Cannabis fact #2

Did you know...

Hemp seed is nature's perfect food. The oil from hemp seeds has the highest percentage of essential fatty acids (EFAs) and the lowest percentage of saturated fats.

EFAs include Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs), Omega-3, Omega-6, Omega-9, Linoleic Acid and Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA).

Although it is very important in skin care and maintenance, GLAs are rarely found in natural oils. Other excellent sources are from the seeds of evening primrose and borage.

Hemp oil also provides an ample supply of carotene, phytosterols, and phospholipids, in addition to a large number of minerals including: calcium, sulfur, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It is also a good source of chlorophyll.

Look for hemp oil, hemp milk and hemp protein powder at your local health food store.

George: medical marijuana patient

At Peace in Medicine Center, we meet patients with various medical conditions who are trying to qualify to legally use medical marijuana according to Colorado law. These patients defy the image of the stereotypical "stoner" who just wants to smoke pot.

Last week a middle-aged man (I'll call him George) came to the Center hoping to see a doctor who could recommend medical marijuana for him. He was obviously ill, looking pale and thin. He shared with one of our staffers that he had terminal cancer and little money. He was told that we would have a doctor in the office that afternoon, but the cost to get his license would be $200, which included the visit with the doctor and the fee to the state registry. He dropped his head, acknowledging that he didn't have the money and headed out the door to his car. When our office manager heard his story, she ran out to his car to tell him that she would see what she could do and he should come back at 1:00 with his medical records.

After discussing his situation with the doctor, it was agreed that this man should be seen by the doctor at no charge. When this obviously needy patient was told that he would be seen by the doctor at no charge so he could use what little money he had to purchase quality medicine, George burst into tears.

"It's been a long time since anyone has done anything so nice for me," he sobbed. "You folks are so wonderful. I don't know how to thank you."

George had everyone in the office in tears. We were so sad for him but happy that we could do something to help relieve his suffering. He left the Center with medicine in his hand and a smile on his face.

Obviously, we can't offer free doctor visits to everyone who walks through our doors. However, we do what we can to help patients in need, like George. At Peace in Medicine Center, we care about our patients' health and well-being.

I hope to share more stories about the variety of patients we see, like a middle-aged gentleman who has had 5 back surgeries and can't function at home or at work on the pain medications that have been prescribed for him. Or the young woman who appears as active and well as any other 20-something, but suffers from seizures. Or another young woman in her 30s who suffers from essential tremors, the same illness that affected Katharine Hepburn. These, and so many others, are examples of the people who need medical marijuana and contact us every day hoping to get legal.

Say what?

Now that I've been around the marijuana industry for awhile, I find myself regularly using words that weren't even part of my knowledge base only a few months ago. Words like indica, sativa and clone pepper my everyday conversations.

The pharmacists at Peace in Medicine Center have been a wealth of information. When I asked what indica and sativa was, they didn't even laugh at me. "Indica and sativa are opposite ends of the spectrum," TJ told me. "All marijuana strains fall somewhere along the scale between indica and sativa," Ruben added. Then they pointed out two books in our office library: Pot Culture: The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language and Life, and The Cannabible. "You really need to look through these," they told me.

So I did what I was told and read everything I could get my hands and eyes on. Not only did I learn what indica and sativa meant, I learned a whole bunch of other new words like blunt, spliff, kif, kush and trichomes. I learned how to make pipes out of apples and empty pop cans. I learned that THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, one of 66 cannabinoids isolated in the cannabis plant so far.

So now, just a few months later, I am often surprised by the words coming out of my mouth. When you're a sponge in a new industry, you don't always realize what information you've absorbed until you have to repeat it to someone else. Discussing marijuana in all its forms and flavors is now part of my daily routine.

So what's the difference between indica and sativa? Indica is better for nighttime; sativa is better for daytime. Indica puts my husband in the snore zone; sativa makes him chatter incessantly. Indica makes my eyes redder and my mouth drier than sativa. Indica is short and fat; sativa is tall and slender.

Now I wonder what I was smoking back in the 70s and 80s when I didn't know (or didn't know enough to care) what I was smoking. Like most everyone else back then, I thought pot was pot; some was just better and more expensive than others. Now I'm better educated.

Somebody load up the vape and pass the Donkey Dick!