Educator, Glider Pilot, Medicinal Cannabis Advocate

I started using cannabis at 18, not just recreationally, but out of desperation. I’d lived my whole childhood with undiagnosed Tourette’s Syndrome. I wasn’t medicated, I was misunderstood, and I suffered. My tics caused me permanent injuries, including damage to my eyes and neck. I was alone in it—and had to find a way to cope.

Cannabis gave me what nothing else could: relief. It eased the pain, reduced my tics, calmed the anxiety caused by trauma, and helped me sleep. When my CBD levels are steady, my body becomes manageable. Cannabis lets me live a life without constant, involuntary movements.

I now spend around $700 a month from my disability allowance just to legally access this medicine—medicine I could grow myself if the law allowed. If I could juice the plant, I’d need less THC. But I can’t grow it. So I have to choose between food and medicine. Meanwhile, corporations profit off my pain.

I support legalisation because I believe cannabis is a natural medicine we should all have access to. As an educator with 30 years’ experience in the aquatic industry, I know that learning changes everything. We’ve come to understand many plants once thought dangerous. We can do the same with cannabis.

I’ve built a full life while using cannabis—glider pilot, massage therapist, commercial chef—and still had to hide it all just to protect my career and family. Yet despite being a responsible adult, I’ve faced discrimination, even accusations of domestic violence, simply because I use a plant that helps me function. That’s not justice. That’s ignorance, and it’s destroying lives.

We need better education—about the endocannabinoid system, about the role of cannabis in managing chronic conditions, about the right to grow and share responsibly. People shouldn’t lose their children, their licenses, or their dignity because of outdated laws. Doctors need to be educated too. Patients shouldn’t be refused treatment because of stigma.

We don’t use bloodletting anymore—we evolved. It’s time our cannabis laws did too.

I’m speaking out so no other patient, parent or child has to suffer like I have. Our kids shouldn’t be treated like criminals for seeking a supplement or safe relief. I’m advocating for change—so we can all grow, heal and live freely.