Alternative Therapies + The Opioid Epidemic + Social Media
Tasha Buras
Tasha Buras is known to her more than 350,000 TikTok and Instagram followers as @theCurlyCreole where she frequently uses her platform to address the stigma associated with medical marijuana.
A Better Way to Help Others
Caregiving
Louisiana Social Media Influencer Tasha Buras, or the @CurlyCreole as she is known to her more than 350,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, is a medical marijuana patient and serves as a caregiver to her grandfather.
“Paw paw served this nation. He was in the marines. Like many veterans, he is older and has a bunch of health problems that medical marijuana could help if it was not for the stigma,” said Buras,
“It’s stigmatized so bad that many veterans just stay on pharmaceuticals because they don’t want to deal with it.”
Herb Natural Medicine
“That goes against everything my family has been doing for years” added Buras, describing her childhood memories of growing vegetables and herbs in her grandparent’s garden.
“When we were sick growing up, we used herbs you can grow in your backyard to treat the symptoms.”
“Rosemary helps keep the bugs away. Lavender oil calms skin irritation,” said Buras, adding that Okra was one of her grandmother’s go-to medicines for digestion issues and other gastrointestinal problems.
“Peppermint grown in my maw maw’s garden, we would crush it up and make a tea with it,” recalled Buras. “It soothes an upset stomach. My kids use peppermint tea today if their stomach hurts.”
“My grandmother was Native American, indigenous. My family is Creole, too, so we grew up using her garden instead of a medicine cabinet,” said Buras.
“Many families in Louisiana grew up like me and they prefer to use herbs and natural medicines for pain instead of relying opioids,” added Buras.
An Alternative to Opioids and Harmful Pharmaceuticals
“I am an advocate for mental health awareness. I took medicine for my mental health that made me feel like a zombie,” remembered Buras.
“I am a person that is full of energy, but when I had to take some of those just traditional pills, strong pharmaceuticals, I just felt like a zombie. I felt like I had no personality. The medicines suppressed me in a way that I did not feel like myself at all,” said Buras.
Buras witnessed this happen in her community, “Something that started to help a hurt knee or get some sleep at night turned into an addiction that spiraled out of control for so many people. We all know this story. It’s in every community. People who just wanted relief from pain are now just surviving from one prescription to the next…or worse,” said Buras.
“People become a shell of the person they were before. Whether it’s prescriptions or addiction, who benefits from a society of zombies?” asked Buras, adding, “Marijuana is so much better for so many people and HOMEGROW makes it affordable, which right now, it isn’t.”
@theCurlyCreole Social Links
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurlycreole?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
https://www.instagram.com/thecurlycreole/
Links to Products:
Tasha Buras @theCurlyCreole
