"They Say that I'm a dreamer..."

"But I'm not the only one."
--John Lennon

We used to live in downtown Eugene, Oregon. Our front yard contained some Rhododendron bushes and once in awhile the land--remembering that it used to be forest—allowed a poison oak plant to creep into the yard. At the time I read that nature provides an antidote for our physical ills and that Rhododendron tea applied to the skin would help heal a poison oak rash.
 
I steeped some tea and applied it to my skin--after I did acquire a rash--and although it’s been so long that I don’t remember if I tried any ointment along with the Rhody tea, I don't have a poison oak rash anymore.
 
This knowledge that nature provides antidotes dovetailed perfectly with the Hippocrate's quote that food is medicine, and that the Hemp plant--the true subject of this post, may provide some valuable healing. 
 
(Do not drink Rhododendron tea! I do believe it is poison, so see, I don’t think just because something is natural it is good for you. Let’s get reasonable here.)
 
So onto the subject of Cannabis:
 
This morning I was thinking that the prohibition of Hemp was to people like trying to put your cat where you want him. He has a mind of his own and will go where he wants.

I was cleaning the refrigerator, honest.

Prohibition of alcohol didn’t work, neither did prohibition of Hemp. It sure wreaked havoc for 80 years though. Imagine this: President Nixon placed 24-hour-a-day surveillance on John Lennon after his concert in support of John Sinclair who was serving a 10-year sentence for selling two joints.
 
The words Hemp and Cannabis are used interchangeably. The law states that it is legal to grow Hemp, therefore Cannabis, the genus name for hemp, must come from hemp--which it does). 
 
While hemp and Cannabis have the same taxonomy, they contain different components. The growers know this, and grow accordingly, like how to get more female plants that produce buds and flowers that contain both TCP and CBD. 
 
I don’t think that the makers of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Law (yep with an “h”) knew that chemists could extract the CBD, the non-psychoactive portion of the plant. It’s bizaare, too, for a law to use the word Marihuana, for it was meant as a racially-biased slang term to cast disparaging association on the use of pot, but it doesn't sound like terminology lawyers would use..
 
Now we know more. And if we look into our bodies, we will find cannabinoids, (CB’s) in virtually every major system from your brain down to your toes and including your skin.
 
And we know that Cannabis has two components. One: TCP that works on the nervous system, and gives the “high.” Two: CBD, that works on the immune system.
I mentioned on the October 17 post, that over time, with aging, this endocannabinoid system eventually burns out. Fewer cannabinoids are released, so the body’s cannabinoid levels deplete. The results are that we get age-related symptoms, like memory loss, blurry vision, joint discomfort, and aches and pains.
But help is on the way in the form of CBD substances.
 
That the plant’s genus name Cannabis,and that we have a system in our bodies called cannabinoid is another astounding coincidence.
 
 Yesterday I slipped my husband’s loops over my head, and adjusted the eyepieces so I could read a label that must have been printed with .0 font.
 
 “*Phytocannabinoid Rich Hemp 
“Other ingredients: Virgin organic Hemp seed oil, vitamin E.
 
 
*” Phytocannabinoid rich hemp.” Yea sure, phyto meaning it came from a plant and yes, hemp is naturally phytocannabinoid, but that doesn’t mean this oil contained any CBD.
 
I was duped.
 
And hemp-seen oil has no CBD.
  
It’s a super-food, but no CBD.
 
Beware of Junk CBD.
 
 “Only products labeled CBD are guaranteed to contain a legitimate quantity of CBD. The majority of hemp oils contain only trace CBD and hemp seed oil products do not contain any CBD.
 
 
“If you are looking for a quality source of CBD, you want products sourced from the resin-producing flowering segments of the hemp plant. Hemp seeds provide zilch usable CBD.
 
“Even if your hemp seed bottle label is flashy, don’t let it fool you. Unless CBD is listed in the ingredients.
“Bottom line: Hemp seed products do not contain CBD oil in them, despite how they may be advertised.
“If a label doesn’t disclose its CBD content, it is basically non-existent.--    Kanibi.com

When purchasing CBD products look to a company that has full transparency, meaning they label their ingredients, tell where it was sourced, have it triple tested by an outside testing company, say that it has been grown organically, has no GMO’s, and is preferable grown in the U S. It appears that Colorado, Kentucky and North Carolina are the best. (Oregon growers might stake issue with this.)

Research suggests cannabinoids might:

• Help maintain healthy blood sugar regulation
• Support optimal cardiovascular health
• Support healthy skin
• Help neutralize free radicals
• Help maintain a healthy immune system
• Support optimal digestive function.
• Improve sleep quality.
• Help counteract neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s by removing plaque that blocks the neuron signals.
•  Reduce muscle spasms, cramps.
• Reduce anxiety
• Reduce inflammation and relieve pain
• Control nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy
• Kill cancer cells and slow tumor growth
• Stimulate appetite and improve weight gain in people with cancer and AIDS Help maintain healthy blood sugar regulation.
• Help counteract neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s by removing plaque that blocks the neuron signals.
• Reduce cigarette and alcohol addictionReduce muscle spasms, cramps

Medical marijuana received a lot of attention a few years ago when parents said that a special form of the drug helped control seizures in their children. The FDA recently approved Epidiolex, which is made from CBD, as a therapy for people with very severe or hard-to-treat seizures. In studies, some people had a dramatic drop in seizures after taking this drug.
 
(To get an additional glimpse into why Hemp has been denied us for 80 years check into https://makingsenseofcannabis.com.
 
 
 

"I need some new skeptics, my old ones have become believers."