MINNEOLA, Fla. — For Laurie Lima, gardening is her therapy and lately, it’s a therapy she’s needed more of.

Back in 2019, Lima was diagnosed with severe ankylosing spondylitis. It's an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine and the joints.

What You Need To Know

  • Laurie Lima uses medical marijuana to ease pain caused by a severe ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis

  • While she says it's "not the answer" to her disease, it helps her do every day activities 

  • She hopes sharing her story will help change how people think about the use of medical marijuana

“It sucks. It’s my reality. I’m mastering my reality right now is really want it is,” said Lima.

There’s no cure for Lima's disease for which she experiences chronic pain. Many of her doctors point towards pain killers, but Lima wanted a more natural way to go about her disease.

This year she turned towards medical marijuana.

“Marijuana isn’t the answer for my disease," said Lima. "But it is the Band-Aid to let me do everything every day and function like a normal human."

While Lima said medical marijuana helps her do everyday activities like gardening and being a mom — not everyday is a good day. When the pain hits her the most she’s resting until the hurt goes away.

“My pain everyday is (on a scale of) 1 to 10, it’s a 5. That’s the baseline. On my bad days, it’s a 10. That looks like me trying to push through, getting my kid to school, the normal mom stuff,” said Lima.

Currently, the federal government is in the midst of taking steps to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The U.S. Justice Department sent a proposed rule to the federal register in May that acknowledges the medical uses of cannabis. If approved, the change could make it easier to research the drug.

While Lima is happy the federal government is working towards reclassifying marijuana, the proposal still awaits approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration and not everyone is on board.

That includes the bipartisan group “Smart Approaches to Marijuana” – made up of medical doctors, lawmakers and law enforcement officers. In a statement, the president of “SAM” believes the pot industry would benefit the most since easing federal regulations could reduce the tax burden for marijuana businesses and not the average person.

As for Lima, no matter what the federal government decides, she hopes sharing her story will help change how people think about the use of medical marijuana.

“It’s tough, it feels rough when people around you don’t understand," she said. "I don’t mind people knowing because I want the stigma to change.”

Next in the process, the DEA will take public comment on the proposal. If approved, marijuana would instead be a schedule III substance, similar to ketamine and some anabolic steroids.