Our Vote Matters..Protect the OMMP

So the listening tour is over and now the real work begins. Except that Oregon is now beginning to look as confused as Washington State. Although measures were taken to protect the OMMP, legislators on the other side of the equation want to change the program, affecting potentially any patient who doesn’t grow for herself (or himself). I understand that medical cannabis went elsewhere. But they could have redefined that at any time over the last seventeen years the program has been in place, reining in growers who had a more creative interpretation of the law. Why now, now that cannabis is legal in this state? Why move forward on something Measure 91 prohibits, while leaving the recreational program somewhere in the ether? How about doing the work necessary to implement the recreational cannabis program? You know, since you’re prohibited by Measure 91, now law, from affecting the OMMP.

The reason is, plainly, some lawmakers in Oregon do not believe that patients are truly patients. They must believe that we’re all a bunch of stoners who are only looking for a legal way to get high. They buy in to the lie that cannabis is a drug that we all need saving from. They don’t understand that they too have been lied to about this plant. Furthering on that lie only makes them look foolish, hurting patients in the process. Good Goddess, we finally get this amazing plant legal, and now they want to cause patients even more stress than we’ve been under all this time, worrying about getting arrested for only trying to get well. Some of us, like me, simply want to live. I can’t do that without cannabis.

Cannabis is safe. It never should have been prohibited. The listening tour should have been an educational tour, so that Oregonians who are still confused about the safety of cannabis could understand the truth about this plant. It may be a difficult conversation to have. That happens when laws are predicated upon lies. But we must have that conversation. We have no choice now. The truth is out now about cannabis. Even the Federal government is having a hard time ignoring the truth now. Parents in particular need to educate themselves about the efficacy of cannabis for treatment of ADHD, Autism, Epilepsy and other disorders that seem to respond well to cannabis medicine. Brave Mykayla is a child here in Oregon who successfully treated her cancer with cannabis oil. She’s doing remarkably well and has a promising future ahead of her that may not have happened without cannabis oil. Parents do NOT need to fear this plant, rather embrace it, grow it, if only to have on hand for medicinal reasons.

Researchers have found that we all have an endocannabinoid system in our bodies, helping to balance our immune systems and keeping us healthy. When the receptors associated with this system do not have any interaction, in other words, they’re not firing, our health apparently declines, giving rise to all the disorders and conditions we see today. Without the daily staple of dietary hemp, our health again suffers. At least we’re able to buy hemp hearts at the grocery stores now. But there’s no sane reason why industrial hemp was EVER made illegal. All kinds of things were made from hemp until some rich guy had a friend in DC who changed the course of history, ruining the lives of millions, all so his buddy could make a buck. Yes, it’s the same crap we’re facing now with Citizen’s United. When power goes to only a few, then we’re all screwed. Just ask someone in prison for cannabis.

People who use cannabis are not criminals, nor are they drug addicts. How can anyone be addicted to something that’s not addictive? Oh, you might convince yourself that you need it for one reason or another, and from the standpoint of your bored to death cannabinoid receptors, you certainly do need it, but not to feed an addiction. You need it to keep your body healthy. And you don’t have to get high to get the benefits from it. Use it raw in smoothies. Used raw, there’s no high with it, and you get the healing benefit of the plant acids as well. Those go away when the plant is dried. Then the THC comes into play, bringing in another aspect to the healing properties of the plant.

If we would just tell the truth about cannabis, then there wouldn’t be any need for listening tours, nonsensical committee meetings, or irritating legislative sessions, where no one knows where the conversation needs to begin. Begin in truth. Begin there. Begin with the fact that prohibition has been a scam on the American people. Begin there. Understand that we’ve been duped by people in power who made cannabis and industrial hemp illegal to stay in power, protecting only themselves.

Understand that..and maybe, just maybe, we might get somewhere. We voted last November to legalize cannabis for recreational use. Included in that were protections for the OMMP. A petition is circulating to recall some of the state legislators who are ignoring the will of the voters. They don’t deserve to represent us if they refuse to do so with integrity. None of them do.

Please stop all of this nonsense and do the job you were elected to do. Or you just might be looking for something else to screw up and ruin.

Oh and one last thing..cannabis oil is not hemp oil. Cannabis oil is sludgy, sticky and gooey. It’s made from the cannabis plant and takes about a pound of bud to make a quarter cup of oil. Hemp oil is made from industrial hemp (so only negligible THC content). It’s like any other oil you’d use for cooking, and it’s great to use as a carrier oil for infusing herbs. It’s legal everywhere. Cannabis oil is only legal in legal cannabis states. Be aware of the difference.