Hempfest 2013 - Saturday

What a happy place! I've never seen so many smiling faces in one place, ever. We couldn't have had a better time. We walked down to Seeley and listened to Tribal Voices. They said they've been opening Hempfest on Saturday for the last 17 years.

Jerry and Jorge Cervantes

Tribal Voices

We listened to great panels in the Hemposium. I got a picture of Jerry meeting Jorge Cervantes after the panel on growing. What a nice man! And so very knowledgeable about growing cannabis. 

We had a wonderful conversation with a lovely Tibetan man who also attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama's lecture in May. We each shared our impressions of His Holiness and agreed that we each left the lecture changed somehow. The feeling we experienced has continued to stay with each of us. I felt elevated just speaking with him. It was a lovely way to begin the day. 

Cannabis Lawyer panel

The panels were great. First up..the cannabis lawyers. I love those guys. They don't mince words and are extremely helpful. There was a Knowledge Tent in front of Hemposium and after each panel finished, they went out to the tent to answer questions. The Know Your Rights panel was comprised of Aaron Pelley, Jeff Steinborn, Kurt Boehl, and Douglas Hiatt. The consensus of opinion of the panel was to remain silent - cooperative - but silent when contacted by the police. Steinborn's basic premise was to break only one law at a time. It was fascinating to listen to these guys. 

Medical Benefits of Cannabis panel

The doctors were next. Dr. David Bearman, Dr. Jake Felice, Dr, David Ostrow, and Dr. William Courtney. They covered several issues, but the one that kept coming up was the efficacy of higher CBD varieties in treating basically everything. Breeding higher CBD varieties as opposed to higher THC varieties produce plants with less psychoactive ability than their typical counterparts. Dr. Felice uses cannabis in his medical practice and discussed that various CBD components are effective in the treatment of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, muscle spasms, inflammatory conditions, immune system problems, anxiety and yes, more. Dr. Courtney stressed the importance of daily raw ingestion of cannabis for everyone, including children. He recommended that the leaf not be harvested after the third month as its potency declines after that. He spoke about CBD Acid, which he called a stunning gift. He noted that in a study done with mice, researchers saw a drop in diabetes from 86% to 28% with the introduction of cannabidiol. It helped with optic neuropathy and insulin resistance. It's effective in both prevention and in repairing the damage that results. Dr. Bearman spoke about cardiac patients who experience 30 point drop in the blood pressure when on cannabis. This was an unbelievably important panel discussion. This is the kind of information people need to illustrate what a incredibly healing plant this is and how ridiculous our government's stance is on it. For the love of God, cannabis cures cancer. It controls severe epilepsy. It connects autistic children with their families. It saves childrens' lives. We need this kind of honest conversation. We need these facts.

Growing medicine panel

The next panel we heard were the growers. Okay, we tend to worship these people. Jorge Cervantes was on the panel, as was Josh Rettie, Stinkbud, and DJ Short. Jorge is Jorge - enough said there. Josh Rettie, I believe, is from Washington. Stinkbud has a medical cooperative and does some cool stuff with aeroponic growing. In response to a question on light time for flowering, DJ Short shared a great tip. He recommended 11 hours on, 13 off. This produces more bud than the traditional 12/12 configuration. He also recommended switching that 13 on/11 off for veg. They talked about not keeping mother plants around too long, which is true. They lose their vigor after a while. It's better to rotate them out. Stinkbud indicated that his yields with hydro are far greater, but that there's nothing like growing in soil, particularly outside. Jorge felt that greenhouses were useful as well, especially when considering protection of the plants.

I have to say, I wasn't sure I wanted to return this year to Hempfest. Last year was hot and I got a blister on the bottom of my foot..the first day. It was horrible. But I persevered. And in view of the successful legalization efforts last year in Washington, I thought it would be fun. And it has been. Oregon just legalized dispensaries. We've already rescheduled it to a 2. Sure would be nice if we'd legalize it completely. 

Instead of Hempfest, it should have been called LoveFest, because love for this plant was everywhere. Or I was high. In any event, have a happy, hempy day!

Wow, Sanjay!

I have to confess, I've always liked Sanjay Gupta. I remember something about him assisting in brain surgery with the Devil Dogs in Kuwait or somewhere over there. He was there as a journalist I guess, but it didn't matter. And it was cool to see his focus change and go into doctor mode. Only the patient mattered at that point. That told me something about him. Someone was in need and he could help. And he did. I was surprised that he wrote the article he did about cannabis. It seemed too rote. Too much the party line. And then we discovered that he's been busy doing some research and put together a documentary on cannabis.

Wow. How huge is that!

After watching it, I can honestly say, it's pretty huge. Good for him. And he didn't shy away from the tough issues regarding children. Except they really aren't tough issues at all. Of course we don't want children smoking cannabis. But there's clearly nothing wrong with giving children ingested forms such as tincture or oil when they have conditions that improve no other way. Autism, seizures, cancer.. all are helped if not cured with cannabis. Why wouldn't we give this to our children. Some have little time. They can't wait until adulthood. I mean, we love them, don't we?

I tearfully watched Chaz Moore become instantly better after a hit off a pipe. He was able to speak clearly. I know first hand how cannabis can stop muscle spasms. I used to have incapacitating muscle spasms when my RA was so severe and one or two hits off of a pipe would immediately stop them. I understand that feeling when the pain goes away, and the ability to function normally returns. There's nothing like it. To have no hope. And then you do.

I loved the segment in Israel. Those folks have been at the forefront of cannabis research forever. Their government gets what ours refuses to see. Cannabis has medicinal value and to not research that is just stupid. The patient using the Volcano vaporizer got immediate relief from nausea from his chemo treatments. Can you imagine when they stop using chemo and begin using oil instead? It's coming. Primarily because none of us will shut up about it.

But the Holocaust survivor using cannabis for his PTSD as well as other ailments affected me the most. As an survivor of sexual assault I too use cannabis for my own PTSD. Traumatic events change people whether they're continual or sporadic or only one time. It doesn't matter. Cannabis helps me not dwell. It helps me not have abuse reactions. It helps me stay present in the moment, instead of somewhere else destructive. It helps me stay in control. It frees me to be creative and joyful.

We need the lies to stop and the truth to come out. It's emotional for those of us who have had our lives changed by cannabis. There's hope for healing with this amazing plant. Hope that just doesn't seem to exist in the same way with other treatments. Compounds in cannabis apparently kill cancer by either killing the tumor outright, or by destroying the blood supply to the tumor. Without that, the tumor evidently dies on its own. There are people who use cannabis oil to treat their cancer and survive. And they do so without the damaging effects of chemo or radiation. 

I am more healthy now than I have ever been in my life. That wouldn't have happened without cannabis. I still have RA, but it's finally under control. I'm blessed to live in a progressive state that legalized medical cannabis in 1998. I became a patient in 2010 at a time when I was so sick that I thought I wouldn't survive. I was in an excruciating flare that would last over a year. At times I was nearly incapacitated. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. So I contacted the THC Foundation and after they reviewed my medical records, they gave me an appointment. I saw the doctor and was approved for the card. I read everything I could find on treating RA with cannabis. We grew the plants; I made the medicine. I made tincture and capsules with cannabis infused coconut oil. And I got better..quickly. And you know, some days it's hard to remember just how sick I was. 

So thanks, Sanjay.. and keep researching. A weekly show with your findings would also be nice!