Smoking pot

[Tubetec]

A lot of the nasty in tobacco products is man made and added either during growing or processing. I would imagine commercial weed growers have their own techniques to prevent disease in the crop.

Drinking or smoking has never been about escaping reality for me , I never had trouble expressing my feelings or what was going on in my head in the cold sober light of day , I was always outspoken , nevertheless I did take councilling on a number of ocassions in my teens and early 20's which was a very worthwhile exercise and stood to me later on when life throws curved balls at you ,as it tends to do.

I definately second CJ's view that the beneficial effects of weed can easily be nullified from overindulgence . Likewise with alcohol ,for me the benefit is the social part of having a few drinks with friends , the getting there , less about the final destination, or getting completely bollocksed .

I gave up going on the hunt for weed many many years ago , hitting up the local guy at the park bench for a stick deal of reconstituted hash or worse venturing into 'known' gangster pubs to get it was never worth the risks involved.

Theres a  few of my friends who've had kids who are now at an age where weed is the thing , theres this 'gateway drug' propaganda which many who havent a clue spout like gospel truth , the reality is some people have an underlying addictive streak and end up easily led because of it , very little to do with the substance really and everything to do with the crowd you fall in with.

 

[analag]

I started with weed moved on to cigarettes then on to alcohol and now I don't do any that anymore. My body is at odds with me when I try to get "nice". I can take a puff or a sip but anything beyond that and it all goes downhill. Anyway I've done enough of that. It's hard enough keeping ones thoughts straight is this manipulative age for me to be self inducing chemical euphoria BS in my head. 

 

[Winston OBoogie]

Posted this the other day but must have erased it when I did an edit.

Over the last couple of months I've been experimenting with cannabis tincture in lieu of the meds. I'm prescribed for epilepsy. 
I've arrived at a 50/50 THC/CBD ratio but, honestly, I have no idea of the actual dosage amount that seems to work other than it seems to be half a dropper's worth under my tongue.   

I was never a big weed smoker so my tolerance was low and, at first, I felt blasted.  I can't say it was unpleasant, but it isn't how I want to go about life.  Anyway, a few experiments later and it seems to be effective and I don't have the 'cotton wool ball in my head' feeling that I get with the prescribed meds.

Obviously, this is currently illegal in the UK, and so I have to buy it from out of the country and risk the shipping of it over to here.
If it weren't for the cost and illegality of it, I think I'd prefer switch over to cannabis from the pharma stuff.

Nevertheless, I am considering growing some plants and infusing my own extract. 

 

[Squeaky]

We (NZ) recently had a referendum voting on: (1) end of life choice, and (2) cannabis legalisation. Results were approximately 65% and 48% for, respectively, which I have to admit I found rather odd.

There has been an absolute spawning of medicinal cannabis startup companies here in NZ over the last couple of years. However, it is amazing how long legitimate research in the area has been on-going. I pulled out this text from the bookcase for a read recently.

 

[Tubetec]

Were even further behind here than the UK in terms of medicinal usage of CBD/THC , although for a small number of medical issues including epileptic seizures there is at least the possibillity for it to be prescribed/imported/grown under licence . Just in the last few weeks here a caution system has been brought in ,meaning the police have a framework to issue a caution to a person for personal quantities , freeing up court time to deal with more serious crimes.

As far as I can see there are many pluses to growing your own supply ,
1. your independant , your not feeding the black market or risking getting busted when you go to get it .

2. you can grow it without use of any chemicals ,organically using your own home made compost from household vegetable waste.

3. you choose which ever strain suits you , the THC/CBD ratio varies a lot, higher CBD strains generally have a more mellow effect . Commercial growers will inevitably go for max THC content as it generally means more profit, thats not so much of a concern to a home producer, you can simply adjust the dose to suit yourself.

4.I think theres a huge benefit to be gained from caring for and nurturing plants of any kind , for food, medicinal or even aesthetic reasons.

5. For those who dont wish to smoke or vape it , its easy to extract the active components by one of a number of methods, and end up with a tincture or oil based extract with a long shelf life.

6. The gear/set up required to do it on a small scale can be ordered in cheaper than ever now, it wont be long before its paid for itself .

7.Its well known the international drug trade funds terrorism and the arms industry , is it any wonder the US and other big players in the arms trade have been instrumental in pushing laws that criminalise its use.

8.The pharma industry also has a vested interest in demonising and keeping prohibition in place , if people start to realise a simple home grown plant could be more effective , less addictive and with less side effects that could dent their sales/share price .