Tuesday 29 December 2020

Cannabis Law Reform: the Realpolitik Version

Published by Roottie.com and then sold or transferred to MsJane.co who does not credit me for writing this article on their site.


According to vocabulary.com the word realpolitik came directly from German and literally means "practical politics."  Another online source describes it as 'politics or diplomacy based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors'.  As in, half the story then? Pretty much!  To me Realpolitik sounds counter to the theory of relativity since this way of thinking all but requires that you do not compare situations to others elsewhere present or past.  Realpolitik is basically governing with blinders on.  

I see it in the way our politicians are looking at Cannabis law reform and our youth.  I mean, we're so worried about our kids ingesting this safe plant, while at parties their peers are snorting percs, coke, or oxy's instead!  Even the fact that so many college and university students are taking Ritalin is a reason for worry. How about the keggers on campus.  Do you think our youth are drinking responsibly?

While our government wants to keep Cannabis out of the hands of our youth, I want the canna that will inevitably get into the hands of said youth, to be grown safely and ethically, and purchased in a regulated storefront.  Our leaders have to realize that they cannot mandate personal choice anymore than they can stop recreational experimentation! 

Realpolitik thinking doesn't look at the big picture though, as the macro view often confuses issues and muddies viewpoints.  If they were real about protecting the kids, they'd stop allowing alcohol companies to advertise to them.  They'd stop big pharma from pushing their poison pills on them.  And they'd go back to giving daily gym classes and teaching cursive writing!  

And what's it all for in the end, to simply avoid party opposition?  Why is our Government lying about the real reasons to regulate Cannabis?  Because the big picture shows the need I mention above and they're not ready for that shit-show.  Big pharma all over the globe needs to be taken down, Big alcohol too.  Even tobacco smokers get more respect than Cannabis smokers in tenement buildings and on the street.  

In the end I see Realpolitik for the smoke-show that it is.  Highlight this to cover up that and influence the masses.  Comparatively speaking, Cannabis is the safest recreational substance you could ever offer our youth.  Over-ingestion of water has killed more people than over-ingestion of Cannabis.  

It's 2017, we have a balanced parliament, but how real are we?

Thursday 24 December 2020

Anxiety, the Friend That Never Leaves You

 


I was just putting together alllllll the instances growing up where I suffered from unknown stomach issues.


There were several times in elementary school that my mum came to the school but then left & the "I miss my mummy feeling" in my stomach was absolutely gutting.  It happened before Hockey practices --I was the first girl in the town to play hockey with the boys.  It happened the first few times I slept over at friends' houses too.


There were times during my early 20's where the dull achey nausea was so bad, I'd force myself to vomit to try to make it go away.  It happened before work if/when I was unhappy with my job. It happened on the way to a stupid meeting in Kingston that I wasn't eager to attend.


Now I see that it was allllllllllways ANXIETY & my body's reaction to the fight/flight/freeze instinct.


It's interesting really to look back & remember those times & then realize EXACTLY what that was all about.


Oh the things I'd do then if I knew what I know now.


(Imagine the plants I could've grown on Hutching's Road!!!!!)


So ... in the words of Aldous Huxley, "Experience isn't what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you."


I don't have kids but I see & hear about the anxiety kids are feeling.  Some are dx'd heavy psych meds.  Others avoid school, dreading their life every Sunday because that day means tomorrow they go back to school.


I see adults with these issues too.  I'm here to suggest & urge you to try cannabinoids.  I am here to help.


Yesterday I got my CRA GST remittance papers.  In the first year of me being the owner/operator of Canna Clarity, I haven't made enough to remit GST.


I revel in the fact that though I've only printed one invoice for counselling, I have most definitely helped my fellow humans feel better, dose better, grow better, love themselves-forgive themselves-hype themselves better.


We live in a world that quantifies success differently than I do and differently than most of the people I call friends.  For many, success is never feeling the gutting "I miss my mummy feeling".  To me, success is understanding what it was all about and realizing the message it told me.


Today I begin to listen to my gut.


Thursday 3 December 2020

Pfizer .... Not So Trustworthy!!!!!

 


Half the world is trusting Pfizer for this vaccine.


Yet .... Pfizer has some unethical practices in its past.


Please read HERE.

Wednesday 2 December 2020

Evolution of a Pandemic

 

It started with the Bat, hatin' on that dirty creature.
Then it evolved to the wet markets, the flea markets where people buy & sell food.
From the dirty creature to the sadistic human, that blame easily moved.
From the wet markets to the entire country, we now label them all.
Blame blame blame.

Over here, we're not allowed to feel that bigotry so we blame one another.
The mask must be on no matter what, who, or why.
Over regulation makes regulators of us all & so yes, we are all on the blame high-alert.
Now, differences of opinions separate us further.

If you or someone you love are in healthcare, you see all other opinions as insane.
Insane on one side
Correct on the other
Separate separate separate

And I am as guilty as anyone else on all accounts & more.
I whiplash myself when I see someone without a mask on yet I question the point of wearing them when there's no regulation on what you make your mask out of.

I just wish PEER REVIEW still mattered.
But now, not all Medical Professionals are being heard in the same way.

Separate separate
Blame blame

To all ... ALL Healthcare professionals, thank you for being the frontline in this.
To all delivery, transportation, food service, minimum waged workers and so many others ... I appreciate you.

Don't stop discussing this.
Don't stop talking.
Mask on or off, we have to peer review.
Before it's too late.
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Achtung Dabbers! Tips For Those Who Dab Daily.

 

For me and my daily routines, inhalation will always be a main method of cannabis ingestion.  I’m a legal patient and so, after years of ineffective pharmaceutical meds, ain’t nobody got time to wait for them to work.  Heck, I don’t even have time to wait for sublingual Cannabis oil to work.  Morning is my nemesis, my kryptonite like so many others reading this.  Getting cannabinoids in and getting them working is of utmost importance to me and hitting that nail first thing softens my morning edges like nothing I’ve ingested before.

Cannabis concentrate comes in many different forms and the varying prices may only be about the current hype.  Sell it while it’s hot kinda deal.  Either way, we pay a lot for this precious collection of cannabinoids, flavonoids, terpenes and other botanicals depending on varying factors.  We’re not going to get into that however, we’re just here to talk about how to get that sticky, volatile goo from the flower into your endocannabinoid system without loss and subsequent hardship.  The following are my warnings to you, fellow partaker of the gift of Mother Cannabis in her concentrated forms.




Shatter Shatters!  

As hot and humid as my apartment is right now, I still just pinged a hefty chunk of golden shatter across the frikken room.  In the past, I’ve been luckier in respect to how far the shatter shattered, but instead I was left picking pieces of Cannabis off of my dab.  That’s something you do not want igniting in that 900*F cup.  That’s a good way to lose your bangs or brows and make a mess of your rig!

I now heat the dabber a bit so it melts into the sheet of shatter when choosing my dab.  This usually solves the issue quite well.  On the contrary, if I’m dabbing a concentrate that is gooey or runny I don’t warm that dabbing tool at all.  This is because the warmth will make it impossible to scoop up a sufficient dose.



Sticky stuff!

Your order came in or you just visited your favorite dispensary. Your cup hath heateth & you are ready to imbibe.  This is where it gets all Tolkien for many of us who love to admire fine shatter.  We hold it up whispering, “my precious”.  Heck, even the shatter that’s dark khaki with chlorophyll is beautiful when held up to the sunlight.  But like the wax holding Icarus’ wings, melted in the same sun, your shatter can soften and stick to the sides of the package.  Talk about wasting time better spent basking in the glory of a well-fed ECS, eh?

My tip:  I currently buy shatter in plastic envelope type packages.  These along with carefully folded parchment paper are very common.  The trick is to be aware of the heat of your fingers and hands when handling these packages.  Even if you have to pop it into the freezer for a few minutes to harden it back up, you’ll be doing yourself a favor.  If done carefully, it’s possible to gently pull the shatter away from the sides & slide it out --sometimes even in one piece.  I keep my shatter in silicone for easy daily dabbing.

A ‘lil Dab’ll Do Ya

I say this for many reasons.  For one, dabs are serious shit.  Depending on the flowers used, dabs can be several times higher in cannabinoid strength as is flower.  This is why I really love the idea of having pre-dosed dabs.  It’s very easy to over-dab when you’re taking random pieces or scoops.  

Secondly, from a bronchial perspective the small dab that I can inhale in one or two breaths, is best.  That size lets me walk away without as much as a cough.  For some lungs, that white bowl they inhale can leave them in a coughing fit that is not only scary but has its own side effects like lasting lung irritation.  Not all enjoy the big clouds on exhale.

In addition, hot concentrate can splatter and bounce down the hole to collect in the rig water.  This is known as reclaim.  When buying our dab rig, we opted for good aeration over ease of reclaim collection so I’m no longer able to claim all of my reclaim.  This has led my hubby and I to use smaller dabs and in doing so, we lose less dab down that hole.  

Squishing?  Humidity Matters!

Many of us are squishing or rosin pressing our flowers to literally melt and squeeze the concentrate out of the flower.  It’s an amazing thing to see.  The same rule remains however, where quality out requires quality in.  If your flower is all dried out, many trichs will be on the bottom of your bag, not attached to the bud.  Regulating the humidity level inside your storage containers pre-squish is imperative to keep that trichome intact.  The RH of the average home is between 40 and 60% while the Cannabis sweet spot is between 55% and 62%.  Some squishers even over-hydrate for 12-24 hours pre-squish for optimal returns.

For me, it’s all about how to get it in and get it working and working for a long time.  Losing any amount of my precious is not an option.  Waste-not; want-not as my daddy taught me.

I’d love to hear any other tips, fellow daily dabbers can provide.

Tuesday 1 December 2020

The PreRoll Is A Blind Date

Rolling doobies is a feat of dexterity that takes some of us years to hone.  I recall being twenty rolling my first joint in the bathroom at a party.  Two puffs and we were smoking a soft taco.  It wasn’t until a boyfriend told me years later that you have to mold the cannabis inside of the paper before you’ll ever get it nice and tight.  Try doing that with dry weed!  The ability for any herb to mold together nicely inside paper or leaf, relies on an ample supply of ripe n’ ready, ooey gooey trichomes.

These days pre-rolls are everywhere of every colour and size!  The problem is, the pre-roll is like a blind date or a box o’ chocolates because you really never know what you’re going to get. For one thing, there’s no way to effectively time stamp that doobie so you have no idea how long ago the bud was ground.  This matters!  Personally, I’ve become a total weed-snob whereby I will push ground cannabis aside so I can experience the sweet sweet pleasure of rolling freshly ground flowers. A well-preserved Cannabis flower is chock full of botanical gifts from mother nature.  It practically rolls itself!  This ritual is taking place on rolling trays all over the world right now and it relies on keeping your Cannabis flower and the botanical compounds they contain icky-sticky hydrated.


If you have successfully harvested your flowers, the now dried and cured buds should have a coating of preserved trichomes.  Inside these mushroom-shaped structures suspended in plant waxes and lipids are hundreds of evolving terpenes and cannabinoids.  Though thin the protective coating on these structures is somewhat resilient, bouncing back if gently prodded.  But once that sheath is ripped as happens during the grind, evaporation quickly begins the inevitable loss of efficacy and quality.  


I recently smoked a doobie I stashed in my father’s garage many years ago.  It was rough to say the least!  Zero flavour, harsh on the inhale, leaving me coughing and seeking my drink.  This all after I nearly lost the bangs of my hair when I sparked it up!  Who knew that the ambient air inside my daddy’s wooden tool chest was that dry?  This would have been a very low value doobie and not one that was going to rival any brands.  





Like many commodities whose value fluctuates, the pre-roll is continually depreciating and evaporation is the greatest depreciating factor to consider.  Neither hemp nor rice-based rolling papers offer any protection here.  Unless evaporation is stopped and humidity controlled, there exists a fast-approaching expiration date on each and every pre-roll.  However, there is a way to preserve the contents of the trichome even when crushed or ground into the plant matter.  With Cannabis legalization comes the many ancillary products to fill any need we have (and ones we never dreamed of!).  


Humidity control manufacturers like Boveda answer this call in a safe, effective way.  We must remember that even common culinary herbs lose their flavor but with the addition of heat and moisture in the form of fat, they can come alive.  The same is true with your Cannabis.  Now, I don’t recommend you add butter to your herb unless you’re making a savoury edible.  But the moisture part is crucial.  Herbal terpenes hold their own when they’re stored amongst ambient air held between 58% and 62% relative humidity.  This applies to flowers, pre-ground, and now the ever-so-popular pre-roll.


In the end, I still see the pre-roll as a blind date.  But with certain standards met and adhered to, our expectations can meet quality on a consistent basis.  When I see pre-rolls stored and shipped with humidity control packs, I immediately know that flavor will be part of the smoking experience each and every time.  For new users and patients with dexterity issues the pre-roll has been a literal life-changer.  For those on-the-go or simply eager to try something new, packs of pre-rolls are perfect.  Now, you know what else to watch for in choosing your pre-roll and how to keep them fresh.


Happy smoking!