Thursday, May 28, 2009

Cannabis and Insomnia

Every day, more and more people are coming out of the closet to describe their cannabis experiences to the world. This article, 'The cannabis Closet: Insomnia' gives an insight into how hard it is for someone to use their chosen medicine under archaic laws and prejudices.

This quote says so much about the stigma attached to cannabis use in countries where the use of cannabis is still illegal:

In my twenties, I had a cigar box full of marijuana that I left in a drawer by my bed. (I was never a recreational user, since smoking in the company of others made me feel paranoid.) If I woke up in the middle of the night, I would smoke a little, go back to sleep and wake up feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed. But I stopped smoking when I met my now husband, since he didn't approve. Now my insomnia has gotten much worse since the birth of my child, with all the attendant middle of the night awakenings.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Ten Cannabis Myths

I was going through my Google Alerts and found this blog:
Homeless on the High Desert. There was an interesting post (click on the title of this post) about the Ten Myths about Cannabis.

It got me to once again thinking that the more myths debunked about cannabis, the more ridiculous the government funded anti-marijuana rhetoric becomes.

Then I got to thinking about how much do *I* do to get the message out. Well, besides this and another blog, not much...but then...

Here is scene that may or may not have occured some time in the past...

Location: The wide, shaded verandah of a farm house in the semi-outback of Australia on a small 150 acre block.

What's happening: A get together barbeque.

Who is there: About twenty people, mostly couples ranging in age from mid thirties to late sixties.

The conversation in regards to pot starts around the barbeque. Everyone has some sort of alcoholic beverage in their hand. One bloke says to another:

Joe (J): "The neighbours got raided again last week"

Bill (B): "They get busted with a crop again Joe?"

J: "Yeah. Bloody ferals. It'd be alright if they were just growin' a few for 'emselves, but they're growing acres of the shit. Then you get cars up the road in the middle of the night, collecting their stash or whatever they do".

B: "Then you get the coppers hanging around all the time. You can't drive home after a beer at your mates because the drug squad might pull you up 'cause you live on the same road".

Indicaman (I): "I reckon the government should legalize it and issue a growers license for personal use. Then you wouldn't have to worry about strange cars or cops."

J: "Then you'd have every bastard stoned and driving around."

I: ""Bit like now with everyone on the piss hey? You'd probably find half your neighbours have a little crop somewhere. If it was legal, they'd come out of the woodwork slowly. You'd be surprised at the medicinal uses it has".

J: "I don't care what anyone does on their land, so long as it doesn't make life hard for me. I heard it's good for glaucoma".

I: "and depression in certain doses, and MS and chemo pain, and neuropathic pain and cancer,..."

B:"Does give you a hard on? My missus would buy a kilo of the stuff if it did."

...and the conversation goes from 'ferals' to medicine and no-one notices. That's how I try to get the message out. By the time the conversation changes subject, I've given out web addresses to the more interested people...

But then, that conversation may not have happened.

After all, I'm a Stoner remember?