Letters to Mary Jane, by Sean Worsley

Our Letters to Mary Jane series highlights influential voices in the Black Community, providing them a prompt to express their gratitude for marijuana and how the plant is improving their lives. We hope you enjoy the "Letters to Mary Jane" series, curated by Caliva guest editor Lyneisha Watson.

Dear Mary Jane, 

Hey, I know right now we’ve been giving each other space and keeping our distance, but I just felt the need to let you know how you’ve changed my life.  There have been a lot of ups, downs, and mixed emotions throughout my life, yet you’ve remained loyal.

Mary, please forgive me for the terrible assumptions and preconceived notions I had about you because I allowed myself to be misinformed by ignorant, close-minded individuals. We got off to a rocky start but our relationship soon flourished. You have to understand that life was a bit lonely when you came around, then you started to introduce me to your other associates, who in turn, opened my eyes to the true you and all your beautiful qualities. 

You started as an escape for me, then I discovered you were easing the constant tension and pain I felt throughout my body and mind.  The more time we spent together, the more I noticed how things that troubled me before, troubled me very little or not at all anymore. You helped me regain my appetite and my ability to rest at night.  It's as if you knew I was struggling with nourishing myself. One day I realized that falling asleep was easier, and I finally felt well-rested. I was mind-blown at how great you were at helping alleviate symptoms that I had experienced for years and those that manifested from my deployment in the Army.

The time I spent in war left me with invisible, traumatic, life-changing wounds that only began to get better through a combination of therapy and of course YOU, Mary. I have to be honest that I was shocked when one of my doctors recommended that I see you again. He believed that with your help, my therapy and treatment would be more productive. I couldn’t believe it!  After so many other doctors had scolded me for associating with you, saying that you did so much harm and no good, now I had doctors telling me the exact opposite. I knew then that all the associates you introduced me to and myself weren’t crazy. 

Before my family really didn’t approve of our relationship, then the news started to talk about how your medicinal properties can assist with all kinds of symptoms, diseases, pains and so much more. They eventually stopped lecturing me about us when they saw how you were benefiting me:

• You had been helping all this time with all of my many different issues:
• The shadow people that always followed and chased me around were gone; 
• I didn’t hear the whispers and weird crazy sounds anymore; 
• I was able to sit and relax around my family without feeling on edge all the time; 
• My hyper-vigilance wasn’t as bad; 
• And you helped me slow down my chaotic thinking so that I could process information more easily. 

But now that we have been separated for a while, all those things you helped me with before are making their way back into my daily life, becoming more and more pronounced just as they were before. Except now, I don’t have you to help me in these situations as I did before. It's truly beginning to become overwhelming and unbearable. Yet, thanks to you, I know better because you taught me that it's all about my perspective. Even though I can’t access you like I would like, you are still helping me because I can recall all the guidance you gave me in the past. 

Mary, I must say that you truly made me happy when I begin cooking, baking, extracting and creating with you because that is when I can honestly say that my true appreciation for you grew. You are so versatile and full of medicinal potential. 

You truly have been a GOD SEND in MY LIFE, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY THAT WE ARE SOON REUNITED, MY DEAR SWEET MARY JANE!!!!!

Yours Truly,

Sean Worsley

About Sean Worsley

Sean Worsley, a disabled, Black Iraq War Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, who was sentenced to 60 months in prison after a medical marijuana arrest. Worsley was legally prescribed medical marijuana in Arizona after he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although prescribed legally, Worsley crossed state lines, and unbeknownst to him, broke the law. 

In November 2020, after years of legal battles that cost him thousands of dollars in legal fees and unexplainable distress, Worsley was released after serving 10 months in various Alabama jails.