Lazy Stoners create new strains of medicine!?

Sometimes it takes me a long time to realize exactly how to verbalize my thoughts on certain subjects.  I'm all about the Cannabis plant as many of you know.  And the stigma surrounding it has been like a piece of broken glass under my skin for a long time now.  It's like I just wish I could do a "Dr. Spock" to all of the nay-sayers by placing certain fingers on their face and telepathically downloading all that I have read.  Some of the stuff is just feelings as well.  Feelings  of fear about the possibility of all-out losing my secret freedom to ingest Cannabis.  What if I'm no longer allowed to use it?  Will I have to go back on the pills?  The pills that made an addict out of me?  The ones that gave me horrible detox zingers when I quit them?  Or feelings of sympathy for the many people out there who are ostracized because they choose to ingest a plant rather than a pill.  Many of them risking their freedom and the custody of their children to buy something that makes them be better parents.  Many parents take antidepressant and anti-anxiety pills every single day.  And their efficacy and function is really only theoretical.  I wish the world could feel that the way I do, and see that cannabis is a medicine when used like a medicine.

The 'lazy stoner' and the 'pot head' do exist though.  They aren't totally fictional.  But only for a small fraction of the regular cannabis users take on this extreme persona.  Like maybe only the ones who are underemployed or bored or already lazy.  Seeing someone ingest a Sativa-- the more cerebrally stimulating class of strains --and go about their day with better clarity and receptor action than they would if they popped that Proz@c or Cymb@lta, doesn't make the audience laugh as much as Wayne and Garth with couch-lock in the basement of their parents' house.  There is a whole other side to this plant that the audience never gets to see.  That's a shame if you ask me.

It's this fact that has inspired this post.  Society, Hollywood, and those who want to keep Cannabis illegal have encouraged and perpetuated the idea of the lazy stoner.  But lazy people don't create new strains of medicine!  Growing weed like all weeds is easy.  Growing it well, is not.  In another piece I say that some of these gardening geniuses are like mad-scientists meet tree-hugger.  They're grafting fruits like Blueberry plants to Cannabis plants to create Blueberry Strains.  Yes ... strains that smell like blueberry when they're dried and cured.  The idea that growing Cannabis is easy, is one of the big reasons why so many people are against the home grows.

The idea that something is easy, encourages the idea that care and safety is lax.  Mold and potential fires are what Real Estate agents, Lenders, and Property Managers are told are side effects of growing large amounts of any plant inside a home.  And I'm not going to tell you that they aren't a problem. But those professionals are not the only ones to know this.  Growers protect their gardens like they are their 'man-caves' filled with precious collectibles and priceless trophies.  And they are filled with those things ... just in other forms.

Now I am in no way being so bold as to herald the illegal pot grower.  But the fact of the matter is, many of these people could pass as Botanists.  Many hold the degree.  Many who hold that degree are now being hired on at the Licensed Producers in the Canadian MMPR program.  This I do herald as a success.   The only problem I have with it, is that they are the only ones allowed to grow it.  Well, the LP's and some of the existing MMAR card-holders.  At least until the Harper Government appeals the injunction.  But don't you think it's fabulous to see education from Queen's University being hired on to collaborate on this medicinal plant?  That makes me want to walk right down to the Engineering department of Queens and look at their awesome Bio-wall!

Every February my Dad starts hundreds of flowers and veggies for their numerous gardens.  It's a full time job.  And then the next day too.  And every day after that until he puts those organic babies in the ground.  Mom and Dad had a wee Aphid infestation this spring that took many of their seedlings down.  Each morning saw them preening and inspecting trays of Petunias and Marigolds, Blue Poppies too.   At the same time, they would assess their moisture levels and give them a gentle misting if needed.  But not too much, as seedlings are very susceptible to rot from over-watering. This is the life of a grower.  Most growers-- legal and otherwise.

Basically, growing any garden is hard work.  Yes we've all heard about homes that were simply filled with soil and an instant garden of weed arises.   But that doesn't happen very often with anyone who actually loves and respects this plant.  In many ways, it's the illegal growers in their basements and closets who are the most careful.  When the alternative to being carefully diligent is six months to a year of mandatory minimum sentencing, you tend to take things more seriously.

Cannabis consumers are an educated group.  Many know or have a pretty good idea of what their ingesting even when procured by your buddy's buddeh who knows a friend of a friend.  Many will not accept or spend their hard-earned money on something that was grown shoddlily and without safety measures and tender loving care.   We've heard what it's like to smoke the body of a spider mite.  Ew.... now that's organic.  And finding seeds in your ganga is a total friggin buzz kill.  Not to mention the fact that seeds are heavy.  So you've now spent money on something that you can't and don't really want to ingest at all.  Most of us tuck those away for when Justin Trudeau legalizes home grows and recreational Cannabis use in 2015.

I hold no degree in anything and surely don't want to learn too much more about cut-throat capitalism.  But I know about supply and demand.  I know the economy is important, but that it grows based on our excess money.  If we could grow our own medicine, just think about all the money we'd have to buy the other shit that's advertised ad nauseum everywhere we look.

Gardening is therapy.  Doctors even recommend and yes prescribe it to calm stress and give your mind a creative outlet to relax with.  You can google "Horticultural Therapy" to find out more about Gardening as medicine.

Too far away from Queen's?  Here's the link to see their Bio-wall

http://livebuilding.queensu.ca/green_features/biowall

Cannabis death stats no longer zero

Statistics have a tendency of separating us from the magnitude of death.  The news today tells us many stories about deaths from all around this little blue planet.  But two particular deaths are what this blog post is about.  It's a small number ... 2. But the sterility of the statistic hides the fact that you could add at least a few zeros to that 2 when describing the people affected by those two deaths.  It's sometimes up to us, the society to remember each and every soul connected to the numeric. If only in our thoughts.  Thoughts are energy.

So I and every other Cannabis lover, supporter, and prescriber await the shit storm of blame that's undoubtedly on it's way down the media pipe.  The blame will be directed at the Cannabis plant.  It will be reiterated ad-nauseum that it's so much stronger these days than it used to be.  Or it's never really been safe, and perhaps the reefer madness is real~yes I expect to hear the archaic and racist theme of that movie spoken tomorrow by some Magpie like a Palen, a Bachman, or a Grace.  Two deaths in Colorado have been blamed on the Cannabis edible.  My sincerest condolences to their loved ones.

The "pot brownie" segment on the average tv show has had it's share of takes in the past year or so to brainwash us all to what it's like to eat a Cannabis laced edible.  And every single tv show exaggerates or outright lies about the effects, side effects, duration, and aftermath of the ingestion.  For ratings of course. Minutes go by after eating that medible and they're not giggling like so-and-so on tv!  Why not? It took the fictional tv characters only moments to feel the effects. It's truly no wonder at all that kids, teens, and adults are feeling sick upon eating the infamous pot brownie. How the hell is the average person supposed to know anything real about the topic? Things like how much to eat?  How long it will take?  How high will you get?  Should you eat more?  How soon?  Uh-oh ... I think I ate too much.  All of these questions come AFTER the making of the brownie!  How was the herb added to the brownie?  Was the plant material filtered out? How well?  Chlorphyl can make some sensitive stomachs hit eject.  How much Cannabis was used?  What kind?  How was it grown?  So many questions!!!  And the answers are everywhere, the truth few and far between.

For me, the blame has not moved from where it points every time someone has a bad ganga experience.  I don't blame the person for eating the brownie.  Or the person for making the brownie.  I don't even blame the person who brought the brownie to the party. I blame prohibition for it all.  Prohibition is the lock that keeps the open conversation and understanding about Cannabis edibles out of reach of most of us. Prohibition is like duct tape over our mouths.  Prohibition is the hand holding our words in, keeping us fearfully silent to even whisper about where, how much, and how.  Edibles are nothing like smoking, so too many people eat a little chunk more way too soon.  And then again in too short a time.  They don't feel high so they eat more.  Edibles are like any other medicine, it's all about dosing.  Not that we'd know that.  We learn about the effects from television after all.

If the leaders of our countries would acknowledge Cannabis as more than just a societal inconvenience or a fleeting fad, they'd surely do a better job of educating the masses on the truth.  Dissidence is everywhere these days.  People don't trust their government!  And many of those disgruntled citizens ~whatever their country~ are pissed to have been lied to about this plant.  Cannabis talk is still taboo in mainstream media. My small city newspaper, like many others, only ever reports on changes in "Marijuana regulation" or report the local "Marijuana busts".  Never have I read in any Ontario newspaper about this plant and read it called it's proper name ... Cannabis Indica or Cannabis Sativa.  That matters to me.  The word Marijuana is a derogatory, racist, and historically misleading slang.  I've never read about Cannabis edibles and how they kill pain and stiffness, though there are plenty of readers in this city using them for that.

Our governments are kind enough to allow us to buy all kinds of alcohol.  Just today I read the LCBO motto:  "Please Drink Responsibly".  That in itself is mildly infuriating, though familiar so it doesn't sting quite as much.  But how's a person supposed to do anything responsibly if they've never been told? Your bartender knows how many drinks you should consume on average per hour, but do you?

Hey Leaders ... how about you start GOVERNING RESPONSIBLY?  Seriously!  Recreational substances are not going away.  You cannot control personal choice, you can only teach personal responsibility through real education and guidance.  We're not idiots.  Tobacco kills 15 million of us every single year!  And when your citizens mix Tobacco and Cannabis, the lung damage is severe.  Cannabinoids open up the Alveoli, and the tobacco tar, nicotine, and 400+ man-made chemicals goes right into the deepest parts of your lungs~ the things that keep you alive.  Add alcohol into the mix, and sickness will be felt by all but the very experienced.

Properly prepared and ingested Cannabis edibles relax the body.  Physical exertion can become increasingly less and less of a priority depending on the dose.  The couch-lock becomes realized.  And this is absolutely bliss for many of the millions of people who suffer from chronic pain.  Some take a pill;  others take a plant.  You wouldn't leave your Oxycontin out for a child to consume would you?  They look like Skitt!es.  What about your Fent@nyl patch? They look like tooth whitening strips.  And finally, in this same vein, you should never leave your Cannabis edible around for children to consume.  If you have children, don't buy Cannabis candies or yummies that look anything like what your kid sees as a treat.

Whether taken medicinally or taken in recreation, Cannabis laced edibles are to be eaten, stored, and supplied responsibly.