Like many cannabis smokers, Jared Panks used marijuana as medicine. As a paramedic, he’d seen the disastrous effects of other drugs and alcohol so, after years of fighting fires for the U.S Forest Service, he began to smoke marijuana to dull the pain from scoliosis and his torn-up knees. He became more interested in the plant’s potential benefits after seeing family members suffer from cancer and opioid abuse. Panks and his wife founded HomeGrown ORegonicX, a small medical cannabis farm that serves the deaf community in Oregon, and started smoking pot frequently every day to test different strains. He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting. He would start...
