MMJ Patient Taken Off Organ Transplant-list because of Medical Cannabis

 

I was shocked the other day. On my local news a medical cannabis patient in the state of Maine was being denied a kidney because he was a cannabis patient. Then shortly after that I saw on Facebook an Attn: Video about Garry Godfrey the same cannabis patient. I shared his story on social media immediately; I did not even realize this was a potential issue for the cannabis patient in the state of Maine.

Gary had been on Maine’s transplant list for a kidney since 2003 and in 2010 the hospital changed it’s policy on cannabis. Maine legalized medical cannabis in 1999 and 11 years later, they suddenly change their policy?

Garry was faced with an impossible choice. Stop using medical cannabis. Then wait a year before being let on the bottom list again and wait. OR Continue to use medical cannabis and be taken off the list and fight to change the law. He chose the latter. Why? Pharmaceuticals had not been able to treat his condition adequately. Cannabis let him be a father to his children; when pharmaceuticals had not been up to the job. What would you choose? In his own words, “I should have never had to choose between a life saving organ transplant and a life saving medicine.”

WMTW (My local news station) Had attempted to get a comment out of Maine Medical Center but the spokesmen for the hospital would not commit on this case. According to Maine Medical Centers their drug policy, “Our Drug Use policy currently prohibits transplant candidates from using marijuana, due to the risk of an invasive fungal infection known as Aspergillosis.” But what is the real risk of Aspergilloisis in cannabis? Maine being a legal medical and adult use state has cannabis testing labs. Why not have patient test their cannabis? What about extractions of cannabis oil (RSO) and Dabs? That process should kill any molds and as stated before the Maine cannabis labs can test for molds. I was curious to how common this mold would be found on cannabis and emailed one of the labs and waiting to hear back still.

I had also become curious to what else Aspergillosis might be found in. According to Steep Hill Media report on mycotoxins, “routine laboratory testing for Aspergillus and Ochratoxin is done on coffee beans, red wine, cereals and dried fruits because of these concerns, [and] Another commonly-appearing Aspergillus strain is a mycotoxin called Aflatoxin, which is among the most carcinogenic chemicals known. Aflatoxin has been found in the breast milk of mammals eating contaminated feed, peanut butter, cooking oils such as olive oil, and in patients using contaminated cosmetics. Liquid chromatography (LC) testing has shown at least faint traces of Aflatoxin in at least 50% of food samples tested.”

I reached out and asked Garry if these things that are tested for aspergillosis and could pose a simular risk of exposers to aspergillosis are on the restricted list or might disqualify a potential organ recipient. None of them were. Cannabis saw being singled out as a perceived Gary had been on Maine’s transplant list for a kidney since 2003 and in 2010 the hospital changed it’s policy on cannabis. Maine legalized medical cannabis in 1999 and 11 years latter, they suddenly change their policy?

Garry was faced with an impossible choice. Stop using medical cannabis. Then wait a year to get on the bottom list again and wait an unknown amount of time hoping for a kidney. OR Continue to use medical cannabis and be taken off the list and fight to change the law. He choose the latter. Why? Pharmaceuticals had not been able to treat his condition adequately. Cannabis let him be a father to his children; when pharmaceuticals had not been up to the job. What would you choose? I know what I would do. Yet, lab test could clear cannabis medication of any potential risk before using cannabis medicine if pending an organ transplant. Not only that, but 12 other states current already protect medical cannabis patients from being unduly discriminated against as organ transplant recipients based solely on cannabis use.

Garry just testified in Augusta Maine’s capitol on a LD 764 a bill that would give Maine patients those same protections if passed. The workshop vote will be on Thursday April 6, 2017.

However, while it is going to be good news for any new organ transplant patient to not have to go through what Garry had gone through at least in the state of Maine. For Garry he will need to go back on the bottom of the list that he had already been on for 7 years. His spot on that list is now forever lost. Gary has page on Facebook for those looking to learn more about him or inquire on how to help.

https://www.facebook.com/KidneyForGarryGodfrey/

If you are in a medical cannabis state and you don’t know if you can be discriminated against to recite an organ transplant. Find out and contact you Representatives if you don’t want discriminatory practices in your area.  No one should be denied an organ because of cannabis!

As always,

Spread Cannabis Knowledge!
FibroMan

Sources:
http://wgme.com/news/local/kidney-patient-taken-off-transplant-list-for-using-medical-marijuana

http://steephilllab.com/mycotoxins-molds-and-cannabis/

 

 

 

Medical Cannabis Paper of 1839

Cannabis as medicine is not a new concept nor is it a new idea to research the medical effects of this plant. I recently acquired the book, “Cannabis Collected Clinical Papers Vol. 1 Medical Marijuana Papers 1839-1972,” and I am going to go through each medical paper on cannabis and break down the studies for my readers.

The first medical paper I am going to go over is, “On the Preparations of the Indian Hemp, or Gunjah,” by W.B O’Shaughtnessy. His clinical study was originally published in Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Bengal, 1838-40.

O’Shaughtnessy was English doctor working for the East India Company and he published his research to be able to, “Market the introduction of marijuana into western medicine.” However, he did not come to this choice easily. He did his homework. He starts by going over what parts of the world already know the effects of the plant. He details all the botanical information about the plant. He does also note that the plant is also used for making cordage in Europe. He also goes over the details of the popular uses of cannabis from the medicinal the use for intoxication in the far East. He had also taken information out of Journal de Pharmacie in published in 1810 where Napoleon’s apothecary published medicinal uses.

O’Shaughtnessy decided that he would need to do some experiments. He started by testing on Animals first, but quickly moves to human experiments. Since he was doing this control he details how to make cannabis extract. The process is basically a similar processes to making RSO. Then mixes increasing does of the RSO with alcohol to dissolve it back into an alcohol. Essentially making a tincture of and adjusting potency. Measuring the dose in grains of the extract. These experiment were done not to test the medical effects but he was testing for safety. I don’t agree with him testing safety of cannabis on children, but I can’t change what happened in the early 1800.

The first experiment he gives a dog 10 grains worth.
The second experiment he give a dog a Majoon a popular cannabis infused food.
The third, forth, and fifth experiment he give 10 grains worth to 3 local children.
The sixth experiment he gave 20 grains worth to a dog.

He does continue to do other experiments but does not detail them specifically, but does come to the conclusion that, “no hesitation could be felt as to the perfect safety of giving resin of hemp an extensive trail in the case in witch its apparent powers promised the greatest degree of utility.” It is also important to note a few other things at this point as well. The terms used in the medical study of the cannabis plants vary. O’Shaughtnessy uses more than one term it show the interchangeability of the terms of this plant even in the 1800’s. He uses both local terms such as bhang; also he uses scientific terms cannabis sativa and cannabis indica; he also uses a few slang terms such as hemp as this was short for Indianan Hemp, but calls the flower tops specifically, Gunjah. This is what the Resin of the hemp plant is made out of.

Since he determined that cannabis was not toxic at least to the dose of 20 grains at this point and started using the cannabis extract on a few medical patents in his practice.

The first case he selected three acute cases of Rheumatism. Two of the three men become intoxicated after the administration of the hemp oil. The third admitted that he used the ganja pipe and had not been intoxicated by the hemp oil. After three days of receiving treatment the men had become , “relieved of their rheumatism.” He also treats a forth case after the success of the first three. He noted how the alleviation of pain and increase of appetite along with great cheerfulness with no case of delirium or quarrellings.

The next case was a case of hydrophobia. Small bit of background on this case. The man was bitten by a rabid dog three weeks prior. One effect of rabies on humans is an intense reactionary fear to drinking water or more when your thirst drives you mad enough to drink you have a bad reaction to water as you drink it. Ultimately the patent died in this case from the rabies. However O’Shaunghtnessy notes that, “ at least one advantage was gain from the use of this remedy;–the awful malady was stripped of its horrors; if not less fatal than before.”

An outbreak of Cholera during the time O’Shaughtnessy in India and there were several attempts to use cannabis oil to treat the outbreak, “and cures were daily reported by its alleged efficacy. Dr. Goodeve [who was a doctor at the medical college of Calcutta] was thus led to try it in several cases, and his report was in highest degree favorable.” However, O’Shaughtnessy does concluded that using cannabis hemp oil for treating Cholera was inconclusive but worth further investigation.

O’Shaughtnessy then tested out the use of hemp oil on a case of tetanus also called lock jaw. The person he treated he was able to use several doses to relax the person and eventually was able to use their jaw again. He said, “…the sedative powers of the remedy in the most favorable light.” This person did die from their injury that caused the lock jaw by refusing an amputation. However he does note that several other case that were deemed to far along to treat had success with treat of hemp oil saving people thought un-treatable. Not everyone was able to be saved using cannabis oil on case saw 2 out of 3 success with another with 4 out of 8 and without this treatment the likely hood was that all these case would have been fatal.

The next case is show the incredible power of cannabis oil. A case of a 40 day old child had an attack of convulsive paroxysms that would happen at night that was resistant to the treatments at the time. With the child getting worse, O’Shaughtnessy suggested using the hemp oil he made. He started the child on a dose of 1/20th a grain and with no results tried 1/10th a grain or two drops. This gave the child four days without any convulsions. When suddenly they came back. This was later found to be caused by the evaporation of alcohol and the cannabis resin adherer to the container side and the child had been given daily does of the liquid that O’Shaughtnessy say was only water. This show that the understanding of cannabis medicine as non water solubility was inveterately discovered. The child however had taken a turn for the worse while not getting the cannabis medicine. With a new batch of tincture made the child was given increasing larger does when it did not respond. One day requiring 130 drop or equal to 15 grains of resin. The child recovers and over a month later had become, “plump and happy.” This case O’Shaughtnessy biggest take back is that the hemp resign ability to be used in a wide spectrum of dose size. He mentions that the narcotic effects of hemp as he pointed out a medical student had taken 10 drops of a tincture and become severely intoxicated, or how that 1 grain was given to men with rheumatism that caused some to go into an intermittent trance, and yet 130 drops equal to 15 grains could be used on a 60 day old child to stop it from convulsing. What this really shows is how even in extremely large does that hemp resin or cannabis resign high in THC is non fatal. O’Shaughtnessy would not have known about THC at the time. The individual cannabinods had not been discovered. However, it can be determined that O’Shaughtnessy hemp resign had THC due to the psychoactive properties experienced by his patients and some medical students personal experiments.

In his conclusion to his medical study it was the anti convulsive properties of the cannabis resin that had impacted him most; he stated, “that in hemp the [medical] profession has gain an anti-convulsive remedy of the greatest value.” He did not want the personal fame in this endeavor he wanted wide spread study of this effect and stated this as why he immediately published his results have the “most extensive and speediest trails” to be given to his new found remedy. Then concludes with his recipe for extracting and preparing the hemp resin so others could duplicate how he made the it. His discovery makes him arguably the founder of the medical cannabis movement that is still happening today as he was one of the first to bring the idea of cannabis medicine into the minds of western medicine.

It is amazing to me how long ago a medical study had been done on cannabis. It amazes me not because that one was done, but because it had fallen deaf to modern ears after the prohibition of marijuana in 1939. I have heard modern doctors and other educated people tell me that no medical studies have been done on cannabis, or not enough have been done, or that there has not been enough time to study the medical effects. Yet, in 1839 a huge discovery had been published in a medical journal. How did these people come to this conclusion? Did they look for any? There are several of them. The anthology, “Cannabis Collected Clinical Papers Vol. 1 Medical Marijuana Papers 1839-1972,” was first published in 1972. I can’t wait to discover what other great information will be uncovered in this anthology. I will keep reading and as always I will,

Spread Cannabis Knowledge!
FibroMan

The VA is Anti-Medical Cannabis

The Veteran’s administration is part of the federal government and it is not surprising that they want to follow federal laws. There has been lots of talk over the last few years about if the VA could recommend cannabis in medically approved states, or if using cannabis would prevent veterans from getting medical care at the VA, or even if veterans would loose their benefits if they used cannabis.

As a veteran and a medical cannabis patient this is something that has concerned me for a while. The VA does not look at cannabis as medicine even when it is legally prescribed as such. Myself I could not keep using the VA for my medical care when they would not recognize my medicine. How could I have a real conversation with my doctor if we never talked about the medicine that was working  best for me instead of the pills they wanted to push on me. Note to mention the myriad of other issues the VA has.

However, I still keep tabs on how my fellow veterans are being treated at the VA. A buddy of mine went to his routine appointment and before they would refill his Ambien Rx (a sleeping medication), he was told he had to sign a form and initial the 18 bullet points. This authorized the VA to randomly drug test you even call you up for an unscheduled appointment to have a drug test (This was bullet point #4), and when you flip to the back it says on number 17: “I will  not use any medications or substances that are not sanctioned by the Veterans Administration (i.e, illegal substances, medical marijuana/THC, or Alcohol) while on controlled medication.”

This form was given to a veteran in Maine a state that approved medical cannabis in 1999  and as of January legal for ALL adults 21 years or older have the freedom to use cannabis as they see fit. Unless you are a veteran; then your freedom and rights do not matter. There is a reason that veteran suicides are on average 22 a day on average, the VA gives us shitty care!

“Spread Cannabis Knowledge!”
FibroMan

 

 

Juicing Raw Cannabis

Today I have the pleasure of introducing a Guest blog article to FibroMan.com by Miss Teddi the Raw Cannabis Juicing Lady. Who is going to teach us some things about raw cannabis.

Hello my name is Miss Teddi, ABQ’s very own Raw Cannabis juicing lady. I have been fallowing the work of Dr.Courtney’s since 2010, and started juicing 4 years ago.  Raw Cannabis came into play around 2010 by Dr. Courtney.

Dr. Courtney has shown his investigations to many doctors, Kristen Petskuski was the first patient to be healed with Raw Cannabis in 2012. this helped important institutions such as the national cancer institute recognize the anti tumor properties of cannabinoids.

It has also been found that Raw Cannabis has nutritional value as well. I’m trying to get together with one of the labs to test these properties

In 6 years we have only just began to understand the wonders of Raw Cannabis as an herbal remedy for healing and as a vegetable.

We have also learned the there are 480 natural components with in the cannabis plant one of there components is THC. The substance that is manly responsible for the psychoactive effects. It is the lesser know components CBD and THCA found in the leaves and trichrome covered flowers of the raw plant that deliver the nutritional and therapeutic punch.

Consuming Raw Cannabis in it’s raw form is the only way to enjoy all the benefits of the plant but when cannabis is ripe or heated it loses the anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic and anti- proliferation (the anti- cancerous ) properties of cannabinoids. Remember when you heat up a vegetable it loses a great deal of its nutrients and enzymes beneficial to your health. By definition Raw Cannabis is a vegetable and it also loses a great deal of its nutritional value when heated.

We benefit from Raw Cannabis because it comes along with a concentrated source of nutrients that can boost your energy. Its loaded with anti-oxidants, a prefect balance of omega 3 and omega 6, and potent anti-inflammatory properties which can help fight off a host of illnesses and simple aces and pains. You also avoid the high.

Plus with it containing  protein and vegetable matter it can be  used as a dietary supplement you can lose weight, control your blood sugar, blood pressure, and much more. It just makes for a better quality of life.

There are however a few things one must look out for Dr. Courtney cautions people with kidney or gallbladder problems that Raw Cannabis may pose a risk. He also would not recommend Raw Cannabis for people with hyperoxaluria type two, enteric hyperoxaluria, or primary hyperoxaluria. Also anyone taking blood thinning drugs such as coumadin or if you are taking medication that can be blocked by grapefruit or pomegranate juice you should advise your doctor that your are considering a Raw Cannabis regimen. Most leafy greens contain a high amount of vitamin k which can prevent the liver from metabolizing such drugs and Raw Cannabis can have this effect as well.

I am not the only one that uses raw Cannabis a good friend and fellow MCP Pam McKay tells me, “I was having terrible nephropathy in my legs and was suffering from foot cramps. When I began juicing first thing in the morning the nephropathy subsided as well as the foot cramping and it just helped me feel better it a great way to start your day. Without  having full access to Raw Cannabis or the Canna juice  some of my symptoms have returned. I look forward to getting my place and having my own grow simply for the purpose of having my raw cannabis”

I got my dad Ted Thompson to start juicing shortly after he became a MCP at age 81. It was his blood sugar that surprised me the most . His morning fast was 400 at times,  but 3 moths into juicing his blood sugar fast are now testing below 150 and he tells me “I cant explain how it works or what it does all I know is it makes me feel better and I wont stop juicing with raw cannabis!  He stopped once and his blood sugar was at an all time high. My mom told him to start juicing again and it went back down to a normal level in only 2 days .”

My dear husband Rex Kohr started juicing shortly after i did he told me he didn’t think it was doing anything that he could notice so he stopped juicing. After only 2 weeks of him not juicing is when he could tell a difference. Once again I’m told I don’t know how to explain what it dose all I know is I feel much better when using Raw Cannabis. Rex also states he’s happy that he’s married to the creator of over 50 treats made with Raw Cannabis which makes using Raw cannabis a pleasure to drink and eat. He might be a little bias but you will be able to judge for yourselves when my book of Raw Cannabis treats comes out in the summer of 2017.

As for me I could write a book on how Raw Cannabis has changed my life but ill keep it simple. I have been using it both as a dietary supplement and as a herbal healing ready for 4 years. I suffer from fibromyalgia, chronic pain, diabetes and the list goes on. Raw Cannabis has given me my life back I have lost over 100 lbs. gone from 28 pharmaceuticals down to only 3. before juicing it hurt to even smile or to give a hug  but now I’m able to do it often. Raw Cannabis is now a major part of my life I’m actually living for the first time in a long time I’m loving every part of my life. I’m now a big advocate for Raw Cannabis. I’m also an educator and consultant on Raw Cannabis ready for hire I’m working on a book of raw cannabis that will be out in 2017 . I cant imagine my life without Raw Cannabis in it.

I think it was Shakespeare that said let your food me your medicine and your medicine be your food. I think he was onto something. MISS TEDDI

When juicing, a wheat grass juicier is recommended for those using large amounts of leaf. However I have found that a blender is better to use its quicker and easier and according to Dr. Courtney a blender is preferred for juicing as you recover closer to 100% of what you put in.

You should use cannabis leaves and small buds that are well into flower. Buds have I higher concentration of CBD’s than leaves but using both together is quite beneficial. Most don’t have the resources  to do this nut I have found through experience that you can mix leaves from plants in tis vegetative state with your flowering leaves and a few buds to stretch your juice quite effective. It works as both a dietary supplement and a healing supplement.

Raw Cannabis can be kept in an air tight baggy in the refrigerator for up to a week. Do not freeze your raw matter It will cause it to loose its enzymes, and frozen canna cubes can last up too 2 to 4 months.

Rule of thumb is one cup of raw lefly matter is a serving .

Please feel free to email me any questions you have at missteddisjuicing@gmail.com you can also fined me on Facebook twitter and Instagram.

Written by, Miss Teddi the Cannabis Juicing Lady.

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Miss Teddi sent along  with this article a list of cannabinods and terpines in their raw forms and effects listed below at the bottom of the article.  For my readers, when a cannabinod is listed with an (a) at the end it lets you know that it is in the raw stage. For example THC when raw is THCa. This is due to the extra carbon molecule attached to the cannabinods. When heated carboxylic acids loose a carbon atom and change. That change represented by the (a) at the end of the cannabinods being removed. This process is also called decarboxylation and is what make the THC molicule psychoactive.

Thank you, Miss Teddi the Cannabis Juicing lady for submitting your guest blog post to FibroMan.com. If anyone else has any information about cannabis they think other could benefit from please submit guest blog posts to venerablescholar@gmail.com

and as always,

Spread Cannabis Knowledge!
FibroMan

******

Appendix of Raw Cannabinods and Terpines effects

THCa

1. ANTI-CANCER
2. -caryophyllene
3. citronellol
4. humulene
5. limonene
6. myrcene
7. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
8. a-pinene
9. -caryophyllene
10. cineol
11. citronellol
12. humulene

6 myrcene

1. ANTI-SPASMOTIC
2. citronellol
3. myrcene

THCVa

1. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
2. a-pinene
3. -cryophyllene
4. cineol
5. citronellol
6. humuiene
7. myrcene

CBGa

1. ANALGESIC
2. borneol
3. myrcene
4. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
5. a-pinene
6. -caryophyllene
7. cineol
8. citrollellol
9. humulene
10. myrcene

CBGVa

1. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
2. a-pinene
3. caryophyllene
4. cineol
5. citrollellol
6. humulene
7. myrcene

CBDa

1. ANTI-CANCER
2. caryophyllene
3. citronellol
4. humulene
5. limonene
6. myrcene

CBDVa

1. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
2. a-pinene
3. -caryophyllene
4. cineol
5. citrollellol
6. humulene
7. myrcene

CBCa

1. ANTI-FUNGAL
2. a-pinene
3. -caryophyllene
4. caryophyllene-oxide
5. limonene
6. nerolidol
7. terpinolene
8. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
9. a-pinene
10. -caryophyllene
11. cineol
12. citronellol
13. humulene
14. myrcene

CBCVa

1. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
2. a-pinene
3. -caryophyllene
4. cineol
5. citrollellol
6. humulene
7. myrcene

Cannabis Activist You Should Know: Jack Herer

Who was Jack Herer. Well I think the introduction of him in the Article “Hero of Hemp” by Paul Rogers sums it up very well, “Jack Herer was never an elected law-maker who could formally shape policy.  Nor was he some billionaire who could buy influence. Yet his rare combination of brilliant intellect, endless curiosity, scholarly diligence and passionate people skills made him a force of nature whose impact is perhaps only just beginning to be truly felt.”

To me Jack was the man that first opened my eyes to cannabis knowledge. I had started using cannabis to treat my pain associated with my fibromyalgia. I knew very little about cannabis at the time and still was not completely sure about the safety or history of the plant that saved my life. Where did I start? I was fortunate to stumble across a free copy of Jack Herer’s Book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes,” available online.  You can read as well following this link. http://jackherer.com.s216995.gridserver.com/emperor-3/
Jack Herer inspired me because of the similar background I saw between us. Jack and I are both veterans, former Republicans and had been anti-cannabis at one point in our lives. His opinion of cannabis changed like mine has—after we tried it. He had been “always furiously curious and an avid reader…” Something else I could relate too.  We had both came from the opposite perspective on cannabis and it had given us a unique look at why, others don’t like cannabis; the biggest hurdle is ignorance and this is something Jack Herer believed could be overcome with a little education. It also takes a strong person to say, ‘I was wrong in my beliefs and I am willing to admit it,’ but this is something both of us had to do. It is deeply humbling to find out things you had once adamantly believed where incorrect.  The article Hero of Hemp said, “That new converts make the most vigorous zealots, and that was certainly true of Herer. He longed for others to experience his epiphany.” I have certainly found this to be true as well. Once you catch the zeal of spreading awareness it never leaves you, as you know what it is like to be in the dark and with a little education you can turn on the light for some people.

In his book, he covers the history of cannabis from many aspects from cannabis hemp, medical, economic, energy, prohibition and so much more. My eyes had become open to the world of cannabis knowledge and it was because of Jack Herer. Immediately after reading his book I found out that this amazing man who had become my inspiration to be a cannabis activist had passed away. He died on April 15, 2010 in Eugene, Oregon, at age 70 from complications related to his heart attack in 2009. With a local paper article stating, “The Hemperor, Jack Herer has Died,” this was long before I found his book and had ever learned anything positive about cannabis.

But who was Jack Herer? He was much more than just one book. Mind you that one book has now had 12 editions and 750,000 copies sold, and that is no small feat. Considering this book was written in two weeks; while Jack Herer was in jail for collecting signatures for California’s ballot initiative in 1981.

Originally published as part of the article, The Hero of Hemp by Paul Rogers gives a deeper look into who, Jack Herer was as a man: “The exclusive interview by, CULTURE spoke to Jack Herer’s widow, Jeannie Herer. They asked her for insight into the husband who believed he could change the world and whose lingering influence continues to do so. Jack Herer “had the biggest heart of anybody that I’ve ever met,” Jeannie recalls, radiating fondness. “He loved people and he loved being out and talking to people and educating people. He saw how you can change a person’s thinking very easily if you educate them. And he was an educator. He was an educator who believed that he—that we—could save the world, if we just knew all the facts about hemp.’”

This man wanted the world to be educated and to help eradicate ignorance. He had a willingness to teach people that is not often found. Changing the world one mind at a time can make a difference for sure. Jack Herer is proof of that.

Jack Here was a man of perseverance and although, “he never saw his vision fully realized, Herer just wouldn’t let his head drop. “Never!” says Jeannie, who married him August, 9th 1999.(Originally reported incorrectly as 2000) “He was a miracle man … he just never stopped talking about [legalization]. And he had a magnetic personality. He wasn’t shy to get out there and spread the word. He set up on the Federal Building lawn [in Los Angeles in 1980] with big giant signs and had people, a hundred people at a time, camping out for a hundred days . . . He had a lot of guts.” If there was any cannabis activist worth mimicking Jack Here is that man. His passion was so great that it is still being felt today.

Photo Credit: Dr. Michael Aldrich

Herer had even ran for office of the President of the United States, twice. Once in 1988 getting 1,949 votes and 1992 almost doubling his votes to 3,875 votes as the Grassroots Party candidate. Sadly, I doubt enough people even knew who he was at the time. If only he had won imagine where we could be. Herer believed that cannabis can save the world. With cannabis being able to be used as food, medicine, industry, and as a sustainable green energy source. He is often quoted saying, “I don’t know if hemp is gonna save the world but I’ll tell you this, it is the only thing that can.” He is absolutely correct. We would not be dependent on oil because anything oil can do—cannabis can do better. We could also replace most the lumber industry and cotton (cotton requires lots of pesticides) industries with cannabis hemp. That would have a huge positive impact on our environment.

So, know the next time you run across the strain Jack Herer, know it was named after this man. He changed the world and helped inspire cannabis activists across the world. He was an absolute legend. For more information on the Jack Herer Cannabis Strain.

Jack Here had other interests as well besides cannabis. In a brief article “Legendary Energy,” tells of Jack Herer also lent a good deal of his time and passion in researching the amanita muscaria mushrooms.  He credited his recovery from his stroke and heart attack in 2000 to the mushrooms. He had first learned of them in federal prison by reading the book Sacred Mushroom and the cross by John Allergo, “that sparked a flame in him. He spent six months looking up every single word of the ‘Song of Solomon’ (three pages long) in Strong’s Concordance [of the Bible] so he could find the original meanings of the words.” According to Jeannie in the “Legendary Energy,” article, “Jack’s biggest passion was learning/teaching about the role of amanita muscaria mushrooms and other drugs in religion.” I’ve only just now starting reading the benefits of some mushrooms over this last year overcoming my long misunderstanding of them. I’m still not well versed on the subject myself and we have yet still a lot to learn about what the medicines of nature can teach us. Little by little knowledge will set us free. To read more about what Jack Herer was working on with mushrooms and religion go to his link http://jackherer.com.s216995.gridserver.com/about-2/mushroomsreligion/

This just barely scratches the surface of who Jack Herer was.

This has been my first article on “Cannabis Activist You Should Know.” If you have a suggestion of other cannabis activist that should be highlighted or if you are a cannabis activist, please leave a comment below.

And as always,

“Spread Cannabis Knowledge!”
FibroMan

Sources:

http://jackherer.com.s216995.gridserver.com/about-2/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Herer#cite_note-11

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april152010/jack_herer_died.php

http://jackherer.com.s216995.gridserver.com/emperor-3/

https://www.leafly.com/sativa/jack-herer

HERB: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Cannabis Book Review

If you are new to cooking with cannabis or are an old hand in the kitchen with cannabis. HERB: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Cannabis is a great resource. Not only is the basics of infusing cannabis into oil and butter, but has several good recipes as well. Everything from drinks and dips to pastas and full out entrees and of course cookies, brownies and other sweets too.

So far, I have made two of these recipes. I made the and modified the Spinach and Artichoke dip and the Hot Drink Golden Delight. Both are very tasty and the Golden Delight is now one of my new favorites to make. Especially on these cold winter days.

For those that want to get out of the rut of only eating cannabis sweets or for those that want to learn how to optimally use cannabis while cooking pick up your own copy of HERB: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Cannabis, and get cooking with cannabis.

As always,

Spread Cannabis Knowledge!
FibroMan

Beyond Buds Book Review

Cannabis can be used in many ways and can be used in the plant form and most likely the most used way is the smoke that plant typically the buds of the female plant. This is old news for most. What about the ways to cannabis that are Beyond Buds?

New users to cannabis may not know exactly what is beyond buds like more season cannabis users that already knows about kief and hash along with dabbing, edibles and more. Enter the book Beyond Buds by Ed Rosenthal the Guru of cannabis.

Beyond Buds starts by over the basics and is a good review for even the knowledgeable person. Then moves into talking about kief with a little about the history of the term and moves along to various ways to extract kief from cannabis bud, trim and leaves. This includes manual screens, dry ice extraction and water hash and some advance hash making. Including several step by step.

The chapter on vaporizers while it had some basic information about how vaporizers work it was more a chapter of advertisements for various vapes.

Beyond Buds on dabbing is an essential chapter of this book. Dabbing I think is one of the most misunderstood parts about cannabis world. Many are unsure of what to make of it since the media called it the dabs the “crack” of weed. Ed Rosenthal put it better saying, dabs are more like the espresso of pot. Beyond Buds also goes over the various ways to use dabs with the various equipment needed to dab and is like the vaporize chapter a mix of ads for that gear too. It also lays out some of the different kind of dabs out there like BHO, shatter, wax and others Including Clear that I suspect is a distillate and HBC dab. This is kind of interesting and never heard of this myself. HBC uses a hyperbolic chamber (the one used on divers that have the bends) to extract the cannabinods.

After the basics on dabs, Beyond Buds talks about how to make dabs. There is a chapter specifically on Butane Extractions (BHO) and CO2 extractions oddly Rosen is missing. Between CO2 and Butane the comparison I got way:

Butane is more dangerous to use. Safety Precautions Required. The equipment for butane extraction is way cheaper (Butane will cost $500-$1000 to set up. CO2 several thousand and can easily cost up to 10 thousand). Butane is more effective at extraction process. The equipment for butane won’t need extensive training to use whereas CO2 equipment will require significant training.  Butane must be purged almost completely less than 500 ppm ideally and CO2 does not require this and is considered cleaner because of this, but purging is part of the equipment setup for butane so if done correctly should have a low ppm butane.

While Beyond Buds does not recommend making dabs with butane they do explain in great detail how to do it if a few different ways; along with what safety measures to take to do it safely. If you choose to make your own dabs and use butane make sure you use all safety precautions and never cut corners.

Then Beyond Buds ends with the basics on making tinctures, edibles, and topical uses of cannabis that if you wanted to expand into using cannabis in any of those ways this book is a good place to start to learn more about those methods. It even covers a little bit about terpenes, but not enough.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While I felt that there are definitely more ads in here than I would have preferred. I can also see the use of them as well as they expose you to some of the various companies making the gear and equipment to help you go beyond buds and if that is something you have not been exposed to these ads can help you with that and they are not distracting like many ads. This book is certainly a great place to start if you are thinking you want to go beyond your buds.

In Appendix 4 is the list of all the sources that went into making this book and there are now several of those books and scientific articles on my to-read list now. I personally love when these books cite sources. This way you can do your own follow up to the information they provided.

And of course as always,

“Spread Cannabis Knowledge!”
FibroMan

Hot Golden Delight

This is a super easy recipe to make and will make a potent edible that you can adjust the potency on with ease. I also found that this particular medible effect can be felt quicker than most medibles. I suspect that this is due to it being a drink and getting digested faster.

What you will need:

2 1/2 cups Coconut Milk
3 Tb Local Honey
1 1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Cannabis Infused Butter

Mix all ingredient except Cannabis infused butter in blender.

Pour blended ingredient into saucepan and simmer for 5-7 minutes then pour into 2 coffee cups add 1 tsp Cannabis butter into each serve immediately.

I found this recipe in the Book, HERB: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Cannabis.

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A few notes on this recipe. To increase of decrease dose add or subtract canna-butter as needed. I use 2 tsp per serving.  (Start at 1 tsp per serving and adjust from there.) It should also be mentioned that “coconut milk, cinnamon, honey, and turmeric contain powerful antioxidants”.(HERB) Also if you use local honey instead of generic honey it contains local pollen processed by the bees to aid in allergies to pollen as well.

Spread Cannabis Knowledge!
FibroMan

Need to know how to infuse cannabis into butter for this recipe? Read my article on Infusing Cannabis into Oil or Butter.

 

Cannabis Spinach & Artichoke Dip

If you have always wanted an infused cannabis food that was not dessert or sweet then this might be your answer.

This recipe I found in Herb: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Cannabis, However I did make a few changes to the recipe.

Ingredients needed:

• 1/4 cup Cannabis Infused Coconut-oil
  • learn how to Infuse Cannabis into Oil or butter
• 1 TB Chopped Garlic
• 8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese ( 1/4 of that set aside for topping)
• 2/3 cup Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup Mayo
• 2 TB Chopped Jalapenos
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 cup of Cannabis Fan leaf Fingers (cut each finger off each leaves off discard steams)
  • Replace Cannabis fan leaf fingers with Kale or Spinach if unable to acquire fan leaves.
• 1 cup frozen thawed and drained Spinach. (next time I make this I’m going to try with fresh spinach)
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Canned Artichoke-hearts
• Pinch of Nutmeg
• 1/4 cup Bread Crumbs

Pre Heat oven to 325F degrees.

While the oven preheats melt cannabis coconut oil on low heat in a sauces pan. Add Garlic and cook for two minutes.Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl Blend together Mayo, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, 1 cup Parmesan cheese,  artichokes, spinach, Jalapenos, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Once well blended add in Spinach and Cannabis Fan leaf fingers. Mix well then add in the cannabis coconut oil and garlic you set aside. Bend for 1-3 minutes.

Pour into a 1.5 pint bread glass bread pan.

In a separate bowl mix together the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Then top the dip with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Cook for 20-30 Minutes or until golden brown.
(optional: Broil top for 2 minutes to crisp top)

This recipe makes 4 cups. The recommended serving size is 1/3 cup. Although I found that I needed to eat 2/3 cups to equal one of my cookies. That becomes a meal. So this recipe is nice for an occasional change up in medibles but not practical for everyday medication. None medical users might get more out of this recipe due to most non medical users having lower tolerances than your typical weekend users.

Don’t forget….

“Spread Cannabis Knowledge!”
FibroMan

 

 

Infusing Cannabis into Oil or Butter

I personally prefer coconut oil. Why coconut oil? That answer is simple. Coconut oil is 100% fat, whereas butter is around 60% and even clarified butter is only 80% and cannabinoids bond to fat. Therefor coconut oil will have more cannabinoids per serving that using butter and many other oils. I should also note that coconut oil will work in any recipe that requires butter or an oil so it is extremely versatile and coconut oil contains healthier fats.

The method I use to infuse coconut oil can also be used to infuse butter or other oils as well. Having a oil or butter to use in the kitchen is the first essential step to cooking with cannabis.

To infuse cannabis into the fat of your choosing you will need the following items.

1. Crock pot
2. Large Mixing Bowl
3. Strainer
4. Cheese Cloth
5. Zip tie
6. 16oz of coconut oil (butter or other oil)
7. 1oz decarboxylated cannabis buds (or 4oz of cannabis trim)
   • Unsure about decarboxylation? See my article How and Why to Decarb Your Cannabis.
8. 1 cup of water

Set the crock pot to keep warm. Add the cup of water and coconut oil into your crock pot and let it all melt. Then add in the decarbed cannabis.

Important, for best result I emphases the cannabis must be decarbed before adding it to the oil or butter to activate the THC.

Mix the cannabis in the oil or butter every few hours keeping the crock pot on keep warm the entire time. Let this mix sit in the crock pot at least 8 hours but can keep it going longer up to around 14 hours to increase maximum potency.

Turn off the crock pot and let it cool for about 30-60 mins. In the meantime, line the strainer with several layers of cheese cloth (6-10 layers) and set the cheese cloth lined strainer in the large mixing bowl. Once your oil or butter has cooled it is time to pour it through the cheese cloth. Lift the strainer and let most of the oil or butter has gone into the bowl. Grab the cheese cloth and make sure all the cannabis is trapped inside and zip tie the cannabis inside the cheese cloth.  With all the cannabis trapped inside the cheese cloth and if the cannabis has cooled enough you can squeeze out the rest of the trapped oil or butter. You can keep this used cannabis and use if for making a less potent batch of oil or butter. I recommend making an 8oz batch of oil or butter with the left over cannabis. Or you can make a cannabis salve like in my article Topical Cannabis Salve replacing the trim in that recipe with this leftover cannabis.

Use caution and make sure that the cannabis is cool enough to squeeze or hot oil will burn you. If in doubt set aside the cannabis in the cheese cloth to cool in a separate bowl before squeezing.

Inside the mixing bowl should be the cannabis infused oil or butter still mixed with water. If any cannabis is still in the oil; clean the strainer line with cheese cloth and strain one more time. If clear of cannabis debris set the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. This colder temperature will help with the oil or fatty butter to separate from the water because the oil and fat float to the top of the water and become a solid in colder temperatures.

Once the oil or butter is solid then use a butter knife to slide along the side of the solid oil or butter and pop the free carefully. Discard the water and scrape the bottom of the oil or butter to get the rid of the film. What remains is your infused oil or butter.

If making cannabis coconut oil, I recommend adding one more step to this process. Put the infused coconut oil back into a cleaned crock pot and let it melt on keep warm. Once fully melted pour the coconut oil into ice cube trays. (These ice cube trays should only be used for this purpose after this) Then freeze the oil over night. Once you have your ice cubed infused coconut oil put into a Tupperware or into the empty coconut oil container. This just makes handling coconut oil easier. I just weigh out or melt what I need when I need it.

That is how to infuse cannabis into your favorite oil or butter and as always….

“Spread Cannabis Knowledge!”
FibroMan