Bipolar Disorder and Cannabis

[sso]

I think biploar is one that can be helped the most.

Even if you think bipolar, you might think someone loose-hinged but they're TOO hinged and let loose that powerful mind...it's called mania and it happens in psychopaths when they can't supercool also.can you explain this in more detail? the hinged part and the supercool part particularily It happens in schizophrenia when they get hyperreligious and delusional. It even happens in depression, to much worrying.....
the all use dopamine and make the NDMA process happen. Those create cell-death. That's part of psychosis!

After the stimulation is done, it harms brain cells.this is proven? What stops the NDMA mechanism, not by making you feel right, but by protecting your brain!!?!?!?!??!?!!? THC and CBD, the gangj.
yeah, most probably cannabis protects the brain (As well as lungs)
Your brain becomes neurotoxic. It starts to waste cells!

Someone told me the brain doesnt grow new cells, I stated cannabis makes neurogensis of the hypothalmus happen. You grow more brain cells.
this about the brain not growing more cells is old bullshit, disproven at least 10 years ago or more.
And you protect more.

The neurosis that happens to anyone, when its stressful it can be stopped so it doesnt depress (overused) and destroy brain cells (cell death through NDMA neurotoxiciity.

At the base of it all, do you want a non-cooled psychopath hot with rage on your tail? Or would you rather smoke with him and his killer instinct kept alive but maybe not so physical as is standing up for pot smokers. killer instinct kept alive?

It would be funny to start that up. That psychopaths could've clouded their minds a little and been alright, but they were toooo clear and SHARP.

verry interesting.

NO DOUBT, I don't often say his name out loud... I'm definitely not him however I feel certain abilities are thanks to him. He played Saxophone for living and although I could get a sound out of any instrument and had played several before trying a sax in grade nine I really could play a sax the first time I ever tried...to me its common sense that this was due to a lot hard work done previously...my fingers can move pretty damn fast as did his, but I don't sound like him when I play, my fingers didn't practice the same patterns that his did...
neither do you live the same life as he did nor the same circumstances and if you had been him in a former life..well, you would have learned quite a bit from that life, advanced and moved on, yes? not saying its true, but also, we dont recognize ourselves as others do. difficult to say, whether or not someone was someone lol unless perhaps by psychic means..
oh I'm 34 now and eventually I tried to convince myself that It really doesn't matter so much that I was this particular person as I've been many people.
35 this year myself does it matter? yes and no. life before death, after death, does that matter?

thats a rather easy person to have been though, in my case, its a bit more of a mindfuck, all of them except one, who wouldave been a mindfuck except in relation to the others, to whom he is rather..tame. couldnt admit to these guys without certainly failing to live up to expectations, lets just say, if its true in my case, then the past has been heavily edited and that you cant believe most of what you read. its rather reminding of sherlock holmes, if its really unbelievable (by a rational mind) then the explanation is rather mundane, in comparison at least.
I'd love to earn my living performing like he did - I'm certainly capable but there seems to be a catch like been there done that but theres also this overwhelming urge to continue what at times feels like a life that shouldn't have been cut short - he was a heroin addict as many players were back then - like many he couldn't handle his prime
maybe you are too hung up on the past and what has been done, to see what should be done now, if your path is the same one, you´ve gone further down it. what do you want? what do you like? what draws you?its often like stepping stones too, you take one step, but you cant see the third step, till youve taken the second.

life can be like that.
I'd PM you about this if I could - before too long I guess.
that would be allright.
I'll finish with a story, kind of freaked me out, I was rather manic at the time so it fits the thread
lol, yeah i hear ya. been there.
I was busking at a street fest a few summers ago to scare up some cash. Co incidentally there was a young developing sax player there doing the same thing, and during one of my playing sessions eyes closed and in the zone I became very aware (in my minds eye) of her listing to me. I could tell she was kind of impressed or inspired and this fueled my playing big time as I saw opportunity to really show what I could do, next thing I know I popped out of my body and had crazy rushes of past life memories playing a different sax in a different body in a different time....
...then the next morning I wake up and my Jaw is locked so I can only open it 2 and a bit fingers wide and I couldn't play Sax for months!!!
lol, that mustave been quite an experience, mine lasted..weeks..almost died.
...well OK then...I was teaching then and had to play flute or clarinet with all my sax lessons for the next several months.

lol, oh hey im a musician too, well, sorta lol.

not really drawn to performing, though ive had a dream where i was performing and have been on stage, though as an actor. (small roles in a few plays)

damn, though, thats really an easy one, seems like just an ordinary experience of life´s past.. i know its a mindfuck.

but, my ..crap, well, they were well known, even the musician dude was well known, but the others were unbelievably known, enough to make one pretty sure of some mindbreakage and psychosis lol.

or just damn ignore it all..

plus, there are actually known psychoses of people thinking they are, at least, one of the guys lol. though they think they actually are him, not reborn. lol

well, it was an experience, lol are you experienced? came to mind..

now enough with that bullshit

about indicas and sativas, sativas help me sometimes and are detrimental sometimes, make it somewhat worse.

they really took some getting used to at first, but i was smoking some really trippy southeast asian stuff, seeing colours and whatnot smoke. havent smoked sativa that much, never available here, only 2 types of sativa that ive tried.

the indicas also help sometimes and are detrimental sometimes.

to a point, they both are better than the alternative, nothing.

but ive had some trouble handling sativa, not indica, its always more relaxing, while sometimes being taken high really harshly and higher and higher on f.e that se asian smoke..

more difficult to handle paranoia and other fears .f.e, but i got used to it pretty quick and after that it was in many ways preferable, much more easy to do stuff and feeling much lighter.

but id perhaps ease into it,if i were new to sativa or were trying a new strain, specially if i were going through some really tough times..

 

[sso]

Bi Polar is such a generic term used by the medical community when they are really not sure what the problem is or how to treat it. Thus every person said to be Bi Polar has to be treated in ways that works best for them. Some will do better with an Indica some with a Sativa and some should stay away from anything that alters the mood. Plus if you are taking prescription medications that will alter the effectiveness of Cannabis. So you have to go with the flow and what works best for you.

docs dont really understand bipolar either.

they dont understand the effects of the drugs too.

 

[sso]

love for all suffering

I, too, suffer but do not have a name for it. An aunt of mine has had lifelond struggle with severe bipolar/depression and she's old enough that she used to get shock therapy, yikes

Used to think I was just having anxiety attacks but over the last ten years have really honed in on the cycles... sometimes its a season (winter) of heavy blues(call them dark days) sometimes its 3-7 days of scary bad feeling. Of course when the good feeling comes it is amazing and almost surreal.


Good feeling by the violent femmes (maybe about addiction or a woman or who knows) is a great anthem heh

I would be dead by now without herb/weed/pot I was drinking a 750ml or liter of vodka a night at 17 in first year of college, I see now it was anxiety (social?)...or my way of dealing/medicating.

i drank heavily till i found cannabis too.

in many ways, its better to not actually name this.

its like being bit sick, if you say you are sick, you feel worse.

but if you just say you are bit under the weather and then just shake it off and keep going, you feel better and get well sooner.

though if you are really sick, enough to have difficulty to get to the toilet, then it doesnt matter as much, because its an accurate description and you should just go to sleep.

it would still matter some, because words have great power and our control over the body is actually much greater than many would think. though much of it is subconscious, mostly for lack of attention i would presume..

so back on track, what is bipolar? is that description accurate? is it even a real sickness? is it caused by what?

is it a mental state causing it or is it a preexisting bodily condition, perhaps genetic in nature?

in other words, can it be cured by the right thinking? or do we need drugs or perhaps even surgery?

dunno,,it certainly can be "handled" by the right thinking.

and i certainly do get less and less of either mania or depression and i handle it much more easily.

so, im inclined to think its a physical condition caused by a mental condition , in other words, wrong thinking.

fallacies in our perception of ourselves and life (and other people, perhaps mostly other people, lol, since fallacies about other people are fallacies about ourselves, in reality..)

marijuana helps alot, though im not so sure, how much and how much not, i have not stopped smoking in a long time, there is the paranoia factor of marijuana of course, which im inclined to believe is entirely caused by society. as would the presence of any dangerous predator if in nature..

paranoia does not help lol..

hmm, im rambling bit, talking of things i have not yet fully thought through.. id want and like to know more about your experiences with marijuana and off it.

though saying fully thought through,lol, this is all mostly conjuncture, though some just bit. i think lol

 

[NOTB]

what about the voice's?.....am i the only one?

 

[sso]

what about the voice's?.....am i the only one?

what sorta voices?

actual physical voices of other people (you hear it as such)

or just voices in your head? (your own voice or ?)

 

[SOTF420]

I want to add that the big factor in the seperation of a bi-polar vs. the various schizo affective disorders diagnosis is generally the lack of or the presence of visual or auditory hallucinations. If you are full on hallucinating and seeing or hearing things while sober and well rested and cannot control it this is a sign of a very serious chemical imbalance and you should seek professional help without delay. As much as I don't like them myself you may very well require meds to help stabilize yourself and your brain chemistry. If you are experiencing severe paranoia and seeing & hearing things you really should see a mental health professional if you have not done so already because it can get out of control fast.

There are some things Cannabis simply cannot fix and it can aggravate symptoms of schizophrenia in some people so please be careful self medicating if you are hallucinating that is a very serious condition not to be taken lightly. Not trying to scare anyone but I think it should be pointed out some of these symptoms being discussed do not fall under a "bipolar" disorder and are something much more serious and potentially dangerous. Please be safe out there and take care of yourself my brothers & sisters.

Now that I got that out of the way, please know I have suffered from severe anxiety and all the bullshit that goes along with it like major depression and the only thing that has ever helped me in all honesty has been Cannabis. It is real medicine and it's amazing I absolutely owe my life & sanity to it.

 

[NOTB]

i'm fully medicated with ak48(thanks Gypsy) and HG800 ......and im feelin great..so those'll be my med's until they run their course, thank's for the head's up tho man...37yrs here man...i know whats up.

 

[N. Accumbens]

for just a moment I thought I had the right to post in this thread, I soon realized I am sadly mistaken...

Take care all.

 

[sso]

you make a good point N A, being an outcast is tremendously damaging, lethal even..
so is everyone worrying about you or being afraid of you. (though not near as damaging as the outcast/pariah situation)

also how certain are we that these are actual hallucinations? and not something else?

its also bit funny talking about needing meds, when all bipolar patients know, for the most part, that mental meds are simply, quite literally, crap.

id also personally not give advise where i dont have any personal experience. id be interested in learning more about the hallucinations and that stuff, but i probably couldnt be of any help there.

but starting a fight over someone that was trying to help, thats also bit misguided.

 

[NOTB]

aaalrighty then,..those med's they try to push on you will give you negative symptoms later in life,thats why i self-medicate.

 

[sso]

well, for the most succesful meds, about 30% claim relief, though after having tried a bunch, i do wonder about those people

and im reminded of my friend, 1 year senior, been 10 years on heavy painkillers for his back, dude looks 60, he´s close to looking like a minature santa clause.. half his beard is white. he´s 35 going on 36. dude´s always been afraid of cannabis and prefered the painkillers, despite friends pushing him to use cannabis.

ive been selfmedicating with cannabis the same time, people usually think im 10 years younger than i really am.

there is this doctor im seeing, told him i used cannabis for my symptoms, refused drugs, now a year later, he´s asking me more about cannabis (i see him for my disability check)

having seen a definite change for the better in me.

 

[stickey fingers]

CANNABIS IS MY RX

CANNABIS IS MY RX

Now that I got that out of the way, please know I have suffered from severe anxiety and all the bullshit that goes along with it like major depression and the only thing that has ever helped me in all honesty has been Cannabis. It is real medicine and it's amazing I absolutely owe my life & sanity to it.

you're quote is like looking at my self in the mirror

RIP DR JAY

 

[Pakrat]

Everyone is welcome to post in this thread. I agree that all of us with any type of serious mental illness or symptoms should seek professionally help, but no matter what I try cannabis does something for me that nothing else has.

On the subject of conditions besides bipolar disorders, I welcome hearing about all of your experiences and lives as well as what does and does not work for you. One of the most profound and positive life experiences I’ve had was when I was in the hospital and I spent considerable time getting to know people with other mental illnesses. It made me understand that I’m not alone, and it broke down the walls of ignorance I had within me. I don’t think I’ve referred to anyone as “crazy” since then. So, there’s room for all in this slice of the internet.

 

[Pakrat]

The mood stabilizers provide me a type relief that cannabis alone does not. However I should note cannabis does have an impact on my mood. The proper strains introduce very predictable, almost reference-like oscillations in my mood, and sort of recalibrate things to lean on the positive side as well as slow my mind without putting me out. Racy strains can induce extreme paranoia in me, so I’m very careful. There’s a definite drug interaction, but for now they are playing very well together, however I find that I do better when separate my moods stabilizers and cannabis by a few hours; the two have a sum of 5.

 

[N. Accumbens]

Ok, I bite...

Fritjof Capra
The Turning Point

Basically, many have the same illusions, hence underlying the similar brain structures affected.

To explain practically, theres an artist whom has developed a pair of glasses which give one "illusions" similar to those of someone with auditory visualizations. Oddly enough when a "normal" person puts these on, they have complained of "odd thoughts". This suggests a link between our perceptions [cognitions] and behaviours, or internal and external stimuli and how it affects future cognitions [thoughts].

Basically, having hallucinations isnt in itself comorbid of psychological disorder. Its when the illusions begin to affect ones behaviour or thoughts in a negative way or in a detrimental pattern, that one can place themselves in a disordered category, or in other cases let an authority figure [expert] do so.


Harvards experiments by Skinner show how an authority can influence us in basic behaviour patterns though our thoughts may lie elsewhere.

---------------------
Notably, cannabis can work biphasically.
In the first case, one may already have a tendency to have distortions of the mind and may use cannabis.

- this persons cannabis use will lead to more cognitive dysleptia or so called distortions of the mind, these distortions can be found as pleasant in regards to the euphoric state associated [if this is the case], and the auditory or visual [mis]perceptions have positive associations hence not bringing up anxieties when thought of in the future.

This will also depend on ones social placement and role since we all have a basic need to identify with others, dependent on the strength of this need vs, the strength of ones own identification with self will conflict either arise or be resolved. Again, dependent on social understanding and acceptance in reference to norms.

In the second of cases the mind may be stone cold to the classic distortions otherwise known as cognitive dissonance of daily life. My wife/husband loves me, but spends too much time with X, or I love myself but spend too much time smoking Z [in this case anything smoked has been linked to cancer causing known harm to self].

So, it can be purported that cannabis allows one to think more deeply about things which dont make sense in our former state of mind or which we where unwilling to acknowledge due to now irrelevent anxieties "nice new mood state". Cannabis has been know to do this and it could be proposed that the mechanism for this would be the lowering of anxious feelings regarding dysleptic [non associated thoughts] and the social connection found not only through the herbals lowering of cortisol in the body in itself or the endocannabinoid systems affinity for harm reduction, but also in the connection to others whom have found themsleves in the grips of such a fascinating wall breaker (social cohesion identification).

Similar to hallucinogens cannabis can create the short term ego breaking , illusion bringing tides associated with psychedelics and euphoriants, without let us say all the " negative reprecussions" . This is commonly why so many of us "seasoned smokers" search for that nice "trippy" high, or euphoric state.

- So in the case of a person whom hasnt had dysleptic distortions of the mind before cannabis use, theres an intrinsic question regarding cognitive disassociations and dissonances, pre and post use??? I wont answer this for us ... though I will mention the few elements important to the question at hand. A, the identification with surroundings for the person, social role vs identification with self. Such setting will have a large part to play as getting arrested whilst using may have strong reprecussions on associations with use. In either direction. In other words, what is the basic question here???

Do we all have similar "abilities" of the mind?

For example being able to create a reality which suites our minds?

Or being able to create a mind which suites our realities?

Somewhere in between... many things without explanation... are explained.

Or at least attempted to explain themselves.

Big smiles to all.

I want to add that anyone bold enough to make separations, is after all identifying that which is according to their own precepts, or in worst cases other persons precepts.

Think for yourself, whomever you are.

Oh, one more time... for those looking for suggestion into where the self may have some mention

Fritjof Capra

The Turning point.

Im sure theres better texts out there but this one is on the degrees of lesser harm and open view of which I know.


Bipolarity is the difference between poles, suggests extremes, when the back to forth of the extremes is frequent enough to have cycles eventually it can pick up its own frequency or wave cycle, some could call this the schizo part, others would call it self. Yet again others would profit of such a matter, daring to call it anything at all "treatable" by anything else except the individual self understanding and acceptance.

Cannabis can help to find ones own self, but can also be detrimental in the process of finding ones true self.

PEACE

 

[Pakrat]

N. Accumbens, thanks a million - many gems in your post. I started smoking when I was 13, always hated it. It wasn’t until much later in life that realized that at a young age I had begun creating false mental realities in my mind as a coping mechanism, and later I understood cannabis removed those false-constructs and revealed a more sinister reality, which at the time was the opposite of the Oz like fantasy world of my mind. I now understand that as a coping mechanism, I can paint any type of reality in my mind that I need to in order to survive. A positive use for me is that cannabis also double-checks my realities and verifies against some universal pitch. Bipolar when properly tuned can be like AC. Most traditional physicians I’m encountering want my brain to behave like DC or flat and steady. This difference in objectives cannot be overstated, and I’m glad I’m recognizing it early on.

 

[TruthOrLie]

interesting stuff

 

[devilgoob]

EDIT: SOTF420, its funny because it's been proven in people with schizophrenia they have enlarged blood vessels compared to other people feeding their visual system. I think this has an effect on affect, because hyper vigilance, to much dopamine, to much adrenaline and to much adrenochrome is added.

While some people have similar symptoms, the syndrome is still a part of it all.

All personality disorders are, is the reptile is not happy.....has drained out the mammal of serotonin..and now triggers it's pleasure through dopamine rather than serotonin. I believe, while these disorder should be separated, they are still the same type of activation of the CNS.

I am a mix of the two, but not either.

You'll see that flat effect in schizo-affectives sometimes, when they are activated......they are ACTIVATED.

a bi-polar atleast is dealing with mixed states and rapid cycling, but a psychotic break from schizo-affective to schizophrenia happens instantly folks. One minute you might think youve figured something out, next you're saving the world in your underwear (who says you cant)


Mania triggers this NDMA process.

The reptilian brain is the one that needs to be super-cooled, our mammalian brain is designed to "love" and hold information for the reptile brain.

Not reptile as in, it's from them. It's just that when you sleep your reptile brain is working, and when a person hallucinates.

I've recently read dreams are a healthy psychosis.

I've also read that hallucinations are dreams breaking through.

While these two, mediocre, broad-sweeping statements make sense....it seems to obvious.

It really isn't though.

Reptile brain = dopamine hypothesis

to me this is what two different people think and they're the same thing.

I don't think there is a super-cause to it all. I believe lack of love and a great imagination to protect the person themselves is what is causing it.


And the VOICES, its just YOUR reptile brain.

It's not you, the loving mammal.

The reptile can only remain passive-aggressive for a while.


I believe the largest part of this all when talking mammal vs reptile PARTS is that we have a pineal gland also....which I believe all thought processes can be controlled, stopped.............and you, yourself before being offended or agreeable make a great decision that values all choices NOT just you singly as a body.

Ill get crazy. Ill get whack. If you dont understand my truth, you're not on enough crack! jk

You'll also come to the conclusion that my ideas represent a modality. Much like I could represent 1+1=2, NA ACUMMBENs says what I would say (If I hadn't went on the fun "we have this inner brain that is us" and this outer brain that represents and interacts with person.)

So many +REP. I don't give them out like "likes." Friggin you guys give me faith in humanity.

 

[SOTF420]

Quality posts in here, thanks for the read much love to all.

+K to all I can here

We are all in this together so don't ever feel alone, in fact just reading this stuff from others makes me feel more stable for some reason. Maybe it's the Cannabis too

 

[OMountainMix]

I have to say that DJ Short's Grape Krush really is a superior strain. He has said on here that he purposefully breeds to avoid the "raciness" that a lot of powerful pot has. While I can't say that I am prone to that myself (although I am prone to pretty serious anxiety and worry), I can say that I have felt that on occasion from other bud. Like we've got Ed Rosenthal's Super Bud and occasionally after smoking that I feel like I've had too much coffee.

Anyhow, the Grape, although very indica in many ways, seems to pep us up in the morning, put a smile on our faces and get us going. At the same time, when I smoke it around dinner time when working a lot, it puts my ass out and gives me 8-10 hours of deep, untroubled sleep. Considering that I am prone to things like bolting out of bed and screaming "Snakes," "Roaches (and not the good kind," or "Spiders," turning all the lights on and shaking out the covers, this is a good thing. I am also prone to the occasional "nuit blanche" or "white night," (a night without sleep).

The Grape is also excellent stomach medication for IBS or other stomach upset, particularly in hash form. Of course, ANY hash is stomach medicine in this household, but that actual Grape Krush buds work quite well that way.

For those that need to be uppy but don't want to feel like they are on coffee and all jittery, I recommend DJ's Johnny Blaze. We got a very sativa-leaning variety and this one will give you the get up and go of a strong sativa, with the kindness and smile on your face that you would get from a mellower indica or cross. I think the smile on the face is that blueberry element in both strains.

Now right now, we're working on "Project (insert my BFF's name here)." My girl has not been able to smoke in 10 years. I mean we've been at concerts and she's said things like "They're coming to take me away." "Who? It's not like you did anything, why would anyone need to come take you away." "They just are." Girl hasn't smoked in all this time, although I'm reasonably sure that the Grape would suit her just fine, we're taking no chances and branching out. Major thanks to SOTF for his efforts in this arena. Although my girl thought at first we were gifting her all the seed plants (Oh my God, like I need anything else to take care of!, she said), she was uber happy to know that we're well on our way to her having something she can reliably take a puff of to relax or calm herself down without the paranoid freak out aspects that pot seems to bring out in her.

I would suggest reading what the breeders on here say when looking for something to treat your individual needs. You can also see which breeders are looking for what aspects/nuances of the plant and also what their individual needs/desires are in breeding. Then you can read what they say about their individual strains and find breeders/strains that seem to "fit" with where you are. All of this takes a LOT of time and reading, waiting for seeds to arrive (or even to afford them or for them to be available), growing them from seed, sexing them, growing out that first soil plant, test driving it carefully (1-2 puffs, wait half an hour, analyze the effects, do this at various points of the day, or your mood spectrum as needed), selecting from the various cuts to see which one or ones suit you best, making sure that you've kept clones and mothers of everything you want to keep at the same time, and eventually moving that strain into production. It usually takes a year to really assimilate a new strain or even to work your way through a new crop of seeds and figure out what you're keeping and get it growing in enough weight to test drive it with other people.

After reading what everyone has said here, it seems to me that probably a lot of you who have the varied symptoms could benefit from having 2-4 different varieties of pot available to you so you could vary your strain according to your needs at that time.

One thing I didn't mention is the very magical and yet documented synergy between breeder and strain, and grower and plants. I truly think that DJ Short's strains come out the way that they do b/c of his stated philosophy on what he is looking for, the kind of person he is (ie the way he reacts to pot), etc. Also, his stated ideas about breeding for aromatherapy ideals are really the next thing, I think. I talk about a lot of this stuff with my massage therapist who owns a spa where all the creams, oils, and treatments are organic and made from fruits and vegetables. (It's super heady!). It is definitely true on her end that the smells and I guess flavors (although you're not eating the stuff) also affect how they work on your skin.

When an individual grower grows that strain, I think the plants respond to the gardener's needs and moods. I kind of wonder if the Grape is good stomach medicine for us, even in bud form, when no other bud we've ever grown will stop a stomach episode unless it's in hash form because that is something we're prone to on occasion and the plants have responded to our needs and that aspect has come out stronger. Certainly we've said this out loud in our house and I've found that I can get by without hash if I have a little grape around. And the Grape in hash form, will stop an episode where the pain is bad enough, that only an opiate (which constipates) would stop it in the past. Perhaps the Grape already had a tendency to help with that, b/c it's indica leaning, but perhaps these characteristics and effects have come out much stronger b/c that's something that we need. And how is it possible that the same pot can get me up, make me focused, creative, and happy in the morning, and put my ass out at night?

Oh one more DJ thing. We did some Vanillaluna and there were three main versions that we got. One of them was simply unlike any pot I've had before. I call it magical and that word might seem extreme to you, but I've witnessed it's effect in my life and it changed me from a pretty rabid pot advocate to a true rebel who KNOWS that it is IMMORAL for this plant to be illegal. Here's why. The test plant was small, and we already had 5+ strains that we had to keep as mothers plus the cloners in veg for production, so we didn't have room to keep clones of everything. So in the end, we had to reveg it, so we only got to smoke a few grams. I was in the throws of one of the worst sinus infections I'd had in a while. I caught a severe cold at work and brought it home to my hubby. If you were a person who is prone to bronchitis, then you got bronchitis, or pneumonia if you weren't lucky. My hubby realized he was getting pneumonia and hit the ready doc on a Sunday and they gave him two shots of antibiotics to prevent him taking that last step into pneumonia and then 2-3 weeks of strong antibiotics. It was that kind of cold. Well I didn't get all that, but what I am prone to is allergy and sinus problems. Colds create mucous, allergies do, too, sinus problems inflame and constrict the passageways so they can't drain. Well when you have gunk stuck anywhere in your body, we all know what happens. I kept feeling tired and shitty, but it was low grade so I didn't realize it for about a month and by then, I got really sick. Nothing you take during the sinus infection makes you feel any better, it's a matter of taking things that will get the gunk out of you and get the infection out of you. It is a long process to get over it.

Well, when my hubby brought out that magical vanillaluna, I took literally 1-2 small hits, and all the aches, pains, malaise, fatigue, misery, disappeared instantaneously. I was NOT EVER expecting any kind of pot to achieve that kind of result. I about fell on the floor in surprise. I was instantly totally alive, awake, feeling good, like I hadn't been sick off and on for about 2-3 months (my fault for not doing something about the sinus issue earlier, but in my defense it was low grade, so it didn't register on my radar.) I had this major epiphany that it was impossible for a person with severe (and I mean severe) allergies coupled with sinus problems in the throws of a really wicked infection to suddenly feel totally cured off a couple of very tiny hits of pot unless God had provided pot, in its many varieties, effects, with its ability to change to meet the breeder or grower's needs, that communicates with itself and other plants, unless He had specifically provided it to ease the suffering of a world gone wrong. And surely smoking is probably a real no-no if you're in the throws of allergy overload. Certainly getting a deep hit of anything can help blow out a clogged sinus cavity (painful, but beneficial), but nothing like this.

So then, I began to get very, very angry that people are denied the right to grow a plant that is so obviously like getting a full medicine cabinet for yourself, but can be done in your own home or yard, without harming the environment, and without the need for oil in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, it doesn't require you to spend all this money on pharmaceuticals that just goes to line the pockets of the wealthy, and if you are able to provide pot to others, it allows you to contribute financially to the economy of your country, rather than supporting drug providers that take their money out of the country.

There is no reason at all for pot to be illegal except that the government is sticking it's business into your rights, as stated by the Declaration of Independence (in the USA) to the freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This first right to life SHOULD mean that growing a plant that allows you to function well at daily life is a God-given right that all people possess and that can not be violated under any circumstance. Growing a plant for yourself certainly doesn't interfere with the rights of others. The fact that people suffer for growing and consuming pot is proof that our civil rights have been curtailed and eroded and as a person who is actually patriotic (in the sense that I agree with what our Founding Fathers were trying to do), I find this disturbing and it makes me so angry that no one in Washington gives a rat's ass about protecting our rights. When you add in the privacy rights of the Bill of Rights it becomes abundantly clear that the government's attempts to grow (bureaucracy is something that will find ways to grow, hence the Founding Fathers' disdain and fear of big government). Expanding into regulating food and drugs was an easy way for the govt to grow bigger, hire more people, take more of our money to support itself, etc. The major justifications for a lot of it (Upton Sinclair's the Jungle, the Patent medicine scandals) were just a way to spark hysteria on untrue information so that people would let the govt take care of it. Pot was made illegal bc of the socioeconomic class and the generally race of the users, not to mention that the paper barons didn't want competition for their tree slashing.

Nowadays, it's big pharma that wants to keep us all in slavery to them. In the end, then companies that provide chemical replacements for this plant then need to perpetuate themselves by covering their R and D costs and making profits before their patent runs out and believe me they will do anything to stifle the competition, which is YOU, the grower.

And this is not even to mention the fact that NO ONE knows and NO ONE CAN EVER KNOW what exactly is the effect on us from taking all these pharmaceuticals. Some of you were taking 4-6 meds. The variables involved in how those 4-6 meds interact with themselves and with your body chemistry, not to mention with the 1000 chemicals you're exposed to in daily life, are impossible to predict or even to study. And yet, THAT is legal, and we're pushed and sometimes require to go THAT route, when the much more humane way of smoking pot is illegal, when it is clear that God (or Nature, if you prefer), has provided a virtual medicine cabinet right outdoors.

And THAT doesn't even touch on all the herbs that were regularly in use in colonial times that we don't even really bother to use before.

I'm sorry to highjack your thread, but I found that I actually had quite a lot to say!