Hey 420 people! Help me refute my Step-mother's anti-marijuana research!

[THsea]

Hey TorturedSoul, I really appreciate your post and the link!

And you know, that is what offends me.. I do not respond well to all the regular treatments... Or even a few "experimental" ones. I have changed my diet completely, but even that doesn't "cure" completely for everyone.. I did not have a good (or even a decent) quality of life for most of my existence. Cannabis gave me a quality of life that I honestly have never known. My crohn's issues actually started in elementary school, but was not diagnosed until my teens.

So yea, that is what offends me. They know this is really the only thing I have available that works. If it were otherwise, I would not be using cannabis regularly. But there is nothing on the market that is anywhere near as effective or as safe. She is the only one in the family who doesn't see it on those terms...

We are on good speaking terms, I am nice to her despite her thinking i will become retarded amongst other (non cannabis) issues... I do not wish to make things hard for my father. But he has basically told her not to bother me about it, so there probably wont be more articles posted in this thread. If more magically appear on the computer desk, I will post them though.
Thanks everyone!

[WillyBudz]

Give her a copy of : The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana

Have her follow up reading the actual articles credited for the information used in the book on cannabis/ hemp, the governments own "studies" showing nothing bad comes from it etc.... It shut my mother right up.


WillyB

* If your conservative / republican (yes, I am guessing but bet I am correct)mother is so into "legit" studies tell her to blame her paranoia on her brain. A few months ago a research center tried to find out the difference between liberals and conservatives using MRI / brain scans. It showed that conservatives Fight or flight center was much larger than in liberals and the part of the brain that is for learning and curiosity was larger in libs........ Tell her it is not her fault she is a screaming, afraid of anything she doesnt understand.............. conservative.

One of the reasons for this study was to find out why 20% of the population is retarded when it comes to giving them 100% verifiable info on a subject that they still refused to take that info into consideration. Some people, no matter what you try and teach them cannot and will not learn or change their opinion even if it is presented to them as 100% fact. BTW, 95% of this 20% were conservatives when asked.


And no, I am not a "liberal"... they are too far to the right for me.

Proud Democratic Socialist.

[THsea]

Willy! Thanks for the post!.. Maybe she will read the book, I don't know. I'll grab a copy for her though..You are now the second person to suggest that, and honestly, its a GREAT book.

My issue with not wanting to do that earlier is, well.. Giving her a "pro" marijuana book as opposed to neutral studies is much easier to write off...Even if the studies present in the book are neutral... ya know?

Her "anti" nature does not stem from being a conservative republican, interestingly enough.. She is registered as an "independent". And has quite liberal thinking in most aspects.

Her opposition stems from her brother, who used to smoke a lot of pot, and he blames it solely for his depression later in life. I brought up the fact that he did copious amounts of other drugs, that are more likely to blame.. But the both of them seem convinced. Go figure.

I have trouble figuring out if its my safety she is concerned with, or wanting to be right... its probably a mixture of both.

Cool thing about the study in your edit! Very fascinating!

*could you send me a link (or post it in the thread) to that study? or an article about it?

[WillyBudz]

This is the quickest link I could find, there is a lot more about this study out there.

Liberal vs. Conservative: Does the Difference Lie in the Brain? – TIME Healthland

WillyB

Even tho it is a pro cannabis book it is almost purely based on neutral facts from studies by government and scholastic findings.

[Goldengoose7]

I stopped trying to reason with the close minded and short sighted years ago. Can't think of anything more pointless.

Just as half of the US population believes that Global Warming is a hoax in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the ignorant seem to delight in their ignorance, and this past decade thanks to entities like Fox News actually have a venue in which to celebrate their stupidity and villify intelligent reasoning. When you have a group of people that try so very hard to remain idiots, who are we to stand in their way?

Don't know why anyone would be surprised when these same type of people accept studies like this as gospel without question.

They deserve to go through life as the clueless morons they were born to be until they get swept up by the third 100 year flood in 5 years or the fourth F5 tornado in the past week.

[TorturedSoul]

Her opposition stems from her brother, who used to smoke a lot of pot

I have trouble figuring out if its my safety she is concerned with, or wanting to be right... its probably a mixture of both.

Couldn't be that she'd rather blame cannabis for her brother's behaviors/actions than... her brother, now, could it?

If that's the case, you'll have a time getting through.

[PetFlora]

Comcast On Demand has a freebie movie produced by Cheech and Chong titled The Union. It goes into the history where mj was touted and used medicinally. It is also available on YouTube.

What changed? Wm Randolph Hearst sunk a fortune into pulp trees for his newspaper/magazine empire. He had the clout to make mj illegal. If you can get her to watch this you may be home free. hth

[Goldengoose7]

If were talking movies and documentaries... Check out "Waiting to Inhale" very good! Also the National Geographic Explorer Series production "Marijuana Nation".

Both are very good and have some very credible doctors and scientists speaking about the benefits of cannabis.

[4N20Blackbird]

Basically, when I started telling my family about how I chose to control my Crohn's Disease most were unsure... Well, my Step-mother wasn't!

She started spouting off with unsubstantiated claims, like it "spaces out the synapses in your brain" (i can't find anything say thing anywhere online), causes long term depression, and etc. And guys...be afraid! Its completely proven according to her! She just doesn't know who proved it or where to find it...

Just today I found this lovely article printed out in front of the computer for my reading enjoyment!



Well done Ma'am! So guys, lets get at it!

First I underlined Chronic Marijuana and wrote...

OKAY, now this is for you 420 mag, I would say its more like a joints quantity without needing symptomatic relief... However, joint size is really relative too! I hate arguing these things because of all the loosely defined terms in the first place! I can get by on about .4 of a gram for a day. Vaporizing. I do use more than that, but that is because I like it! And I believe it is safe. I would define a joint at around .8 of a gram, but thats just me. Some days I do have more than that, but I also have nerve damage I medicate for.. But Don't tell her! Or I maybe called an addict/ Chronic Abuser!!

I didn't really want to go around underlining everything, so I went to the end underlining reversible with abstinence.. and wrote

I wrote a little extra at the bottom..

I wont be handing in this "assignment" until I get a little feedback from you guys. I'll be printing out a fresh one and writing the final draft out after some feedback, if anyone has suggestions on how to rewrite it better..

I really don't want to get studies for her, I really don't care what she thinks... Its more that she wants to be right than anything for her. I kind of doubt she even read the article beyond the first sentence! It just irritates me that she is so bent on proving me wrong, when I have said to them all... I have researched this a lot before ever trying it, and made the decision based on it being an effective and one of the safest options for me to control my disease.

I'm sure there will be more to come! More readings left out innocently by the computer, and I will post them here for us to discuss! I think this will be good for us all really, to help us be better able to refute peoples claims against us. Go team 420!



PS: just to be sure we're all on the same page.. I don't disagree with the study, just how it is presented in this article. The study says it effects the brain, we all know that (neutral statement). The article on the other hand claims it to be adverse..

It is all B.S.. I did not vape cannabis until I was 52 years old. I believed all the lies told about it. Gawd am I pissed off that I was so naive. NEVER TRUST OUR GOVERNMENT!!!

These are the things that I have discovered since I started using cannabis the past two years;
1. It relieves pain wonderfully.
2. It helps my depression from the pain associated with fibromyalsia.
3. It is not addictive. I have been in situations where I have had to abruptly stop vaping cannabis. The only thing that happens is that I experience more pain again from the fibro. No withdrawal symptoms at all. Oh yes I am dependent on it, just like the prevacid I use for heartburn.
4. Music sounds a whole lot better.
5. I actually am enjoying playing my guitar again and (get this) am learning more and playing with more feeling than ever before! The Blues is my liking in music.
6. I worry less.
7. I like life now and do not wish my life would end short!

There you go...THE TRUTH!

[Goldengoose7]

Bravo Blackbird!

Glad you found the truth before it was too late! Although I never had any problem with MJ throughout my life and my family was also very liberal about smoking it, I never considered it a serious medicine and used it only for the occasional party etc. I rarely bought it myself, and would maybe smoke it 3-5 times a year at the most.

Then I got injured on the job 7 years ago and that changed everything! I was in constant pain and after years on opiate pain killers, my tolerance to them was so high that I was no longer getting any real pain relief from them. The Tylenol in my Percocets prevented me from taking enough pills to get relief. This was when my doctor wrote me a recommendation for Cannabis and the rest is history!

Not only has it helped my pain tremendously, I LOVE the hobby of growing it! It really is a blast and when you are on disability and can not work as I am, having something meaningful to do with yourself is VERY important!

What better way to spend my time than growing the medicine that makes my life better? I LOVE IT! :D

[4N20Blackbird]

Bravo Blackbird!

Glad you found the truth before it was too late! Although I never had any problem with MJ throughout my life and my family was also very liberal about smoking it, I never considered it a serious medicine and used it only for the occasional party etc. I rarely bought it myself, and would maybe smoke it 3-5 times a year at the most.

Then I got injured on the job 7 years ago and that changed everything! I was in constant pain and after years on opiate pain killers, my tolerance to them was so high that I was no longer getting any real pain relief from them. The Tylenol in my Percocets prevented me from taking enough pills to get relief. This was when my doctor wrote me a recommendation for Cannabis and the rest is history!

Not only has it helped my pain tremendously, I LOVE the hobby of growing it! It really is a blast and when you are on disability and can not work as I am, having something meaningful to do with yourself is VERY important!

What better way to spend my time than growing the medicine that makes my life better? I LOVE IT! :D

Cool! I would like to start growing myself, but I live in a condo which makes it difficult.

[THsea]

Hey TorturedSoul! Yes, that could be it... She knows he's a worthless punk, but would never use such language to say it! She's one of them southern-types that holds family to be super sacred.. Maybe growing up in Hawaii made us different... Or the fact that my only full-brother is practically Satan

Petflora and GG7, thanks for the documentary selections! I will check them out.. But this will be for my own viewing. I am pleased with my SM not shoving "info" in my face, and just pretending like its not there.. If I find some information that correlate with her specific grievances in those shows, I will give her a copy.

Blackbird... I am stumped by part of your post. I don't think the study is BS, I think the interpretation of the data is BS. The information does not really point to damage, I don't believe inactivity of receptors is necessarily an indicator of damage.. And the article at least states that there is no irreparable damage...
I am not really looking for anecdotal evidence..However, I really like your point number 3, and am glad you posted. I absolutely love the equating of cannabis dependance to the "addiction" of heartburn medications! It's one myself, and many other people can relate to.

I am very happy you saw through the veil of propaganda, friend! And even happier you have found safe and effective relief in cannabis!

PS. Massive props for being able to play the guitar, I myself have given up on polyphonic instruments.. I'll stick to woodwinds/ monophonic stuff!

[Goldengoose7]

Cool! I would like to start growing myself, but I live in a condo which makes it difficult.

Don't sell your living situation short! If you live in a MJ friendly state and have all your paperwork in order, you can easily grow indoors. Our winters up here in the Sierra are NASTY cold, so I can only grow outside 4 months out of the year. Most of the time I am growing indoors myself and flower all my plants indoors no matter what time of year it is.

Check out my Grow Journal for what I feel is a pretty decent overview of "affordable" indoor growing setups. I'm on a fixed income, so I couldn't afford all the fancy gear some of the folks around here have been fortunate enough to aquire. I always try to buy the best within my budget so that the stuff will last me for a long time and due to the high cost of quality bud, all of my rigs paid for themselves after the very first harvest.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/jo...oor-grows.html

[THsea]

If GG7 says its possible Blackbird, you can believe it! He grows beautiful plants. I still crack up when I think about your "flower" room GG7! Genius!

There are many great indoor growers here, you should have no problem finding good ways to produce your own medicine. There are many ways to stay "undercover", so to speak, that people here explore.

[Goldengoose7]

If GG7 says its possible Blackbird, you can believe it! He grows beautiful plants. I still crack up when I think about your "flower" room GG7! Genius!

There are many great indoor growers here, you should have no problem finding good ways to produce your own medicine. There are many ways to stay "undercover", so to speak, that people here explore.

LOL! Thanks THsea!

It really is doable in MOST homes. All you need is a closet or... "Bathtub" and you're in business. Only possible issue I can think would be the smell of the plants during certain phases of the growing process. Some strains are more "Skunky" than others, so if ventilation in your building might be an issue then look for strains that are known for having the least amount of "aroma".

Definitely check out the growers journal section for tips and tricks on setting up your own little nursery in your condo!

You can easily cut your medicine supply costs in half the first year even after the cost of the lights and stuff.