Don't Get High….. Get Well

Archive for September, 2010

On Sunday, I visited a grower colleague in Malibu. He is an organic grower who is all about the medicine, testing product and safety. I wish I could tell you his name and location.

Anyway, I brought with me an organic chemistry professor who I am working with to help launch GreenBridge Medical Laboratories. This was one of the most exciting meetings I have ever attended. If you are a regular blog reader, you know how important I believe plant safety and knowledge means to me and to the Medical Cannabis world. We discussed our new-found ability in working together to begin answering known and unknown questions about Cannabis Medicine. A few of the questions discussed were:

1. How does the THC,  CBD and other cannabinoids change as the plant is finally getting ready to harvest; i.e. when should we really harvest for which benefit?

2. How do the various leaf types, (bud, water or sun leaves) vary in chemical composition?

3. Testing for pesticides and fungal elements

4. Begin genetic testing of strains and looking at the above variables and many more.

QUESTION:

How many of you out there would want your medication tested for basic cannabinoids and purity from contaminants if it could be done for $40?

In a recent article, Cost of Obesity, the authors make a very interesting point. We all assume that by taking better care of ourselves and achieving lower weights that we will be healthier and be less of a burden on the health care system. This article points out an obvious problem with this logic; if these obese patients lose weight, they LIVE LONGER AND COST MORE.

So, perhaps there is another way to be a loyal and patriotic citizen? Perhaps patients should be paid to do dangerous and unhealthy, but fun activities. We should cancel all helmet laws – sure more head injuries, but most will die younger and save money.

Perhaps the government should subsidize McDonald’s  rather than the oil companies? Also, if the patients begin dying much younger, they will use less petroleum products in their lifetime.

So, it seems that preventive and healthy care will kill the system. I say tax incentives for any really bad habits we have. In fact, why not encourage murder? Each murder would save tons of money?

I am only partially joking. Few people are aware that in 1988 the “right to die” legislation was passed. It was tied to other Medicare legislation no longer giving incentives to hospitals for long term care. The hospitals would be paid by DRG or “Diagnosis Related Group”. This is essentially a fixed fee for a certain patient. In other words no financial incentive to keep the patients alive longer, so letting them choose death was to be “encouraged”. I know this is dark and seems nuts, but I was there practicing Internal Medicine in Santa Monica at the time, and trust me, this is what happened.

No, I was not dreaming about Simon and Garfunkel. In fact I was not dreaming; I had a “vision”. :) All the religious leaders throughout history are in a sort of corporate version of Hell. There is the usual fire and brimstone, but in addition, there are corridors with many offices.

In the offices, all the heads of major corporations are working away and frequently conversing with the religious heads. The religions are making up new rules regarding sinning and sinners; their primary purpose being to scare human beings who fell from the Garden of Eden. This of course is everyone.

So, the religious side of corporate Hell comes up with the rules and regulations regarding suppressing all human desires. This causes sublimation of these drives which in turn leads to the purchase of merchandise no one really needs. This makes the business side of Hell very happy as profits are up. So, they are more than happy to give free land and other financial incentives to their religious brothers and sisters.

And so it goes on and on and on. As silly as this story is, it does make you wonder??

By Bill Leahy

Governors of 35 states have already filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them.  It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention.

This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.

An idea whose time has come!

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress.  Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for  sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest was to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform … in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn’t seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law.

I truly don’t care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop.

A Constitutional Convention – this is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.  And, with the advent of modern communication, the process can be moved along with incredible speed.  There is talk out there that the “government” doesn’t care what the people think.  That is irrelevant.  It is incumbent on the population to address elected officials to the wrongs afflicted against the populace…you and me.  Think about this…
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified!  Why?  Simple!  The people demanded it.  That was in 1971…before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure.

I’m asking each addressee to forward this Email to a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that  really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:

“Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States “

You are one of my 20+.

Keep it going.