Cannabis, A Crohn’s Treatment
While doctors won’t outright tell you to try cannabis for Crohn’s disease, especially since it is still illegal in most states, when they have exhausted everything else, like in Coltyn’s case, they may suggest, “looking at alternatives.”
The alternative for Coltyn was cannabis. “At the time, I didn’t know what cannabis really was. All I knew was that it was bad and I should just stay away from it. But, when my dad said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go try cannabis,’ really, my only concern was what are the side effects?” And when Coltyn and his family decided that the only side effect was that it may not work. They realized they didn’t have much to lose.
They did some research and came across several studies. In one particularly convincing study, Israeli researchers found that “a short course (8 weeks) of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 10 of 11 patients with active Crohn’s disease, compared with placebo, without side effects.” (10)
Convinced cannabis was the answer, Coltyn and his father left Illinois for Colorado where they would have access to legal medical marijuana. He started by eating cannabis brownies and then moved up to medical grade cannabis oil, which is more effective for Crohn’s.
A picture is worth a thousand words. And that is exactly what Coltyn shows anyone who wants to know how he is doing today.
He starts by telling people, “I came here [Colorado] in a wheelchair because I was so weak. I had already written my will.” He then shows them two pictures. The first is a picture of his colon before using cannabis. It is ulcerated, bleeding and horribly inflamed. He says, “This was my colon.” Coltyn then shows people a capsule and says, “This is cannabis.” Finally, Coltyn holds up another picture of a completely healthy, pink colon, and says, “This is my colon with cannabis.” He ends by saying, “Any questions?”
Illegally Alive
Coltyn started taking cannabis on March 4, 2014 and by October 2014, he says, “we went from ulcers and inflammation to completely clear [of Crohn’s] in just a few months. I have been on cannabis for two and a half years, and I can now officially say that I am in clinical remission.”
Coltyn routinely shares his story online via Illegally Healed a website that shares studies and stories of people healed by cannabis (11). He directly attributes his newfound health to cannabis and now 16, he is a strong advocate for this healing plant. He hopes his story will reach other people who are suffering and hopefully point them to an “alternative.”
And when it comes down to whether cannabis is illegal or legal, his logic is simple.
“I’d rather be illegally alive than legally dead.”