December 10, 2013

Beyond the Smokey Walls

            I became close to my friend Angel Pittman one summer, where I discovered she was battling ovarian cyst syndrome. After her surgery to remove all of the cysts, she was told that it would come back and the doctors prescribed her a lot of medicine that she had to take. She hated taking her meds because it would make her feel hazy and she would find herself running into the bathroom to vomit up all of the expensive medications she took. She resorted to deal with the pain and taking excess prescribed drugs by smoking marijuana. From that first smoke, she was in love. She preferred to smoke marijuana than to taking her prescribed drugs.
            Angel told me buying marijuana was cheaper than paying her medical bills for the drugs she had to take. Smoking made her feel happier, making her laugh at the simple things and it also made her eat more than she did instead of vomiting her food back up on the bathroom floor. On top of going in and out of the hospital in the summer of 2013, she recovered from one of her cyst surgeries to go back to school for her senior year. I followed her life and spent time with her, where she taught me a lot about her philosophy on marijuana and discovered the small issues in her life she was struggling with from paying off financial bills to focusing on finishing school in time with her peers.

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Angel is a 21-year-old Psychology major. Fascinated with the complexity of the human brain, she wants to find a job that helps people.

“I want to help end the war on drugs and to make the criminal justice system work for everyone.”

Angel has prescription strength drugs like ibuprofen, naproxen, percocet, lortab, muscle relaxers, anxiety meds, depression meds, and even bipolar medication that was given to her when they could not figure out what was wrong with her until an MRI reviewed she had poly-cystic ovarian syndrome.



Rolling a joint, preparing for one of her daily smokes at the end of a busy day.

Angel chose to smoke marijuana. It helped with her anxiety and pain. To smoke a bowl of marijuana was easier than to take 11 of her prescribed drugs all together.

Angel opens up her monthly hospital bill reminders that costs about $2000 since her surgery in the spring.

A Portrait of Angel
                 “I have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, as does my mother. In 2009, I discovered I had it when one day when I woke up to excruciating pain that I’ve never experienced before. I was rushed to the hospital where it was revealed I had one cyst burst and 17 others in my body that didn’t. I had surgery to remove them and I became healthy only to be told by the doctors that I was prone to receive them again. Then in the spring of 2013, I started having stabbing pain in my side. Two hospitals, two diagnoses, and two days later it was discovered that my gall bladder had stopped functioning and that I had a cyst the size of an orange, larger than my uterus on my ovary that could have burst and kill me or weigh down my Fallopian tubes, wrap around itself, and die inside of me.”


When asked about the people and memories from the photographs on her walls, she tears up, recalling the good and the bad from her life.

“Love the life you live.
Live the life you love.”
 – Bob Marley

Angel’s retail job at the local Nike store.

I like working at Nike but honestly, I have to support myself through school and bills is just another added stress."


Angel has a 9-month-old puppy named Boudreaux, where he always wants to lay next to her and to protect her.


When I was sick he would just cry at the bathroom door waiting for me to finish puking. He always wanted to be right up under me, and I think it scared him to not know what was going on.”


Angel smokes a joint in the comfort of her room.

Angel Pittman
            I think America got the wrong idea about marijuana and a lot of other drugs thanks to government propaganda. There was a time when narcotics were widely used across the county. Housewives on coke and smoking opium, people with addictions were viewed sympathetically and hemp was a vital product. I never touched drugs or even alcohol until I came to college. If I had known the truth, I probably would've started a long time ago. I don’t have time to embody the set ideas towards people who choose to smoke like me.”


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Thank you to Angel Pittman, your soul is beautiful.