Dr. Kirsten Shepard (Photo by Matthew Bradford)
When her father was diagnosed with mesothelioma, Dr. Kirsten Shepard, a licensed chiropractor and massage therapist, sought alternatives to the opioids he was prescribed. I was searching for whatever, whoever, anything that would help with his nausea, lack of appetite, and the pain that it caused. I knew about cannabis – I spent three years in L.A. before coming back to Austin in 2008 – but I was very naive about it. I thought everybody was like Snoop Dogg – they just wanted a legal way to smoke, you know? I didn t think about compassionate use until I needed to think about it.