Fetty Wap on Cannabis Use and Dealing with Glaucoma

Willie Junior Maxwell II, more commonly known as Fetty Wap, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter who has “quite literally” gotten into the cannabis game, according to Forbes. Fetty has been a fan of cannabis for a long time but has become more conscious about why he is consuming cannabis. He told Forbes that “cannabis plays a really big part in my music nowadays” and that he’s learned “how to use it just for what I want and not for what I need”. 

Fetty declared that he uses cannabis as his “me time” and that he “doesn’t abuse it anymore”. However, Fetty’s consumption of cannabis is not all about “recreation and creation” as Forbes put it, but he also uses cannabis as a means of managing his glaucoma. Fetty was born with glaucoma and ended up losing an eye as a result. Those who have glaucoma, or know someone who does, know that the condition can be quite painful and can lead to irreversible blindness. 

Fetty Wap and His Glaucoma

The successful rapper explained that multiple doctors recommended that he try using cannabis to treat his condition and that he uses it every now and then, particularly “when there’s a lot of build-up pressure”. He also stated that the glaucoma pressure feels like “somebody’s just like knocking on your face” and that “when you smoke, it’s just like magic”. He really believes that if he stops smoking cannabis, he’d go blind. He stated,

“Weed has been around forever. So it’s been helping people forever. Doctors have known this forever” 

Fetty explained that he lost one eye at 6 months old and that he had reconstructive surgery when he was 12. He stopped wearing his prosthesis because he “didn’t want to look like everybody else…” and that he didn’t want to hide it because it makes up part of who and what he is. He explained that a doctor was able to save his other eye and he is “blessed” to still have his vision. Dr. Amy Hong explained that “glaucoma is a slow, progressive and silent disease” and that “in the initial stages, as the disease develops, you won’t notice any visual disabilities, such as blurry vision” but that “once the damage has progressed, it starts to affect your peripheral vision”. 

When one is diagnosed with glaucoma, the best they can do for their disease is to manage the condition, which includes regular check-ups with eye physicians. After receiving a diagnosis of glaucoma, patients who establish and follow a treatment plan may be able to significantly reduce the damage caused by the disease and maintain sight. Dr. Hong also explained that “managing glaucoma is like monitoring high blood pressure. Over time, your medication may not control your blood pressure as well as it did previously. So you have to visit the doctor to change the medication to get it under control. The same holds true with glaucoma medication”. 

Embracing Glaucoma Despite Stigma

While dealing with the condition is tough enough, Fetty also had to deal with ignorant and naive fans, who stated things such as “Fetty Wap only has one eye…weird” and “Fetty Wap eye is disturbing…I wonder what happened to it”, according to MTV News. Personally, I think people should not make such statements, especially since many of them don’t understand what they’re stigmatizing as ‘weird’ and ‘disturbing’. Living under the spotlight as a celebrity can make dealing with challenges even harder when everyone feels the right to an opinion. Fortunately, Fetty embraces his condition and accepts it as part of who he is, but this doesn’t make the public’s opinion any less unwarranted and impactful. 

While many people with glaucoma are able to manage their condition and maintain their eyesight, those with later stages of glaucoma can experience significant pressure which causes pain. Dr. Hong thinks that this may be the reason for Fetty’s eye loss… to remove the source of pain, while some believed it was a gunshot to the eye. While surviving a gunshot to the eye would be an impressive tale, Fetty explains in an interview that a childhood accident caused him to develop and get diagnosed with congenital glaucoma, that the doctor managed to save one eye and that the story behind his eye is simple.

Fetty Wap and His Involvement in Cannabis

As a result of his passion for cannabis, his conscious approach, and his need for consuming cannabis, Fetty has partnered up with Branden Hampton, a social media entrepreneur. According to Forbes, Hampton is the mastermind behind the popular Instagram accounts @Money and @Marijuana. Fetty and Hampton will be working together in order to launch GROW.HOUSE, which is a crypto-generating cannabis farming game. 

GROW.HOUSE is said to be mostly comparable to the old Facebook game Farmville, but for weed. The game will also be hosted on blockchain and is aimed at using gamification to educate people on cannabis, cryptocurrencies, and decentralized finance. Simply put, GROW.HOUSE will be a game where people grow cannabis, harvest it, sell it, and make real money according to Fetty. 

Fetty goes on to state that “within the game, you’ve got communities; you can join a community or you can start a community. You can buy a plot of land and invite your friends. Now, you guys are growing together. You can even cross-breed plants, and get very rare flowers that are worth more than others and make your plot more valuable”. Individuals can purchase GROW tokens and the game is set to launch in Q3 2021, which means it should be soon. 

Forbes explains that GROW.HOUSE’s IDO is listed on BSCPad, Pancakes Wap, and through ZeroGravity Launchpad, and that it was inspired by “a future where users can all live, play and make a living in the metaverse”. 

Regardless of your opinion of Fetty Wap’s looks, there is something we can all learn from him. We can learn by his example, to embrace our struggles as well as to remain proud of who we are despite physical disabilities and visual diseases. The happiness and success of one’s life are not dependent on whether or not we are condition and disease-free but rather how we manage and accept it.