By: Nathan Starnes
At first glance, Desiree Brusewitz looks like your typical twenty-six-year-old woman from Eugene, Oregon. Working as a budtender at a local cannabis dispensary, Terpene Station, Brusewitz finds fulfillment in helping others heal through alternative medicine. What isn’t instantly visible, however, is that Brusewitz is living evidence that cannabis has effective medicinal applications.
As of 2017, twenty-nine states have legalized medical marijuana. According to the federal government, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis)…”. This means that people suffering from epilepsy (and other ailments) can’t legally seek alternative treatment if they live in states where marijuana is illegal. Thanks to the federal government listing marijuana as a schedule I drug, living without seizures hasn’t always been an option.
“(The seizures) started at age thirteen. I had my second about a month after my first one, then it slowly got worse. Four a week was pretty average with up to nine in one day.” said Brusewitz. She was prescribed anti-epileptic drugs such as Tegretol, Lamictal and Depakote but “none were effective and the side-effects just made life worse” she said in a bewildered tone, “Tegretol increased my seizures, Lamictal gave me severe skin rashes, and Depakote made me fatigued and caused me to gain weight.” It wasn’t until she met Sean Beeman, the owner of Genesis Pharms, that her life took a turn for the best. On August 16th, 2016, Desiree Brusewitz took her first dose of RSO (Rick Simpson Oil). Brusewitz has had only one seizure since her first dose of RSO and is now nine months’ seizure free. When asked how much money she saves by switching from pharmaceuticals to RSO, she paused, “Sean gives it to me for free…” she said. The increase in the quality of her life is so great that she jokes about finally living a normal life and having normal people problems. She doesn’t have to revolve her life around the seizures anymore.
When asked about the future, Brusewitz seems to have something planned out. Thanks to Sean Beeman at Genesis Pharms and the RSO treatments, she’s been able to save money and is now planning to buy her own Tiny Home, eventually putting it on some property. It’s clear that Brusewitsz wants to help spread awareness about cannabis and its effectiveness on epilepsy and other ailments, but for now she will continue to spread her own personal story of success through her work at Terpene Station and continue to educate recreational cannabis consumers of its medicinal benefits.