Without Weed, 'I'd Be Dead Now'

Stricken with cerebral palsy after almost being strangled in the womb by his umbilical cord, the 41-year-old Valley Village resident takes a few puffs of medical marijuana and immediately feels relief. "Weed works," he says simply. The "Diablo Kush" and "Velvet Kush" strains from Reseda Discount Caregivers dispensary relax his stiffly contorted muscles and stave off the severe depression that prompted him to make several suicide attempts over the years, including cutting his wrists and injecting Drano and Raid into his veins. The hunched figure eventually stands up straight and takes a few steps without a cane -- all while cracking jokes -- showing a glimpse of the bodybuilder and standup comic he used to be. These days in California medical marijuana patients like Zee can more or less openly take their "medication." But of course it wasn't always so. A century ago this year was when California first banned marijuana. In fact, weed historian and legalization advocate Dale Gieringer pinpoints the key date to Aug. 10, 1913, when a new regulation quietly took effect from the state Board of Pharmacy that added "locoweed" to the state Poison Act. StonerNation Follow us on Twitter @stonernationcom

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