Grow Journal - Day 35 in Flower!

I am so happy with the progress of the plants. All new strains this time and we couldn't be more excited to see how they finish out. We have another month or so in flower, and then harvest time! Making oil out of most of the last harvest, so with this one, I may focus on replenishing my tincture. And I must say, SubCool has hit it out of the park with Cuvee'. It has the most beautiful buds I've ever seen..so soft and feminine..it's amazing! 

The pictures are a comparison between days 25 and 35. And now for the ladies:

9lb Hammer

9lb Hammer - day 25

9lb Hammer - day 25

Cuvee' 

Cuvee' - day 25

Cuvee' - day 35

Dr. Who

Dr. Who - day 25

Dr. Who - day 35

Galactic Jack 

Galactic Jack - day 25

Galactic Jack - day 35

Honeymoon Mix 

Honeymoon Mix - day 25

Honeymoon Mix - day 35

Mickey Kush

Mickey Kush - day 25

Mickey Kush - day 35

All in all, I couldn't be more pleased with how the plants are growing. LED lighting is surely the wave of the future. But the price needs to come down, which it will. Or not. In any event, SubCool and MizJill from TGA Genetics Subcool Seeds need some praise here for their diligent and tireless efforts on behalf of patients. MizJill just lost a childhood friend to ALS. Brian's loss to the medical cannabis community will be felt by many. Below is a picture of Brian along with MizJill and some friends at a meet and greet at Mid Valley Patient Resource Center in Salem, Oregon. He was loved by many and will be missed so very much..Bless him as he returns home in peace and love.

New Grow Journal!! 1st day of flower!

The ladies are ready for flowering! They've been grown under LED exclusively since they were seedlings. I'm so pleased with the Dominator XL's I'm using from Lush Lighting. LED has really become the way to grow. They're still really expensive, but at some point they'll start to come down in price. Even at current prices, they're well worth the investment. Plus they have less of a carbon footprint than other lights have, so there's that.

Here's a shot of the room from above the canopy..

This grow is special because each strain is new. 9lb Hammer, Cuvee', Mickey Kush, Honeymoon Mix, Galactic Jack, and Dr. Who are growing well and I can't wait to see how the buds develop. Here's a shot of each plant at the beginning of flower:

9lb Hammer

Cuvee'

Dr. Who

Galactic Jack

Honeymoon Mix

Mickey Kush

As always, our strains are from TGA Genetics Subcool Seeds. Sub and MizJill are so caring and awesome and work tirelessly creating medicinal cannabis seeds for patients. Their quality has made all the difference, and somehow thank you doesn't seem to be enough, but I extend my appreciation and gratitude anyway.

And lastly, another shot of the room:

Blessed Be my happy garden!

Grow Journal - Out with the Old, In with the New

It's a new garden! The last one was terrific! I'll make oil from Pennywise to see how that comes out. Actually, I'll make oil out of most of it, maybe a little tincture as well. Patients are typically highly pro-active when figuring out what works for us. Really though, what choice do we have? I envy those patients who can have the conversation with their doctors. We're a credible source because we never give up until we find what works. We'll tell you honestly what works and what doesn't. We essentially have to become our own pharmaceutical company, researching strains and medication methodologies, to find our path to healing. Because, at the end of the day, that's what this is all about..healing.

Trust me, it's not cheap to grow cannabis. I suppose it could be, but given the fact that it's medicine, we have to be extraordinarily careful how we do it. I don't use pesticides and thank the Divine Mother that we don't have mites or any other critters wreaking havoc with the plants. When you have a compromised immune system, which many of us have, you cannot afford to ingest any crap that can make you more ill. So, no molds, bug bodies, fecal matter or pesticides (poison). I love the instructions on some of those pesticides..they never tell you that some of these things become systemic in the plant and is there really an acceptable level of poison to ingest? Or is this just another version of acceptable loss that seems to drive corporations these days?

In any event, I'm growing all new strains this time. They're all from TGA Genetics Subcool Seeds. Dr. Who, Cuvee', 9 lb Hammer, Mickey Kush, Galactic Jack, and Honeymoon Mix. Honeymoon Mix isn't in Sub's lineup anymore I don't believe, and I only had one seed and it ended up being a female! Plus, I've had it a while, but you wouldn't know it to look at the plant. It'll be clone-only, though, now that I don't have any more seeds and probably can't get them now. I love getting new seeds because then we have the chance to collect pollen and then create our own strains. That's so much fun. Last time I pollinated a branch of Jack the Ripper with Pennywise, creating a strain I called RipperWise. Soon, I'll start a couple and see what I get.

And now for the ladies!

9lb Hammer

Cuvee'

Dr. Who

Galactic Jack

Honeymoon Mix

Mickey Kush

And then a shot of the room

And also, here are a couple of pictures taken when gender appeared on 9lb Hammer and Mickey Kush:

9lb Hammer

Mickey Kush

Another garden, another adventure in growing! Livin' life under the purple lush!

~ Blessed Be this amazing plant!

Grow Journal - Week 6

Worms! They're finally here! We're feeding them vegetable scraps, banana peels, brown rice, coffee and tea grounds and shredded paper. Still have to figure out how much to feed them. We added some coco and perlite to aerate a little, plus it evidently adds carbon to the mix. Uncle Jim's Worm Farm folks are great to deal with and we're so happy we're doing this! You can devise your own system, but this was not expensive and it will be well worth the investment when we can use the worm castings and tea!



And now for the ladies!

Filly Bean

day 40

day 43

Vortex

day 40

day 43

Timewreck

day 40

day 43

The Flav

day 40

day 43

Pennywise

day 40

day 43

Orange Vision

day 40

day 43

And a shot of the grow..

The plants are nearing the end of their flower cycle..looks like Pennywise is first..autumning off now. LED lighting is expensive..there's no doubt about that, but it's worth the cost because the plants grow so well under them, particularly with resin production. We use Lush Lighting's Dominator XL series. Now they have a new version with even more lights in them. Well worth the investment, no matter what you're growing. LEDs provide a greater spectrum of light than HPS or any other light and the plants respond to it. And, it's a lesser footprint carbonwise, so it's a win/win. And with genetics from TGA Genetics SubCool Seeds, you can't go wrong!

Until next Friday..happy gardening!

~Blessed Be! 

Mr. President, patients need your help..

Dear President Obama,

It's me, your unabashedly supportive cannabis patient and adoring fan. And I mean that. I knew you'd be our president when you spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Seriously..my husband and I were watching the convention and you were the keynote speaker. As we listened to your speech, I got uncontrollably teary and I said to my husband, you know what? He's going to be our president one day. And as much as I love Hillary, I voted for you in Oregon's primary in 2008. My boys voted for you and my husband voted for you. It was the coolest feeling ever! I joined the Democratic Party then as well. I had always registered as non-partisan. I really couldn't take sides, even though my heart was always with the Democrats and what they stood for. At least, I couldn't until you came into view. You see, we share basically the same views on most everything. Everything except for cannabis, it seems. I say, it seems, because although you seem to not support legalization, you also seemed to support the medicinal use or at least you seemed to support state law. In any event, the Ogden memo was nice, and then proved to be something else.

US Attorneys like the one in California appear hell-bent on not respecting state law and, in turn, patients. DEA and other law enforcement agencies appear to look upon raids as a way to increase department funding. All at the expense of patients who are following their state laws and who simply want to get well. As legalization continues throughout the states, which it surely will, at some point, you guys are going to have to figure out how to reconcile federal laws with state laws. Or how about this? Take cannabis out of the federal drug registry completely, and let states decide from there. Unless of course you want to go ahead and legalize federally. That would be the simplest thing to do. That gets the federal government out of the way of states who want to legalize. Fix the IRS and banking laws that interfere as well. Then fire any US Attorney who doesn't comply and continues to harass everyone. That should apply to law enforcement as well, particularly those idiot cops who did the roadside cavity search in Texas.

And now for why you need to take a thoughtful and compassionate look at cannabis as medicine. There are amazing stories of healing out there..google them. This is what I went through and continue to go through. I've probably had Rheumatoid Arthritis for most of my life. It went undiagnosed until 2001. I was severe for almost twelve years. I have taken all kinds of meds for it, including methotrexate (5 years until it damaged my liver), sulfasalazine, Enbrel (7 years), Humira (the last 4 years), various anti-inflammatory drugs, and narcotics. I retained so much fluid in the beginning and over time that my weight increased dramatically. I was always waif-like, so this was really disturbing..excruciating pain and weight gain. None of my doctors believed the whole fluid retention thing..they told me to eat less and exercise more. I ate nothing and exercised when I could because frankly, I couldn't walk very well. The fatigue was similar to mononucleosis fatigue. For my doctors to not believe me was emotionally devastating. I knew I would tread water and never get better. So I did what they wanted and took the drugs. And every day I suffered beyond description. My feet were so swollen that wearing shoes, not to mention walking, was difficult. My energy would happen in short bursts, leaving me exhausted. By 1pm, I was done. Except that we owned a business and I couldn't be done. We put in 98 hour work weeks for the first six years of our business. I experienced excruciating pain 24/7. I don't know how I survived that.

In September 2009, a flare began that would last a little more than a year. Flares are awful because they're far more intense than what your daily pain level would be. They typically last for a short time..a day, or a week maybe. For this to go on month after month was ridiculous. Honestly, I didn't think I would live through this. Eventually it was going to take its toll. So, six months after the flare began, I decided to get my OMMP card. I submitted my medical records for review and received my appointment. You don't get one of those if you don't qualify, so I was encouraged. Upon receiving my card, I began growing. Or I should say, my husband began growing. I wasn't able to help at that point..existing was difficult enough. After the first harvest, I began processing my cannabis into tincture and capsules. I designed a treatment regime that I could track and began medicating. I also vaporized cannabis as well as used raw leaf in smoothies. Within 2 months, much of the fluid was gone (TYSVM!!) and I began looking like myself again. I had immediately stopped the narcotic I was taking when I started the treatment regime. I also began discontinuing the anti-inflammatory drug I was on. I couldn't believe that I was so much better so quickly. I had been researching everything I could find on the endocannabinoid system and I was convinced that properties in cannabis balanced that system and when that happens, health returns. And that's what happened with me. By the end of September 2010, my flare was over. My garden was almost ready for harvest, but I had been medicating during the summer with cannabis given to me by other patients so that stopped the flare. I just didn't have the concentrates yet that would give me the best results. But when I did, my health began to return. 

Mr. President, I know there are really important things that need to be addressed in our country. I understand the obstruction that's happening and I know people may think that cannabis is really not all that important in the broader scheme of things..but it actually is. Patients, growers, dispensary owners are all being targeted in states where they shouldn't be. People with cancer are using cannabis oil and curing their cancer! Children with severe epilepsy are living normal lives for the first time ever! We have a wonderful child here in Oregon, Mykayla Comstock, who is in remission from her cancer because of cannabis oil. We're all healing because of this plant.


Today, I'm healthier than I've ever been. I still have RA, but it no longer controls my life. It's a nuisance now, and that's doable. I'm still on a couple of RA drugs, but everything else is gone. Cannabis allowed me to do all of this. It balances the immune system, and so much more.


Cannabis is a safe and effective treatment for everything. It never should have been made illegal. Legalizing it would stop the arrests and incarceration of people who are doing nothing wrong. At the very least, resolve the conflict between federal and state laws so that states who have legalized as well as those that only have medicinal cannabis laws won't have the issues they currently face. That helps patients in the long run.


I sit here, tears streaming down my face, imploring you to take up our cause. It's emotional when we finally have something that actually heals us when nothing else has. We believe we're safe because we're following state law, only to discover we're not safe at all. Patients need your compassion, your thoughtfulness. We need you to stand with us and clear the way for our healing. We need you to listen to our stories and not view them with that dreaded "anecdotal" label that diminishes our experiences, relegating them to the proverbial dustbin. We need you to take us seriously.

Respectfully,


Jan 

Medicinal Cannabis..since we're talking about heathcare and all..

Apparently the government knew that cannabis preparations are effective in treating epilepsy. In 1949. And now the FDA has approved a study to look at this. Thanks, guys. Whatcha' gonna do when parents of children who have died from severe seizures come knocking on your door? What will you say to them? What will you say to the families of loved ones who have died from cancer? Because IT DIDN'T NEED TO HAPPEN.

Will you let everyone out of prison for using cannabis medicinally? Will you stop destroying lives yet? All we want to be is well. All we want is for our children to be well and to live happy and productive lives. And yet the federal government continues to stand in the way of truth...and health.

Washington State legalized cannabis last time. And now it appears that the worst fears of patients everywhere are about to be realized. Some want to gut the medical cannabis law and hurt patients in the process. After reading various articles, I've come to the conclusion that the recreational outlets are concerned about losing out to dispensaries, which is odd because dispensaries are reserved for patients, not the general public. Again, it's about money and not about the patient. Many of us were concerned about I-502 and voiced those concerns at the time. Oregon and Washington tend to follow each other at times so I hope we're more sensible here. It looks like we will be because already cities such as Medford have tried to ban dispensaries which were just legalized. The state's attorneys issued a letter telling them that they can't do this, so there's that. We'll take encouragement wherever we can find it, I suppose.

Everywhere you look now, articles are springing up about the efficacy of cannabis in the treatment of all sorts of conditions. Whether you vape, smoke, use concentrates, or use raw cannabis in smoothies for example, cannabis will help everything. And no, I'm not high. It really WILL help everything. Ideally, cannabis should be consumed raw, either in smoothies, or if you like the taste, just eat it as is. There is no altered state associated with this and it's enormously healthful. I use it daily in my smoothies along with hemp hearts and hemp milk as well.

Vaping is recommended over smoking, but smoking cannabis isn't the same as smoking cigarettes, and actually protects your lungs in the process. I know that sounds counter-productive, but apparently research shows this to be true. Of course the current histrionics surround the so-called e-cigs. Vape pens for oil are essentially the same thing..we just put oil in them to medicate with. The best table-top vaporizer is the Volcano. There are some others as well, but most pens actually burn the cannabis instead of vaporizing, which is fine as long as you know that. Some conditions respond well to inhalation versus ingestion, so you figure out what works best and then do it.

Concentrates are another category. I don't really include medibles in this, however. Technically food is medicine, but that's another subject. By concentrates, I mean oil, tincture, and capsules. Oil is also known as Rick Simpson Oil, or RSO. This is the sludgy stuff that takes a whole bunch of dried bud to make a tiny amount of oil. Pictures of my latest oil are below. I use it for RA and it works well. Tincture is typically made with alcohol or glycerine. I prefer the glycerine version as I don't drink alcohol. Patients either put some under their tongue or in tea to medicate. I prefer tea. The capsules are made by infusing cannabis bud into coconut oil. You can either strain the infusion or not (I don't) and then when it cools enough you put them into capsules. I use the Cap-m-Quik system which includes trays. Filling them is messy. There's no getting around it. But they work. Take a weekend to titrate when you're not going anywhere. Probably should do that with every new batch of whatever you make.

In any event, people should take a close look at cannabis. It's not what people have been led to believe. All this time, we've had a safe treatment available that the government has denied us. We need to either grow it and make our own medicine, or we need to have dispensaries who will produce the same product we make in our kitchens. Big Pharma needs to stay out of it unless it can do the same. It's the entire plant that heals..not some derivation of. The best part is the lack of side effects that many drugs give. Imagine removing a growth with oil that when gone leaves behind new healthy skin. Imagine that instead of surgery that leaves scarring and God knows what else! As they say, been there, done that, so I know it's true.

No matter how you end up medicating, the important part is that you do it. And when you do, you'll join a remarkable family. And we're all here to help show you the way!

starting cup after reduction

reducing more

when bubble are gone, it's done!

             








Amazon or Cap-m-Quik have capsules and trays for coconut bud capsules. I use a rice cooker to prepare the oil and then a coffee warmer to boil out what's left of the alcohol.