For the past seven years, I have struggled with chronic migraines. They have caused me to miss school and events and spend my days in bed, in pain and vomiting. After going through every possible remedy in the book, from acupuncture to nerve blocks and everything in between, I was beginning to lose hope. Then I went to college.

In the midst of my first-time-away-from-home experimentation, I quickly discovered that whenever I had smoked pot, there was suddenly no familiar pain in my head. I excitedly, yet cautiously, told my parents the news, and while they weren’t thrilled I had been smoking recreationally, they understood how important it was that I had finally discovered something that made my migraines go away.

Getting Approved

As soon as I got home from school for summer break, I began to research medical marijuana. Thankfully, it's legal in Massachusetts, and I found out that chronic pain was in fact a qualifying condition to participate in the medical marijuana program.

To get your license, you first have to be approved by a doctor who prescribes medical marijuana. This doctor likely won’t be your primary care physician, so I researched practices that had physicians who specialized in the medical marijuana program. I found a place nearby that got good reviews and scheduled my appointment for as soon as possible.

The office was just like any other doctor’s office: I checked in, filled out forms about myself and my medical history and also received a packet of information about marijuana. It covered everything from safety to different kind of strains and what they do. It was super informative and is something I still read from time to time. The doctor then saw me, took my vitals and talked to me for about twenty minutes, going over my history and discussing how the medical marijuana program works and how I might benefit from it. It was a fairly quick and simple process, to my surprise, but I was thrilled that I had finally been approved for something that might finally cure my migraines.

Getting the License

The doctor informed me that to obtain my license, I’d have to fill out a form online at the Department of Public Health. The form was for my actual license -- I filled out my personal info and contact information and uploaded my proof of Massachusetts residency and a picture for my I.D.

After about a week, I received an email from the DPH informing me that I was approved for my license and would receive my hard copy in the mail. In the meantime, I was allowed to print out my paper license and bring it to the dispensary until my physical license came in the mail.

The Dispensary

There are quite a few dispensaries in Massachusetts, and living so close to the Boston area, I had a few options that were nearby. I researched the dispensaries and what they offered and read the reviews. NETACare got the most positive reviews, and since it was only a half hour away from me, I decided to check it out.

The dispensaries are highly monitored: a police officer stood outside of the building and I had to show my medicinal marijuana license to even get in the building (you can only go into a dispensary if you have a license). After checking in, I entered the dispensary and felt that I had traveled into an alternate universe. I was handed a menu, as if I walked into a restaurant, with all of their products (this changes daily) and prices. They had different strains, pre-rolled joints, vape pens, edibles and capsules. There was a long line of all sorts of different people, young and old, while nuggets of weed were on display in cases and about 10 or so BudTechs (like a pharmacy tech, but for weed) were working with patients individually. When it was my turn, I told my BudTech that it was my first time there and I had absolutely no idea what to get. He was extremely helpful and knowledgable, going over every different option, discussing the different strains and informing me what would work best for relieving pain. I decided upon some edible lozenges and capsules, wanting something that was fast acting yet discreet. I also got a couple of pre-rolled joints that had different strains that were good with pain relief and also fast-acting. I went home, secretly wishing for a migraine for the first time ever, because I was so curious to see if they would help.

Using the Medicinal Marijuana

It’s been about two weeks since I went to the dispensary, and surprisingly, I’ve only had a few minor migraines since. I found that the edibles and joints worked best in relieving my migraines, but even though I got the edibles in the smallest dosage, they still made me very high, which could be a problem if I were to ever have a migraine before work or class. The capsules, also the smallest dosage, didn’t do much in terms of pain relief or making me feel high, so I’m curious to go back to the dispensary and try the next possible dose or stick with the edibles and strains. I look forward to going back to the dispensary, though, because I had such a pleasant experience and felt comfortable being around such knowledgable BudTechs.

This was an experience I never thought I would have, but am so lucky too. I went years missing out on life because of my pain; now I have options. I’m still learning what form of medicinal marijuana will work for me the best. This program is very much trial and error, especially if you are wary of getting too high for work or school. Still, though, I have something I never had before -- hope. I can’t express how better I feel about life in general, knowing that I can get through it without being in so much pain.