DRIVEN
From TBI Sufferer to Medical Marijuana Advocate
“Some of my fondest memories are spending time with my grandfather at the state capitol.” She mentioned this as I sat across from Katie Mayers, a Louisiana medical marijuana patient and professional cannabis advocacy consultant. “My grandfather was in the oil and gas industry in the 80s. I have a special needs sister and my grandfather would drive her to her treatments in Baton Rouge which we couldn’t hang around for, so he’d attend oil and gas meetings and legislature and I’d accompany him,” Mayers said. “So between the ages of 7-13 years old, I was taking notes. I started writing letters to politicians calling for different changes and my reasoning for suggesting those changes,” she continued. “I’ll never forget his words, ‘Never stop writing,’ he told me.”
By Abby Meaux Conques
Mayers would pick up her writing pen once again as an adult, still advocating for change, but this time for her health and in support of the health of others. Mayers had suffered multiple injuries in multiple car accidents in her adult life, resulting in major chronic health problems. Her first accident resulted in neck surgery, where an array of opioids, nerve medications, muscle relaxers, antidepressants and steroids were prescribed post-surgery. Mayers was left with a double plate in her neck, countless physical therapy hours, severe nerve pain, trouble sleeping, severe nausea, trouble digesting foods and trouble going to the restroom regularly. She was hospitalized multiple times for dehydration and no appetite. She knew that the existence that she was experiencing wasn’t the full life she hoped to live. On a visit to a legal marijuana state, she tried cannabis, and saw notable results from the first time she used it. “The first thing I noticed was that my appetite was there, knowing that food is also a form of medicine, this was big for me,” she said. Eventually she would notice an elevated mood and a jovial quality to her mornings. Upon returning to Louisiana, she was driven to do everything in her power to get access to this alternative plant medicine; for herself and for others. “I was always fascinated with the science behind why it helps so differently. I started getting in touch with doctors and university researchers who would speak to me about it. I spoke with researchers at over 20 different universities. I started gathering all this data and information, and eventually, people began coming to me with questions on how this could help them,” she explained. KATIE MAYERS, 2020 12
L OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
V O L U ME 1 I S S U E 3
