“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” – Lao Tzu
We did it ourselves!
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Tag Archives: people
Barriers to research
“When the substances involved may also include potentially forbidden substances resembling THC, which are subject to regulatory scheduling, the barriers to research become greater still. One may wonder, however, how much additional time might have been required to discover the Endo-cannabinoid System (ECS) were not cannabis there to lead the way. Despite its seeming ubiquity, and obvious importance as a homeostatic regulator of human physiology, the ECS topic receives short shrift in contemporary medical education, if mentioned at all. This educational deficit, born perhaps of lingering prejudice towards a plant called cannabis, must surely end soon, as it is contrary and detrimental to potential significant contributions to public health.”
– Ethan B. Russo
Have a light-hearted season
And the preacher says:
It’s that time of year again. Seems to me it’s a lot more dense than in previous years. Let me explain.
When once upon a time if a person displayed holiday lights on their home, it was a sign of being well-off. Lights on the house was an extra expense. Anything more than one string and you lived in a quiet neighborhood, well then, you were really rich, and the next year your neighbor would have 2 strings of lights. And so it went on until today. Today we see yards full of lights. Homes drenched in lights and sounds. Front lawns adorning lit up reindeer and snowmen. No Jesus in the manger or holy holy night. Just lots and lots of lights.
When, once upon a time, people kept their opinions to themselves. It was the polite thing to do. Oh, you could make comments about politics or religion, but not opinion. The thoughts you cherished as your own, and rightly so, were yours and yours alone. Opinions, it was believed, were not facts and then, well, you just stick to the facts. Simple. Today you can blah, blah, blah about anything you want. Everyone is screaming out an opinion and it’s becoming angrier and angrier. What’s with that? Any facts to back that up?
Then, once upon a time, a man (person) was measured by the essence of his word. The word was sacred. Yes meant substance. The word was his bond to others which in turn, measured his success.
Today, the word has become a tool for aggression. A way to do harm. Lies are common which breed distrust and in turn, bring destruction.
Once upon a time was a really nice time which wasn’t that long ago.
I miss that one string of lights on our home which meant we were doing all right. When harmony came in compliments and interest in others. When you shared knowledge with each other and kept your opinions to yourself. When love flowed freely over a good meal and good friends would never lie to you and a well meant hand-shake built trust.
Have a light-hearted season.
Blessings to all.
Rev. Gina
Move gently on the wave of Time
And the preacher says ……
….. what time is it? Where does the time go? Oh, look at the time! Time to go! Time to get up! Time to rest. Time to eat! Time for work. Time for play. Oh, time for the news!
What are you doing with your time?
The first gift of life for all living things is the gift of time. The definition of time is “Energy at the instant it touches us”. We can’t see it or touch it or taste it or smell it. It is this unknowable energy that affects us all the time. We have the subtle power to control it in and around ourselves. We look at what man has made using his time wisely. We also see what man has destroyed, abusing his gift of time. Pity.
Time wears itself on us. We pass through each day with plenty of time and before we can turn around, the time has run out. We age. We wear time and time wears us out. Can we change that? Can we identify that energy and use it to our advantage? This is the time of the GREAT SHIFT. The new matrix. The new paradigm. The Golden Age.
Identify the time you are in and control that time to move gently on the wave of Time.
Blessings.
Gina
The Science of Systems
So, it’s not just an intellectual pursuit. I want to fight these forces of evil, because that is what they are. I want you to join me in that fight. I want to share, in this book, my weapons – the weapons I’ve learned from the enemy.
What’s my most powerful weapon? What’s the weapon that can finally win? It’s not a gun or a bomb. It’s the science of systems. It’s seeing and really understanding how things are connected. And it’s also seeing all the traps and distractions that are put in your way. Here’s the best part. Once you learn this science – once enough people understand it – we can create an army that will win the war. Which is the first thing they don’t want you to know!
To distract you, to keep you feeling small and helpless, what they want to do is indoctrinate you. They want to “convert” you because, as Marx said, “Religion is the opiate of the people.”
V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai
The Preacher Says …
The preacher says …. Rev. Gina
Wow! We sure live in a “over the top” world don’t we? Shock and awe in dress modifications, colorful hair, language that I don’t understand. So, dynamics in the sacred geometry of our third dimensional world is restructuring itself into areas of our consciousness that we are just now recognizing. With this consciousness-raising generation to help us all, we are allowing the playing out of old ideas, old laws and old self-defeating dogmas such as they are. Standing in the doorway of the new paradigm.
Well, I’m going to sit down with my pipe and think about that!
Be Well.
* Want to learn more?
* Questions?
* Opinions?
* Ride the wave and let’s chat.
Why We Fight For Reform – by Mark Kichman
Martin Luther King Jr. has been admired in my family well before I was born. In virtually every house in my family, there are pictures of Mr. King hanging on the walls, and quotes plastered on everything from coffee mugs to school projects. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing person, and I am delighted to celebrate his life and achievements on Martin Luther King Jr. Day every year.
As a cannabis activist, I often wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. would think of the marijuana reform movement. I like to think that not only would he be proud of the reform movement’s victories, but that he would have been a cannabis activist himself. I don’t think that Mr. King was a cannabis consumer, as there’s zero evidence that he ever consumed marijuana at all. But supporting marijuana reform is much more than just being a consumer and fighting for your personal right to consume.
I’m happy to say that I know a lot of people that support marijuana reform, yet have never consumed cannabis. Those people support marijuana reform because they support equality, because they support compassion, and because they support social justice. Those of course are all things that Martin Luther King Jr. stood for too.
Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for what was right, even when it wasn’t popular, and even when it meant risking everything. His efforts are what ultimately cost him his life. To say that Martin Luther King Jr. is honorable and amazing is one of the biggest understatements of all time. Marijuana activists should strive to be like Mr. King. Marijuana activists should be willing to risk it all in the name of truth and justice, even when it isn’t popular or easy, and especially when it isn’t popular or easy.
On MLK Day remember why you fight for reform, and strive to be more like Mr. King. Below are some of his quotes, all of which I feel apply to the battle to end marijuana prohibition:
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Dr. David Bearman
After working for nearly forty years in substance and drug abuse treatment and prevention programs, Dr. David Bearman has a few questions, including: “Why should the government stand in the way of an individual to take responsibility for their health?” And, “Why should cannabis be in a separate category from other herbal remedies?” Dr. Bearman believes that “it is clear to all but the most scientifically illiterate that cannabis and cannabinoids are medicine.”
A pioneer in free and community clinic activities, Dr. Bearman is one of the leading physicians in the U.S. in the field of medical cannabis. His decades of work in substance abuse treatment and prevention qualify him as an expert, not only in conventional treatment and prevention, but in the therapeutic use of cannabis as well.
In his essay, The Tipping Point, this Santa Barbara physician and surgeon asks another, intriguing question, “Are we finally nearing the end to a long pointless war of hysteria?” Bearman continues, “We may have finally reached a tipping point in this long war on our sanity,” and cites several indicators that the war against cannabis might soon be over:
- In December, 2005, the FDA finally approved phase III clinical studies for tincture of cannabis, to be conducted by GW Pharmaceuticals
- Two of the most ferocious former federal drug warriors, Congressman Bob Barr and Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Deputy Drug Czar under President George W. Bush, have seen the light and switched sides, now working as spokespeople for the Marijuana Policy Project and GW Pharmaceuticals, respectively.
- The Hinchey – Rohrbacher Amendment continues to slowly gain support, and that support is expected to increase dramatically in the near future.
- In June 2001, Professor Lyle Craker applied to the DEA for a license to grow and study cannabis at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The DEA has ignored a ruling in the case to approve his license.
- Growing numbers of U.S. physicians are openly supporting medical cannabis.
Dr. Bearman believes that these indicators are undeniable proof of Americans’ collective change of mind about the worth of cannabis as medicine, and that the real issues raised by medical cannabis are Constitutional and philosophical.
Bearman and other informed observers believe that, with the great interest shown by the pharmaceutical industry in the development of new cannabis-based drugs and synthetic cannabinoids, we will benefit from a better understanding of brain chemistry, and that different strains of condition-specific cannabis will continue to be developed, along with similar synthetics, making the future of medicinal cannabis look promising indeed.
Learn more about Dr. David Bearman and his outstanding accomplishments for medical cannabis patients. See http://www.davidbearmanmd.com