Why Won't People Who Need It Do Cannabis?

I just found out the last couple of days that my Brother-In-Law (hereafter known as BIL) has multiple Myeloma. It is a form of cancer similar to leukemia, as far as I understand it. I tried to get my wife to tell him to get on CBD as soon as possible, but the suggestion fell flat. Why won't people who need it do Cannabis?

I haven't talked to him, so I don't know for sure. I don't know if it is because he is a very conservative Christian and Republican that he feels it is a sin or illegal. He lives in a state where they have medical Marijuana. Is it because he has come to believe all the bullshit propaganda the government has been handing out for decades? It just makes me want to scream!

My BIL and I don't get along that well. I'm not a Christian, Republican or Conservative. I'm none of those things and so we butt heads on occasion. Still, I don't want to see him suffer and die from something where Cannabis might help him.

Now I highlighted "might" because there isn't much research out there. I found a few articles on how CBD helped patients with Multiple Myeloma (here's one). There are those who say that using CBD will kill the cancer and turn you into a super hero, but I don't put much stock in those. I found several that said that using CBD will retard the growth of the cancer cells giving the patient more years of life. The paper I linked, from the International Journal of Cancer did indicate that cancer cells did indeed die.

My point is that those suffering from this disease may slow or even reverse their condition with the use of Medical Marijuana. If all it does is retard cell growth, then you've added a few years of life. If it does nothing, then at least you live your remaining years in a better frame of mind. I'm not saying you're stoned. Remember that CBD is non-psychoactive. It will just relax you.

My BIL may only live another five years. If he starts using Cannabis now, he may live much longer. Is it worth worrying about what others will think or if you are committing a sin? I don't think so. If I were him, I would have been waiting for my Doctor when he got to the office this morning. I just don't understand the reasoning. Why won't people who need it do Cannabis?

Stoney

Weed Kills

There is little doubt that major news medias are more about sensationalism than they are about giving viewers real news. They love coming up with headlines that basically say, "Weed Kills!"

The stories reported in this Colorado News cast, are about people who died and part of the reason attributed was Marijuana overdose. I want to address two things about these stories and others like them.

The first thing I want to say is that in each of these stories, the person who died had huge amounts of THC in their system. I don't know of anyone who wants to see Marijuana legalized advocating this sort of abuse. Getting so shit faced you do stupid things is not a good idea. It isn't a good idea with pot, it isn't a good idea with any substance.

Abuse is just that, abuse.

It's not good with Marijuana, it's not good with alcohol, it's not good with aspirin, it's not good with cheeseburgers. You get the picture.

It isn't using the substance responsibly, it's not using good common sense. I believe that Marijuana has some wonderful attributes, but they come with using it in the right way. Getting so blazed that you can't carry on a conversation or get out of your chair is stupid.

One of the biggest concerns with edible Marijuana is that people can easily get too much. They take a bite of brownie or a piece of chocolate and nothing happens. They wait a half hour or forty-five minutes and they feel nothing. What do they do? They eat the whole damned brownie or candy bar. Just about the time the finish it, they realize that they are getting buzz. The problem is, unless you want to stick your finger down your throat and puke up what you just ingested, you are in for a very strange time.

Smoking can certainly be abused, I used to do it all the time, but I think it is much less the case for most people. The effects of smoking are pretty much immediate. You can tell that you are getting too high and stop.

The second thing I want to say might piss some people, especially the relatives of those that died, off.

I think there was a problem there before they smoked or ingested Marijuana. I worked for several years in the mental health system. Most people who abuse substances do so because of some other reason. A couple of the people who died were teenagers. Being a teenager is enough of a problem all by itself, but I bet there was something else going on. I doubt seriously if their lives were as perfect as their relatives are saying.

I'm not trying to say that they were bad people. What I am saying is that they abused pot for a reason. The reason might have been as simple as peer pressure and they were not strong enough to resist it. Had they thought of suicide before? Suicide rates among teens is high already. Adding substance abuse to that fire is not a good thing.

The guy that fell is another story.

It may well be that the extremely high levels of THC in his system made him do something he might not have normally done. However, most substance abuse does not lead people to do things they normally would not do or have never thought of. It may block their inhibitions so that they do something stupid, but it is often something they have thought about or might even have done before. Was this guy a risk taker? Might he have done this while straight and his being high exacerbated the fall?

The point to this is not to say that Marijuana is a perfect substance with no risks involved. The point is that these unfortunate people may not have done what they did if not high, but maybe they would have.

Abuse is abuse. People are people. We need to not over react when we hear stories like the one above, but keep a clear head and regulate the use of Marijuana so everyone can be as safe as possible.

I did like that the reporters mentioned that many more people die due to alcohol than to Cannabis.

Stoney

Marijuana Creates Jobs

Marijuana creates jobs. Yes, you heard me. Marijuana creates jobs. Now, how can I say this? It's easy.

My state just recently passed a medical Marijuana law. It is so new that, in my neck of the woods, there aren't any grow farms or dispensaries. In the local paper this last week there was a story about a grow/dispensary going up in a small town near me. At first I was really surprised. After reading the article, I understood a lot better.

The article quoted one of the town supervisors as saying he was pleased that this facility was going up because the jobs were desperately needed.

What?

That's right. This little conservative town doesn't give a shit about devil weed coming into their little slice of heaven. They want the jobs!

This is why it is so hard to fight against fracking. Fracking, IMHO, destroys the environment, but when you have an area that is depressed by lack of jobs, working a drill site looks pretty good. Hell, raping and stealing from old ladies looks good when your kids are going hungry.

Now I do not want to imply that the Marijuana industry is the same as fracking. 

It isn't. 

Not by a long shot!

What I am saying is that our country, on the whole, needs jobs. With an industry waiting in the wings to put billions of tax dollars into the system and create thousands of jobs, why would the political/corporate machine be against it?

Well, it cuts into their greed.

It's either that or they're just fucking stupid!

I have been listening to the Cannainsider podcasts. Listen to just a few of those and you will begin to see the amazing opportunity the burgeoning Cannabis industry brings to the table. It seems the only barrier is your own imagination.

Yes, boys and girls, Marijuana creates jobs. Let's take it away from the drug lords and cartels and make it legal. Then we can all benefit!

Stoney

We Aren't All Stupid Stoners

Something that bothers me is a lot of the social media that has to do with consuming Cannabis is that it doesn't always shed the best light on who we really are. We aren't all stupid stoners.

What do I mean by that?

I follow a lot of folks on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and others who are consumers of the devil weed. Many of the posts in these forums are thoughtful and intelligent. Many of them are not. The ones I object to go something like this.

"Yea, I smoke weed. So what? Let's get high and fuck!"

Now I don't have anything against either of those activities. I have to say that I enjoy them both. The problem with these sorts of posts is that it sheds a negative light on folks who like to imbibe in Marijuana. Now don't go all hate on me. I like to joke around too. It's just that I see way more of those sorts of things than I do positive ones.

"Took a couple hits this morning then wrote on my book a while and laid down a new track to a song I'm recording."

That's a much more positive tweet or post and if a non-smoker sees it will be much more inclined to think that perhaps those who consume Cannabis aren't all depraved drug fiends.

By the way, that's what I really did this morning.

If we want the country and even the rest of the world to see us as functioning intelligent members of society, then we have to look like it, act like it, and sound like it.

It is just a guess, but I would think that that vast majority of us enjoy taking a hit now and then, but then continue on with our normal lives. Using Marijuana isn't a way to dodge life, but to help cope with it and enhance it.

Let's take the tone up a notch and help the outside world see that we are productive useful citizens.

Then we can get high and fuck!

Stoney

I Hate Smoking Dope

Okay, now I know you're thinking, "Hey, can't this idiot make up his mind?" Don't worry, I'll still blaze with you. It's the term dope I hate. I hate smoking dope.

Now this might just be me, but the term dope, either conjures up the specter of some sticky substance made to glue two pieces of something together, or a substance that will turn me into a dope if I smoke it.

Neither is true.

I object to the fact that many people would put me, as a Cannabis consumer, in the same category as someone who sniffs glue. Glue will kill you. Pot won't. I am not in favor of people doing many of the other drugs available. I am not for something that harms you. Well, hell, life harms you, but you know what I mean.

Marijuana, although a schedule 1 drug, is not addictive, does not rot your brain, and you cannot overdose on it. You might overdose on oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but not on the Pot.

I also don't think it makes me stupid.

"Oh sure," you say. "You're stoned out of your fricken gourd. How would you know if you were stupid?"

Well, I guess you might have a point there on the rare evening that I smoke heavier than normal. However, that's even more true on the nights that I drink more whiskey than I normally do. In fact, when I drink, which I try not to do often, I have a hard time knowing when to stop. I can get so wrapped up in conversation that I don't realize how drunk I'm getting. That doesn't happen when I smoke.

What I found since I started getting high again is that I read the same books, understand the same sort of concepts, and can still carry on as intelligent a conversation as I could do before. It might even be better.

I find that cannabis use tends to make me more productive and curious. I read more, look things up more, want to find things out more. I have no proof that this is true other than my perception. However, being as subjective as I am able, I find that I am indeed a better person because I light up the occasional bowl.

I hate smoking dope. I hate the term. If we are going to win over those small minded people who are against the legalization of this plant, then we need to project it with a better light. Using the term smoking dope does nothing to further this goal; in my humble-assed opinion.

Stoney

It's About the Medical Uses

I am not a medical marijuana user. I just like to get high now and then. Mostly now. I am 100% for the legalization of the substance. It has nothing to do with my getting high. Well, okay, maybe a little. It's about the medical uses!

I will admit it, it only take seeing one video of some kid having a seizure or suffering in pain and I'm in tears. To know that this substance that I use to just make me feel better, could be used to help them or maybe even save their lives, makes me mad and sad all at the same time.

It makes me mad to know that our politicians are so uninformed as to still believe all that 1930 bull shit about cannabis turning you into a murderous addict. If they don't believe it, then they are so in the pocket of big pharmaceutical or the liquor lobbies that they don't care about anyone but themselves. To know that our country is run by greed instead of compassion and reason just makes me want to puke.

It makes me sad to know that these children, old people, people suffering from pain that either won't go away with traditional drugs or those drugs make them sick have to suffer. So many illnesses can be eased or maybe even cured by the sensible use of Cannabis. My mother suffered from Alzheimer's and her life could have been so much more pleasant at the end then it was. She suffered mentally horribly. Cannabis could have helped. Instead it was declared an illegal substance.

I don't hesitate for a minute to confess that I want weed to be legal so I don't have to worry about going to jail for its use. However, that isn't the main reason I want to fight for its legalization.

It's about the medical uses.

Stoney

Greed Killed Mary Jane

Let me begin this post by saying that I have no idea how valid this story is. Having said that, I don't really doubt it. Greed has run this country since it's discovery. I read this not long ago and thought that it made perfect sense. It is how greed killed Mary Jane.

Years ago, this country had a thriving hemp crop. The colonists were ordered by King James, you know, the one the bible is named after, to grow hemp and ship it back to jolly old England. Why? Because they used it for a multitude of things.

Now remember, this is hemp, used for clothing, rope, food, and many other uses. The smoking type is something else. Still, they are related. Good old George Washington grew it. Thomas Jefferson grew it. Hemp was a money maker. It grew well here and made money for those who grew it.

Fast forward a century or so.

William Randolph Hearst owned nearly every newspaper in the country. He also owned vast holdings in timber. The reason was he could make money from selling newspapers and from making the paper it was printed on. Hemp makes great paper! Good old Willie didn't want people making paper out of hemp. It cut into his millions and he wouldn't be able to put on another wing to his castle. He started lobbying (read buying politicians) to make hemp illegal.

About the same time, there was a family named Du Pont. They had holdings in many synthetic products such as nylon. These products were made from petroleum products. The country was just beginning to toy with petroleum as a fuel instead of using a product invented by a fellow named Diesel that he made from hemp oil.

The Du Ponts didn't like the idea that you could make things from hemp. They didn't make any money off of that. They began to "lobby" politicians as well.

What was helpful to these special interest groups was the fact that hemp was related to Marijuana, a substance known to make someone who smoked it high.

Suddenly we had people coming out of the woodwork claiming that the high produced by Marijuana, an evil relative of hemp, made especially Blacks and Mexicans murderous devils who want to have sex with white women and prey on the innocent. You know, the same things the rich were doing.

Although there were many who stood up for hemp and marijuana as being not only benign but helpful, there were many more paid to tell the horror stories of this "devil's weed" and sway those in power to ban the substances.

This has been a pretty poor telling of the story. There is a much better article on it here.

So what about today?

Same shit, different day.

You think the medical/pharmaceutical complex wants you to be able to grow in your back yard a plant that could do better than their money making drugs do? Do you think that the petrochemical industry wants a plant to grow that could replace their money making fuels?

The answer is, Fuck No!

Do you think the plastics companies want hemp to be available to make comparable products? In 1941, Ford built a car with the body made out of hemp. Here's a video of it.

As I said in the beginning, greed has everything to do with why Cannabis, Mary Jane, was made illegal and still is. It has nothing to do with it being a dangerous substance. It is not addictive and there are many studies that show that it is not harmful physically. Not only that, in many cases, it is helpful in bringing about cures.

Greed killed Mary Jane and it is keeping her in the grave! We have to fight to resurrect her so that she can take her rightful place in making this a better world.

Whoa, I really sound preachy there!

Stoney

DEA Robin Hood in Reverse

So I found this article about the DEA busting some guy and taking his bankroll without even arresting him for any drug related charges. Here's the article. It seems the DEA is Robin Hood in reverse.

Here's the deal. The DEA can confiscate any and all real property during a drug bust or investigation. Your house, your savings, your dog can all be taken if they decide to bust you. How fucked up is that?

Who needs taxes, right? We just investigate enough people and take everything they have. I mean, why raise taxes when we can do that?

Does this sound like democracy to you? Oh yeah, they're for the people all right. They are for the people's belongings.

The rest of the story is that the burden of proof that your property belongs to you and should be returned is on you. The likelihood that you will ever see your stuff again is slim; very slim.

Police departments brag of updating their equipment with money raised from drug busts. Now these are busts from a few heavy hitters, but mostly possession for Marijuana busts.

Imagine this.

You're out on a Friday night. Maybe you are at a friend's house. You share a bong or three, when comes a rapping at your door. It's the cops. They bust everyone in the place. They confiscate all your vehicles and all money in your possession. What a bummer! You just got paid and you have the $500 for your rent in your pocket to give the owner in the morning.

Tough shit!

That money is gone, your car is gone, and if they feel like it. Anything you have in the bank is gone as well.  Don't believe me? Just look up DEA asset forfeiture. The US Marshals can do the same. As far as I know, any police agency can seize your property.

Cool, huh?

What can you do? Well, not much. You can bug your politicians. They probably won't do much. They are part of the problem, but it is about all you can do.

Stoney

High From Stoney Rhodes

Hi there. My name is Stoney Rhodes. Well, it isn't really. I guess I'm using a pen name so that the Feds, should they ever decide to bust me for dissing their shit will have to spend an extra thirty seconds to discover my real identity.

This blog is about Marijuana. It's about its uses, legalization, and the authorities efforts to stop it.

(Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!)

A little about myself.

Years ago, before kids and all that, I was a pretty heavy stoner. When the family came along, I stopped smoking. The penalty just wasn't worth it. My family was too important. Oh, I had the occasional hit, but often they were years apart.

Now that I am older and the kids are gone, I'm smoking again. It started like this.

A few weeks ago, a friend invited me and the wife down to his house to talk and smoke a bit with him and his wife. We did and we both liked it. I started wondering about it. You know the drill. Will it cause lung cancer? Will it cause me to not be able to have sex. All those questions.

I started investigating Marijuana and its uses and some history behind it. Wow! I found out some really interesting shit!

The benefits of using marijuana are legion! The down side is really quite small and some of those things are being found to be non-existent.  

I became pretty passionate about this. I mean, I don't need it for medical purposes. I use it just to get high. Having said that, there are thousands, if not millions of people who do need it for a variety of reasons. Still our government, (I'm in the US) makes anyone using it a criminal.

Well, so much for introductions. Stop by or maybe even subscribe to getting my updates. I hope to build a community, not just a place for me to spout off.