A FORMER DRIVER ON WHY HE TAKES MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Edgar Murdoch is a user of medical marijuana. He also knows a thing or two about trucking. Murdoch, 79, spent four decades plying North American highways as a professional truck driver. He also worked as a safety officer in the trucking industry and says he wouldn’t hesitate to hire a driver who responsibly uses medical marijuana. Ed says his trucking career is largely to blame for him requiring the use of medicinal marijuana in retirement. Over to you, Ed…

“Changing headlights and fixing wiring without benefit of gloves on the bald, barren wastelands of Canuckistan when it’s -40 C with a 40 mph wind blowing up your ass has an accumulative effect which after 40, 50 or 60 years adds up to considerable arthritic pain,” Edgar told me. “I never did cannabis while I was on the road but I started last winter. My experience has been very positive,” he said. “There is still some discomfort but not the excruciating pain there once was and I can actually make a fist with my left hand, something I couldn’t do several months ago.”

“The frenetic madness surrounding the whole argument regarding the use of this beneficial substance is driven by money and control and misinformation disseminated by the pharmaceuticals and other self-interest groups, not by sane reasoning or independent research conducted by real scientists with nothing to gain. If used responsibly, as in the use of all prescription drugs, the use of medical marijuana is no more dangerous to the safety of the motoring public than taking a Tylenol 3 with codeine, which can only be had on prescription. The sensible driver will take it prior to bedtime and trust me, it does lead to a much better night’s rest.”

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James Menzies is editorial director of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 24 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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