Name: William (Wayward Bill) Chengelis
Condition/Illness: Chronic Pain. I fell from a ladder in 2003 and crippled my left hand. It is no longer fully functional and is affected by hot and cold weather. I also suffer from spasms and sharp pain.
Home: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: Chairman, US Marijuana Party
Using Medical Cannabis Since: 2009
Why did you start using medical cannabis? What symptoms respond the best to cannabis use?
I was on a regimen of 12 Vicodin a day. I was basically a couch potato whose weight jumped up to 195. I now weigh 148. The pain and the spasms reacted best to cannabis. I also used cannabis for pain management to wean myself from my Vicodin addiction.
Do you have a favorite strain?
Hybrids with a 60% Indica and 40% Sativa favoring anything Chem Dawg.
What about a favorite medication application?
Cannabis Flowers, medibles on occasion, and concentrates.
Compared to pharmaceutical regimens, how effective is cannabis in treating your condition?
Cannabis was a perfect replacement compared to a life as a pill junkie. It works! I am bipolar with PTSD. Although not a malady listed on the Colorado Medical Registry, with the permission of my VA mental health therapist, I have replaced the psychotropic Litium and Paxel in my mental health treatment. Cannabis is uplifting yet calming and treats both my depression and my mania.
What is the most important issue facing patients with your condition here in Colorado?
As a member of the political and cannabis patient communities here in Colorado, what problems/issues concern you the most?
Unity in the Cannabis CommUNITY! We are highly fragmented due to egomania.
Chronic Pain is under attack. The public and authorities see it a perfect catchall for getting a cannabis recommendation. Chronic pain covers most of all the Colorado Red Cards issued. The diagnosis is misunderstood and more public awareness to pain, pills, and pot is needed.
How can the cannabis community help?
More participation in the legislative process, local and state to prevent the continued erosion of Amendment 20.
What do you say to the skeptics of medicinal cannabis treatments?
Don't knock it! It could be you!
What inspires you to wake up each morning and fight the fight?
As Chairman of the US Marijuana Party, anything cannabis is my fight. Medical, Recreational, and Commercial (hemp). I have been at this since I was 18 years old. I am now 61 years old. I have made legal cannabis my mission and intend to be part of the return of cannabis before I die.
Favorite Words of Wisdom:
“I am a bit player in a horror movie called Marijuana Prohibition. I will know that the movie is ending when the script reads that weed is legalized for all, I get the girl, and ride off into the sunset in a cloud of reefer smoke. Heehaw!” -Wayward Bill
