 I recover, I recover, I recover, I recover, I recover Let's go. I'm on a journey to discover the truth Living life and recovery is lovely You got the power in you Surround yourself with positive energy Judges hitting people with provocative penalties Need to make a change, advocate to change the laws Through the people that it's not insane When you stand behind the cause I'm here to speak about the pain Recovered loud to normalize the disease That's been killing all my friends And my family the time is now to let it all go and recover loud the benefit is healthy people family and friends They never have to overdose ever again never have to plead out to a lesser defense I'm proud to say that I recover loud. I never thought I could but I'm so proud that I discovered how to live my life again Controlling my own destiny. I needed recovery. I still need it desperately Diction never defined my My own story I recover proud safe at life I like 40 Yeah, I look like me I recover down. I recover down here to tell my own story I recover proud save a life of like 40. I recover thou here I recover, I recover I recover laugh I'll recover, I'll recover lab, I'll recover, I'll recover lab, I'll recover, I'll recover lab. I'm going to talk about harm reduction. Harm reduction is a path of recovery where abstinence may be the goal, but the main goal is to keep someone alive today for a chance at recovery tomorrow. Today we're going to be talking with my friend Sean Snyderat, who works at a local medical marijuana dispensary. Hi Sean, welcome to the show. Hey, thank you for having me. Yes, thanks for coming and sharing your experience with us. Of course, of course. To start out, you said you haven't used substances yourself, is that correct? Yes, yes, yes. I've never been directly, I guess you would say in the midst of doing it. It's always happened around me, closest friends, family. It's always been kind of in my life some way or another. Somebody is affected by it. Addiction has always been around in my family as well. My mom being alcoholic, she worked through that. Addiction kind of comes in all forms, I feel like. Being around it, I've seen a lot of different perspectives for sure. So what was it like for you growing up? Are you from the county originally? No, I'm actually not. I moved up here about my junior year in high school, so I'd say about 2010, 2011. I moved up here. My mom remarried. I moved up here. It was hard coming in. I moved around a lot when I was younger. So it was always hard to get my footing, I guess you would say. It was always, I was the outsider. I was different. I talked different. I'm from around here. And that was like that anywhere I moved to. I moved all over the place. I mean, Naples, Maine. I came from South Portland. I grew up in South Portland. I lived in Portland for a while. It kind of just mounts around a lot. A lot of different schools and everything like that. And dealing with trying to fit in. I mean, that was always a hard part. Yeah, and a lot of us struggle with that. When we moved from different places, it was hard to fit in with a group and have that core group of friends. So the fact that you didn't get into the hard substances was pretty good for you. But you do use medical marijuana. Yes, I do. Daily, yeah. And what does that do for you? Well, I suffered with a lot of anxiety and big crowds of spaces. Depression is usually a big one. I've dealt with a lot of the past. It just kind of always creeps up on you. I find that medical marijuana kind of keeps my mind not completely off of it, but it helps me deal with the emotions that come with the thoughts. It makes it easier to kind of, I guess, reflect on what's going on around me. So it doesn't get you too bad and push in those dark places? Yes, exactly. It's almost like somebody reaching out of hand and kind of pulling you out. You know what I mean? It's like, hey, you got this, man. You know what I mean? Don't worry. It's all right. It helps my insomnia, which insomnia leads from depression and stuff like that. There can be a lot of factors that kind of intercourse into that. But yeah, no. Essentially, I use it on a daily basis for my depression and anxiety. It helps me get on with my daily life. There's a lot to do. I've got to get it done. Yeah. And just because you didn't use heart substances, you talked about moving around, having that feeling of not fitting is. But you've known people who have used. Yes. I actually lost a friend to an overdose a few years back. I was in the Brandon brand. You know, he was one of my best friends. I woke up to him, unfortunately, passed away in his bedroom in the apartment I was living at. Did you know Brandon was using at the time? I didn't know. He was recovering. He was recovering. He was going through a hard time. He had a bad day at work. Something to do with something other. You know what I mean? Everyone has a bad day. But it was just kind of that, you know, a little push that he needed. So you didn't realize he had used when he came home the night before? Yeah. When he came home, I was under the assumption that he was drunk. He was acting intoxicated. I told him to sleep it off, lay down. You know what I mean? I'll do it in the morning. At the time, you know, after putting all the pieces together after everything, you know, I realized that he wasn't drunk. It was something else. It's a different substance. Of what? I'm not 100% sure. But then I found him overdosed in the next room at 11 o'clock the next morning. That must have been hard. It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. You know, me looking at my adult life and being 28, that was one of those kind of life-changing moments for me. When I was like, hey, this is real. You know what I mean? I heard about it. Friends passing away. But at the end of the day, you know what I mean? He's still on my brain. You know what I mean? Yeah, you know, it's kind of an image you can't get out of your brain. You know, it's kind of seared in my mind. I'll probably see that for the rest of my life. But in hindsight, I guess, you know, it opened my eyes to something different. I wish Brandon was here today. He didn't deserve to lose his life. He was a great guy and he was good. You know, and there's, you know, harm reduction organizations out there. And our main mantra is that people who use drugs don't deserve to die. That's right. You know, and that was Jesse Harvey that said that originally. And it just speaks to the fact that we're not bad people, you know. Choosing to use substances doesn't make us a bad person. It just, we just have unhealthy choices to deal with the trauma. Of course. Of course. And I've kind of been in that dark spot, you know, where you're almost like, you know, I could do something like that. All right. It doesn't matter. You know what I mean? Nobody really cares about it. You know what I mean? Like, no one's going to really miss me if something happened, you know. You get those dark points and it's almost like, you know, you can see. No one's a bad person. You know, drugs are not a bad person by any means. Right. They just had a hard life, you know what I mean? Yeah. And basically, you know, we just didn't have the right coping skill at the time. Exactly. Exactly. So let's get back to the medical marijuana. Yes. So as a bud tender, you see people come in. Yeah. Can you tell me, you know, what do people come in for? What are they using it for and how is it helping them? Yeah. Well, I've had a range of people come into the shop. You know, we have everybody from people who dealt with, you know, just minor pains to, you know, using like the creams, like the salves. We have creams that help with like pains and aches and pains. And we have, you know, full spectrum to, you know, prior drug addict. You know, this is his way for coping, helps with the dope sickness, helps relax you. And it's really, it's, I've seen it kind of change people in a way. Even alcoholics, I've seen it with people going through chemotherapy. It helps with all spectrums of everything. Samia, you have people that cannot go to sleep at night because of trauma. You have people that, you know, they can't function without it. You know, they're a mess. So it's something that I've seen change people's lives to the best. You know, it's amazing what, you know, this natural plant can do for people without the harmful effects of prescription drugs or something like that. You know, it's not going to cure you overnight, but it definitely helps the process for sure. Yeah. And, you know, years ago I remember when I was still using, I remember seeing that there were studies coming out with medical marijuana to help people with addiction. Yes. And I don't have that information now, but I do, if you're interested, I do suggest that you look that up because there is some important research that's been done. Yeah. You know, proof is out there. It is out there and, you know, a great story is the Rick Simpson oil. It's RSO for short, we abbreviate it. Really? It's, I've seen it firsthand help with patients, you know, having cancer. And I'm going on a full remission, you know what I mean, because of it. I've seen people lowest of the low, you know, bring them, you know, back right up where they need to be, you know, get their mind right, you know. Yeah. Of course, you know, it's a lot easier for people to, you know, get through their daily duties. Yes. You know, if they can calm their anxiety. Of course. If they can, you know, lessen the pain. Of course. And a lot of people choose marijuana over those pharmaceuticals. Right. For many reasons. And, you know, addiction being one of them. Yeah. So, you know, we see it, I see it all the time. There's many people in recovery that are using marijuana today to keep them from using the pharmaceuticals. Right. And, you know, so far we don't know of many people who have died, if any, from using marijuana. I don't think we, I don't think we ever will see that day. And what the great thing is about, you know, the dispensary I work for versus remedies especially, they, we all know our info. We all know our information on different strains of products that we sell, dosages wise, we've all kind of, you know, we've dealt with a good number of people. So having that person, like I said, just buying it from your buddy on the street. You know, you go to, it's nice to have a dispensary they can go to and get the info that you need where it can be a positive thing. Yeah, it's, you know, buying something blind from somebody in a dark alley. Exactly, exactly. And it's a whole different aspect or atmosphere, I should say. Yeah. And going into a dispensary because you have those people there for you, we're going to, you know, lead you a long way, you know, and that's what we need out here, you know. And I think we just need to have people, you know, kind of help one another. Exactly. And, you know, there's a lot of stigma around substance use. Marijuana is, you know, still looked at as a drug by a lot of people. You know, I personally don't see it as a drug. You know, it is a natural substance. It helps with many things. And if it's, if somebody's using marijuana today to keep themselves from doing something that can kill them, I support it 100%. Me too. Me too. You know, and it's, it's just, it's a good alternative. It is a good alternative. Yeah. It definitely, it gives you something that can kind of almost, what I usually say is like, you know, sometimes your brain is all scattered and, you know, you haven't thought about this, thought about this, thought about that. And almost like, it kind of brings everything into the line, you know, and it kind of sorts it out for you. Yeah. When you see it, like you're buying like a, almost like a filing cabinet. It's like, how smoking weed helps. You know, edible is just consuming marijuana product in general. It can just help, help the whole, whole process. Yeah. You know what I mean? Which is really great. So. Yeah. And to have something that somebody can use as full spectrum, you know, head to toe, there's benefits all around. The different strains are helping different things. Of course. You know, there are some other MAT options out there. You know, just to, to discuss that for a second. MAT, medically assisted treatment. There's Suboxone, there's Subucade, there's Subutech. And Medical Marijuana is one of those medications. And so when people come into, they're not just coming off the street. So how are they getting medical cards? There's a little bit of a process. It's a lot easier than it has been in the past. When the main marijuana program first came out, it was a, it was quite a few you had to pay. There was a, I think there was $125 balance you had to pay plus another $125 once you got the card. Now it's $49, $50. Okay. And it's, it's really a great way for, you know what I mean? It's a lot easier to get, I should say. Yeah. And where do people get these medical cards? There's a bunch of different, there's some places downstate, down in Bangor area. I know there's a place based out in Portland called ChiefMedCards.com. They do a great job there, real quick and easy. It's usually about a 10 minute process. You can sometimes get in the same day. So if you wake up and you're just like, hey, I want to get my back card today. You know, that's enough, you know. I want to, you know, I want to be able to help myself. So, and. Now today, marijuana is legal for recreational use. Yes. Do you still suggest that people get a medical marijuana card? I do, I do. Usually recreational prices, not knocking, you know, the product or anything like that. But you're going to be paying a lot more for your product than a rent shop. The reason being is it's just how the recreational works. There's more taxes on it. There's multiple taxes put on it. So it's just you're going to be paying more out of pocket for the same stuff. Yeah, and it's just. So there's no difference between medical grade and recreational grade marijuana? I feel like medical is a little more, sort of, think of a little more closely watched, closely watched, a little more supervised, I should say. So everything coming in is, you know, carefully, you know, looked at, looked thorough through, make sure it's a product that's going to help our patients and make them sick. I never recommend getting any kind of CBD products or anything over the counter at a gas station. Right. You just don't know what they're going to put in there. That's also part of the stigma, too. You know, you have those people that are like, oh, it freaks me out. You know, I can't smoke me. It doesn't help me. It makes it worse. You know, you're probably, you know, maybe you shouldn't be smoking it. You know, there's different ways to doing it. So that's why I always recommend going to a medical shop. So it's going to give you that direction as well, too. Yeah. So, Sean, we've talked a lot about marijuana being used as a medically assisted treatment program. Is there anything you'd like to say to somebody out there who's still in the throes of addiction who needs to find a path that's going to work for them so that they can get away from the stuff that's going on? Yes. I guess what my best advice would be is don't be alone in the process as hard as it is being around people. Being with somebody that cares about you might be just that little if you need. It's hard, it's hard going through life in that dark path but there's always light at the end of the tunnel. It's hard finding it sometimes. It's very hard. You just got to focus on the task at hand one day at a time. One problem at a time. You can't take on all the slices of the pie at a time. You have to take it piece by piece and talk to somebody. You know, hey man, I'm having a bad day. You know, somebody can talk to a family member, a friend. Medical marijuana, there's so many dispensaries around now. If you're curious about it, go and talk to your local blood tender. They can sure give you the advice and the info that you need to get better to help you through this hard time. But things will get better. You got to stay positive and just keep pushing. Yeah, and I like what you said there. You know, you don't have to do it alone. You can ask for help. You know, there's plenty of people. You know, there's other programs out there. Methadone is also available as a medically assisted treatment. You know, those programs are out there and available now. And I know you in particular would agree that medical marijuana is not necessarily for everyone. Neither is methadone. Neither is suboxone. Not one answer will fit every problem. It will not. And you know, finding that answer and surrounding yourself with people to talk about the problem I feel like there's a lot of info out there now. And especially on social media, I feel like there's a nice following. You guys started great following on Facebook. I see that every day. It's really great to see so many people in the community helping one another. Exactly. You know, everything going on, you know, it's every day something to hear about some sort of overdose or something like that. So it's just kind of gotten to the point where it's like, okay, I think everybody's getting it, you know. It's time to do something. It's time to do something. We talked about it all the time, but we've got to do something about it, you know. Yeah, and you know, just to summarize what you said, connection is the opposite of addiction. You know, that's what we need. We need people around us. We need to discuss our problems. We need to recover loud. We need to tell people, you know, that they're not alone in their struggles. You know, no matter how bad it gets, there's other people who have suffered the same way. You know, and if they've found a way out of it to share their experience and, you know, help the next person, it's pretty valuable. So thanks again, Sean, for coming. It was great to see you. Yeah, always great to see you, man. You know, I appreciate the work you do and having you come on to tell your story and share your experiences. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me, man. I really appreciate it. All right. Thank you. Thank you. See you. See you later. Today we talked with Sean Snyderat. He's a local, but tender, at the Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Medical marijuana may not be for everybody, but it is for somebody. Arm reduction is a way to keep people alive so they have a chance at recovery tomorrow. Thanks for watching the show. Have a good day, everybody. We'll stop in the schedule and appointment today. Anderson's Auto, for wherever the road takes you. Stress relief. If seeing is believing, I'm believing. I'm not seeing many human beings. Just a bunch of aliens. You are foes. It's what I see outside my front door, asking if I'm ready to go because I ain't from this planet. Space bandit got my own hand. Call me gambit. This isn't my life. It's not how I planned it. Left my town stranded. Thought I should just can it. Thought of some new bars. I found some hidden scars. I thought I'd show you. If you care, we could play Truth or Dare. Heard of the tortoise and the hare. I ate them both. A vow with the finish line. You crossed the line as soon as you went mine. Now is my time to drop you like my next rhyme. Drop a dime on that ooze smoking slime. Tab to the hot glass. Inhaling and choking on that white gas. Don't worry the car will pass, but you will never last. I will always last like I'm ever last. Like the boxing ring. I'm off the ding. I'm off the double jab right hook. Now you want the mat. Mother f*** you cook. Hear it finish him. Sean be killing him. He ain't be stopped and can't be stopped and got the headphones in it. He be rockin'. Don't be here and won't be talkin'. But hearts a f*** open lock. It's often this f*** front pocket for everyone to see. You can even hear the strings. Hearts and piano trippin'. Now I'm mother f*** trippin'. Cause from what I can see all you mother f***s really ain't be livin'. All I see is a bunch of f*** hated misdirected. People calling out people for absolutely nothing. It's really ridiculous. People act promiscuous. People vicious and make you feel worthless and make you feel beaten. Time to go undefeated. Wrapping better than average. Wrapping addict. I'm a fabricated addict. So you say I'm livin' lavage. Time to step out. I f*** had it. I f*** had it. Time to grab that life by the balls and the throat. Tell these haters to f*** float to get off my boat. Didn't listen when I spoke. Get the f*** my boat. I came from the coast. Now I'm in the woods. Call evolution. Your voice and pollution. Sean put it together so f*** fluent. Who knew it? Sean about to ruin your influence with my music. Ain't about my losing. I'm about my cruising and pursuing what I've already f*** proven. My movement is steady f***in' movin'. Lost but still steady movin'. Today's episode is brought to you by Recovery on the Road. A great audio and visual. Rick's Redemption. Anderson's Auto Repair and Recovery Erustic. Welcome to Rick's Redemption where we are family-owned and operated. We strive in cleanliness, honesty and customer appreciation. Rick's Redemption is a recovery-ready employer who believes wholeheartedly in redemption. Here at Rick's, we support Recovery Erustic and definitely are proud to recover lav. God bless. Cover there. Let's go. I'm on a journey to discover the truth. Living life in recovery is lovely. You got the power in you. Surround yourself with positive energy. Judges hitting people with provocative penalties. Need to make a change. Advocate to change the laws. To people that it's not insane. When you stand behind a cause, I'm here to speak about the pain. Recovered loud to normalize the disease. That's been killing all my friends and my family. The time is now to let it all go. Recovered loud. The benefit is healthy people, family and friends that never have to overdose. Ever again. Never have to plead out to a lesser defense. I'm proud to say that I recover loud. I never thought I could, but I'm so proud that I discovered how to live my life again. Controlling my own destiny. I needed recovery. I still needed desperately. Addiction never defy mine. Recovered loud. 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