Secret-sharing app Whisper gives users the ability to confess to anything, anonymously and without fear of being publicly shamed. Some confess about love and marriage, religion or work. But the users below have turned to the app to confess to using medical marijuana. While anonymous and unconfirmed, the words tell a story, told publicly by others around the nation, about using cannabis to survive.
These posts also reveal the myriad of ways people are using medical pot, as well as the stigmas they still face from friends, family, coworkers or the federal government, which still considers marijuana to be among "the most dangerous" substances, "with no currently accepted medical use."
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use and number of recent studies in have demonstrated the medical potential of pot. Purified forms of cannabis can be effective at attacking some forms of aggressive cancer. Marijuana use has also been tied to better blood sugar control, and may help slow the spread of HIV. Legalization of the plant for medical purposes may even lead to lower suicide rates.
Still, the federal government continues to ban the plant, but there is hope that policy is shifting. The FDA recently approved a clinical trial that will study the safety and efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) in children with severe epilepsy. And just this week the Department of Health and Human Services approved a long-delayed study looking at marijuana's effect on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Of course, because secret-sharing apps don't have the usual user identification commonly associated with social networks, it is impossible to confirm who posted these thoughts or if they are truly accurate portrayals. However, anonymity can give people the ability to be honest about things that they would normally not feel comfortable speaking out about publicly, so we present these confessions with that idea in mind:
Before You Go
