood out – until Genevieve. Over the following months, Anne Mari and I became a couple, and little sister Sydney became a new friend, always talkative with such a beautiful bright smile. Genevieve’s older sister, Fatima, was in her senior year and was a bit distant, but her intellect amazed me, and we clicked.

Cannabis Brings My Family Together

Christmas 2016 brought with it an invitation to spend two weeks with the girls, at the house, with Anne Mari and I together as a couple. Anne Mari explained to me that Genevieve’s biological father’s overdose occurred right after Christmas, and being in the world of Autism for decades, I understood the challenges the family would face over the vacation and agreed to join them. In that short period, we all bonded as I worked to perfect Genevieve’s Cannabis Protocol.

Anne Mari and I bonded over Humboldt County’s finest, which I brought back with me from the road, and she shared some of her Santa Barbara locally grown cannabis. We had spent several hours together on three prior occasions over several days at a time – but hadn’t spent the night together until then – four months after we met.

Sydney and I shared joy in Christmas activities, and we all got together for a simple holiday break, enjoying each other’s company. Anne Mari and I became a legitimate couple, and for once, I had the feeling that the cancers growing within me were backing off, proving that love is healing medicine. Our departure didn’t occur until January 10th, as it felt right to be with my lady and her three girls. Who would want to leave?

Only a few days back on the road, I received text messages while off the grid. When a hippie buddy drove us into town off a hill where cannabis was growing, the signal hit, and notification sounds began pinging away. Beautiful videos came through of Genevieve and a message that she had verbalized, “Mommy”. Her sister held the camera while Gen pointed at a photo of Homer on an Ipad and verbally said, “Daddy”. Then, she looked at a picture of me on her mom’s phone and repeated the word again. I was on Amtrak headed back to Santa Barbara, California, within 24 hours of seeing this – a mere 14-hour journey.

She stole my heart; she called me Daddy.