I'm Jeremy - Published Author, Harvard Graduate... and Daily Stoner
I never set out to be a stoner.
I wanted to be the All-American poster boy of success, so I stayed away from drugs. At first, it really worked. I studied hard, and found unparalleled opportunities, like graduate school at New York University and law school at Harvard. But before I was old enough to drink, I'd discovered to my shock that I could no longer succeed without weed. That discovery turned my whole life around.
I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), an extremely common diagnosis which signifies that while the doctor agrees that something is wrong with your intestines, s/he has no real idea what it is. To this day, I still don't know. All I know is that I've tried over a dozen prescriptions to treat my symptoms, and only one of them has ever worked:
Marijuana.
Having both a condition treatable only by medical marijuana and a degree from Harvard Law School is a potent combination. Under their influence, I have set out to elucidate, in the plainest English possible, the likeliest effects of the many different kinds of legalization on the issues that concern voters the most: minors, taxes, dependency, crime rates, racial justice, the environment, and more.
Oh, and I also love writing poetry. I'm excited to learn what you have to teach me!
Welcome! Yes, Cannabis (the correct term) should be 100% legalized, as it has medical uses and is far less damaging than either alcohol or cigarettes. The whole "potheads" are unsuccessful thing is total nonsense as history shows us that some of the greatest entrepreneurs (Bill Gates is a great business man but a douche bag elitist) and philosophers have been "potheads".
Awesome poster, and I hear you on the nomenclature. "Cannabis" is a much more ancient word unladen by bigotry, and I hesitated before using "marijuana." But like "stoner," I believe we can take it back! What do you think? Is it better to try to redeem an historically tainted term or simply to avoid it?
My stance is to avoid the use of the word "marijuana" and use "cannabis" as much as I can. It's respect for the power of the plant medicine.
Well that is a tough question. I think we have to take back the term Marijuana because you can't just expect words or ideas to vanish from existence. People will always call it that no matter how much we avoid using it, so the better option is to take the word back and therefore remove the stigma it has in society. Honestly we live in a society that could use Marijuana / Cannabis whatever you want to call it to calm everyone down:
I covered this awhile back in my YouTube video I uploaded to my blog on here.
@jeremydaw
Welcome to the community. I got through college much the same way finishing top of my department. Don't worry. In less than a decade marijuana will be legal all around the world.
hi Jeremy , Welcome to Steemit! It's really nice to have you here :)
Why, thank you! I look forward to reading everyone's work!
You said, "Having both a condition treatable only by medical marijuana and a degree from Harvard Law School is a potent combination." Yes, it is, and it's a great point of view to bring to Steemit, and especially to look at legalization as it intersects with other issues. I'm happy I saw your post.
One intersection that has interested me lately is the research that shows that cannabis legalization reduces overdoses from pain pills. That seems critically important given how many people are dying from narcotic overdoses and how some doctors negatively view patients in pain who use cannabis.
I've followed you and upvoted. You have impressive writing credentials (I Googled you), and I can see that you have excellent proofreading skills (I would have changed only one word). We need more of that on Steemit.
The comment from @steemcleaners suggesting authentication is because Steemit has had some problems with identity theft as well as lots of plagiarism. The photo you used is online, so someone else could have used it. People with more voting power may want that authentication before they upvote.
Thanks for the suggestions! I'm tickled pink to be on here, and to find a healthy channel for my OCD!
I'll go ahead and make a post on my blog for verification. That works, right?
People do it different ways. You could post on another social media account ank link back, or add a new photo with date and your steemit name, or have someone on the site vouch for you. I believe you have 24 hours from posting to edit this post; otherwise, maybe add separate authentication post with link in a comment on this. I'm still new, but that's what I've observed. I hope that helps.
Welcome to Steemit.
Thanks for sharing.
Do the healing properties of marijuana outweigh the drawbacks of it?
Let us have a few poems from you.
All the best.
For most people, yes. Some are at special risk for schizophrenia or substance abuse. For patients who have sensitive lungs, vaporization or edibles are great options.
Poems on the way! Thanks for the encouragement.
Did you ever try eating mangoes before smoking cannabis? The terpenes kill the munchies and enhance the high! Oh, yeah, and welcome to the community!
Yes, the mango trick works great! I plan to share some of my writing on myrcene and other terpenes which enhance THC and other cannabinoids. Stay tuned!
Welcome To Steemit
@jeremydaw
Check out the whitepaper @
steem.io
and
steemtools.com
Welcome! Looking forward to your posts.
Happy to have you here Jeremy, welcome!
Welcome Jeremy! I'm happy to meet you.
I have MS complicated by IBS and I've eaten and vaped cannabis, everyday for the last 8 years. I live in Canada and have a medical license. Our laws have been changing rapidly and we were just awarded the "right to grow" 2 weeks ago. Our government has promised full legalization by Apr. 2017. (It feels like we are on the verge of the "Great Canadian Pot Rush" and it's pretty chaotic from day to day because some laws are being upheld and others not.) I look forward to reading your work and interacting. :)
I, likewise! Sounds like you have it even rougher than I do, although I know firsthand how good relief feels. Congratulations on your country (almost) getting its act together; I hope it inspires action down here!
Actually, since I started eating cannabis, I haven't had an MS episode. It's remarkable because the disease caused me to lose my eyesight twice prior to adopting my cannabis lifestyle. For the most part, if I'm careful with my eating lifestyle, I am able to manage the IBS component without too much trouble. Both conditions are linked to an imbalance in the gut micro-biome or mix of gut bacteria. Cannabis is an adaptogen....is able to change the expression of the bacteria. Hopefully we can share info and help others through Steemit.
That's terrific information! I had read about the plant's adaptogenic properties but I confess that it's been enough of a challenge keeping up with all the changes in the law that also staying on top of every new medical discovery has proven too tall a task. Do you have any posts explaining more information?
Sure. Here's a few:
http://hightimes.com/culture/research-says-cannabis-affects-intestinal-flora-and-may-prevent-obesity/
http://sclabs.com/about-blog/item/131-leaky-gut-syndrome-cannabinoids-and-the-endocannabinoid-system-ecs-as-a-therapeutic-target.html
https://www.medicalmarijuana.com/medical-marijuana-treatments-cannabis-uses/inflammatory-bowel-disease-and-cannabis/
I wanted to add to the IBS issue...have either of you tried eating probiotic foods regularly? (saurkraut, kimchi, raw pickles, etc?) I have known quite a few people with IBS symptoms that disappeared after they started eating foods like this every day. You can buy pill bottle probiotics and get probiotics in liquids like Kombucha but neither seems to work as miraculously. Give it a try!
Thank you for commenting. Yes to all those foods. I make my own kraut and Kombucha. I gave up eating all grains, white potato and rice, 5 years ago. this strategy control sugars and starches which starves out "bad" bacteria so that the "good" bacteria can gain a strong foothold in the G/I tract. I also ingest "human strain" probiotics everyday. The source is cultured from other healthy humans and manufactured in a lab. They are sold in better health food stores and you will usually find them in the refrigerated section. Most probiotics sold commercially are from cow or goat sources. It makes sense to me to colonize my gut with healthy bacteria from the same species.