On Point: Trident Apothecary seeks to give autoimmune disease patients a natural alternative

Story by Sherrad Glosson | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

When you ask Lori, a Ferndale resident, the reasons why she wants to help others deal with medical issues, one of them is because she’s been there… and is still fighting the fight.

Fibromyalgia came first. “It came out of nowhere,” says Lori. Not even accepted by the medical community until recently, it causes the brain to create pain signals by itself. It’s been compared to trying to move with broken bones. She tried different medications to subdue the pain in her hands, her hips, and her knees, but didn’t want to become addicted to any of them and they didn’t help, anyway.

Lori was prescribed many dangerous and addictive pain killers to subdue the pain in her hands, hips, and knees. “Medications aren’t really safe. They come with complications and side effects. Many of the medications I have been prescribed the side effect is: ‘Can cause death’.”

She began to research and seek other alternatives. One doctor had her try something different. He put her on Prozac, which treats the source of the pain signals. It helped. He also suggested she try medical marijuana.
Worse was to come. This past summer, Lori had a MRI and found out she had lesions on the brain and also was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis,) a disease that affects the entire nervous system. It affects everyone differently, and Lori stood up to show me some of the effects it’s had on her. As she began to stand, she looked pretty stable, but when she stood on both feet she began to wobble, and immediately sat back down.

She says that this disease affects her balance as well as her train of thought. She can be in a conversation and completely draw a blank. From this personal experience, she did much research into alternative methods of dealing with pain.

Lori met Bill in December 2014 through a neighbor. Bill was an organic Tilapia farmer from Florida who moved to Michigan to grow medical marijuana. His goal was to grow clean, high-quality
medical marijuana for those suffering from autoimmune diseases. As it happens, he’s been growing his own marijuana to self-medicate since 1979. Bill’s undergraduate studies combined aquaculture with hydroponics, and he has been an organic farmer for most of his life. He is also a licensed fish farmer, composting specialist, and certified educator.

Together, Lori and Bill set out on a mission. Trident Apothecary (a fictitious entity, not a business) has goals of serving those with autoimmune diseases, protecting the environment by not using toxic pesticides, and mitigating their own waste production through worm farming. “We’re caregivers.” Lori says. “We welcome anyone with a valid MMMP (Michigan Medical Marijuana Program) card. We want to help, as organically as possible.”

Trident Apothecary has established a passive solar greenhouse to raise worms and fish to break down their waste and create organic soil for their plants. This process has been put in place to grow and produce the highest-quality products. The primary focus for Trident Apothecary is on the mind, body and spirit aspect, all integral parts of the healing or coping process.

Their new working project is to create a candy that will reduce the need for autoimmune patients to inhale medical marijuana via smoking. You can imagine that smoking is definitely not an ideal method for a child to receive her medicine, even if it is the only one to help them deal with their symptoms. Even learning how to do it at a young age could be baffling. Then you have adults who don’t have the desire to inhale smoke at all.

Since using Bill’s method over the last year, Lori reports her symptoms have improved. They are looking for other autoimmune patients to work with, to make the disease easier to deal with.

If you suffer from autoimmune disease and would like more information on Trident Apothecary and how they may be able to help, Lori and Bill encourage you to contact them at their Facebook page.

Lori also talks about the need to stay active and keep doing what you love. “To keep my hands working, I make suncatchers, jewelry, and other crafts using beach glass, beads, and driftwood. Multiple sclerosis has weakened my strength and dexterity. This is part of how I fight back naturally.”

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You can contact Lori and Bill through
www.facebook.com/TridentApothecary.

Lori’s arts and crafts are at www.facebook.com/Willowhawk-Glass.

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