Elizabeth Johnson

6   

(Cliff Johnson)

32                

Az

Cliff is a loving father, successful business owner and active cannabis advocate. He recently started using CBD for his 6 year old daughter. Although their CBD journey together has just begun, the results have been life changing for everyone in their family. This is Cliff's CBD journey... 

Why does Elizabeth use CBD?

Autism, epilepsy, for seizures and bedtime. Autism and epilepsy go hand in hand --- sometimes one will develop before the other. Usually autism first from the research I’ve done. But, we’re using it to subside seizures, because they have gotten worse more recently and it seems to be helping. There’s not enough rock solid information on it or studies that are done that say ‘this is what you need to do’ so dosing is kind of on us.

Does anyone else in your family use CBD?

The dogs. They seem to be calmer. They have less anxiety I would say. I have two big golden retrievers.

Is CBD (easy) for you to acquire?

No. The Internet is a miracle! There is so many options, the hardest thing is finding a product that’s true to what it says it is. It’s all about selling things online. You just kind of feel them out. I feel like I have had some instances where I’ve seen a consistent product and then I’ve seem some where it’s just like, “ehh this is dicey.”

How has CBD made a difference in Elizabeth’s everyday life?

Days without she has more anxiety, without CBD she just has seizures randomly. With CBD I feel like they’re just not triggered. Everyday life with it there is definitely less anxiety for her, less anxiety for us. She does dance classes and when she has her medicine she is more focused. I also think it’s a mental thing for her as well because she realizes she’s taking it and she feels more secure.

It’s not in a pill form either so it’s more of a natural thing she is seeing. At the end of the day she is just more relaxed, calm, cognitive --- she’s starting to talk a lot more. And I truly want to say it’s all because of the CBD, but there’s just no way to tell. Is it purely the CBD? Is it her diet change as well? I wish I had a way of knowing. Her autism symptoms started after we moved here (Phoenix). We’re originally from Washington.

How has it affected her everyday mood?

Her everyday mood had generally been more enriched. She’s happier, less emotional, she has less tantrums. It’s frustrating for everybody, but I know what’s going on and she doesn’t. That’s got to be harder for her. It’s not a perfect science, everyone gets frustrated for sure. It’s hard because she can’t explain and you can’t understand.  

Tell me about her life/anxiety before CBD.

Misdiagnoses. Her life before CBD was just a lot of unanswered questions. Why is she so fussy all the time? Why is she so irritable? She didn’t walk until she was two. We finally got her to start doing things on her own like walking and then we got the CBD. When we got it the results were almost instant. I saw more clarity in her. A child that had more awareness. It’s like it gave her a Band-Aid for her anxieties and seizures that were giving her trouble. It’s just expensive.

Does she take any other pharmaceutical meds?

Not anymore. We don’t do anything anymore.

It’s there in the medicine cabinet but it’s something that is a last resort. I just feel like she’s getting so much better. And to be honest with you, I didn’t see a difference when she was taking that crap anyway. So why keep giving her something? They said it takes a year to work its way into her system… I mean they wanted to put her on anti-depressants; they wanted to put her on everything. I was like “Absolutely not --- I’m not doing that!” She would have to take those her whole life.

Do you feel there is a stigma with CBD and kids?

From our own experience it’s not looked at as something that’s OK to do. I feel like people are pushing it towards kids at the same time. They’re pushing it towards everything right now --- I mean it’s great to have to supplement any lifestyle. I just think children with issues that my daughter has or other people’s daughters or sons with autism should at least give it a try.

It just sucks that we come from a pharmaceutical family. My wife’s mother is a doctor and her father is a surgeon. And they just look at us like, “you’re going to give her what?!” There’s just a mental block for people like that. They can’t understand that it’s something that’s been overlooked for so many years. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in 20 years. All of those people will know they messed up. But medications make more money…

Explain Elizabeth’s CBD journey in a few words.

Not finished but making great progress. I’m not going to say she cured because she’s not but It’s an amazing amount of relief for all of us.