the BEST of the Best from my first year on Steemit! (part 1 of 2)

☕ Please grab a cup of tea (and/or a fat joint), and enjoy these 2 mega-posts I've put together, to celebrate hitting 55 reputation! 💨

( All images and text by DRutter. )

August 2017: After many months of hearing about Steemit from fellow local activists like @PressforTruth, I finally couldn't resist any longer, and handed over my private phone number to get an account!

And here's my first ever Steemit post. I started out thinking I'd use Steemit as another place to upload my silver videos and activism content, which until then had mainly been done on YouTube and FaceBook.

After posting some Bitcoin analysis, I introduced Steemit to the '420 farmers market', held in Robson Square, downtown Vancouver BC (this one was September 16th). I've been involved in grassroots cannabis activism - at the street level - for several years, and I'm proud to broadcast my cause increasingly on the blockchain!

Next, I introduced my wife @MediKatie and her cannamodeling with the @GirlsofGreen. (None of them had their own Steemit pages yet!)

In late 2017 I got much more active, as DTube started to upload and play a bit better. At the time, I believed DTube was superior to YouTube so I was using it a lot. I did a video here announcing I was moving my activism to the blockchain (and DTube itself upvoted it, sending me from 28 to 42 rep instantly). Unfortunately, none of those uploads will play anymore. (DTube videos are deleted from the server after a few weeks.) I've always been a vlogger (for 10+ years) so adjusting to the written format has been a process!

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In late January, the Vancouver 420 farmers market was raided by police. My coverage of the issue included footage from the raid itself, analysis of the situation, and me repeating my belief that cannabis "legalization" is nothing more than monopolization of the industry to benefit the rich and powerful. (Now that legalization is in effect, the public is slowly coming around to the concept that they got tricked, and "vote the other guy!" is already being suggested as the solution.)

Fibro

I also posted my video about fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition it seems I encountered a couple years ago. (I continue to suffer, and search for further diagnosis and treatment.)

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I took the leap and decided to grow cannabis on the blockchain! The DTube video (now gone) showed the 7 sprouts I got from 10 seeds I'd picked up at the 420 farmers market. This follow-up showed the sprouts taking root, and I discussed my plan to grow them into medicine here on the blockchain. Thus began the life of the "Pink Kush Girls", who graced my page for 9 months, and whose buds we're still enjoying.

My writeup discussed the importance of civil disobedience, and how the blockchain is the perfect place for that, since that's about as public as one can get. (Doing the act publicly is part of civil disobedience because the point is to be seen, not to do the supposed-crime anonymously in hiding!)

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Free and fair market!

After claiming my right to think and speak freely, I posted my goal is to end cannabis prohibition, which includes cannabis legalization:

My goal is to oppose ANYTHING that prevents, delays, hampers, or encumbers access to cannabis.

Plant number limits are prohibition. Plant height limits are prohibition. Fees and taxes are prohibition. Enforcement is prohibition. Dispensary raids are prohibition. Requiring permits and licences is prohibition. Forcing growers to use government genetics is prohibition. Giving certain rights to government-approved producers over individuals is prohibition. Arrests for cannabis is prohibition.

As an opponent of cannabis prohibition, I must oppose the coming "legalization", which includes all these things and more.

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In this DTube video (permanently available on Google) I'm harassed by police for protesting at Robson Square. After decades of it, this was the last cannabis activism to happen there - until legalization day. I lamented about the loss of such a vibrant, peaceful, successful community resource that healed hundreds of people including MS patients and little kids with epilepsy.

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Here, I said my Steemit strategy is to gain upvotes for my quality posts and comments, and to give out upvotes for other quality content. In this way, we build each other up, increase the quality of the blockchain, and grow as a community. We don't need any other strategies or gimmicks to do well here. Create content, and curate responsibly. If we all did this, the site would be full of incredibly powerful and high-quality stuff, not what we see today. To grow, Steemit has to be about things other than Steemit, which is why I try to bring UNIQUE and QUALITY content to the blockchain with every post.

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MediKatie and a pink kush seedling! (source)

She still hadn't found a way to get her own account, so she posted a few things on mine, including this legendary shot:

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7 or 8 months ago, I was uploading quite a few DTube videos, thinking they were permanent. Woops. But I did manage to meet a new friend named @jonyoudyer!

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From 'Are we ready for the blockchain quantum leap?':

Here we are now, at the brink of yet another quantum leap forward. And without so much as a glimmer of contemplation, we've lept headlong off the cliff, arms and feet flailing. There is no going back.

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I posted here that it's getting harder to earn STEEM as time goes by. The wild early gains have already been had. Now, it's up to those of us with content to carry the site forward!

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Arrest!

On March 3rd, @MediKatie was arrested at a peaceful cannabis protest in downtown Vancouver! We got her out after just 1.5 days in a cell, and she eventually was cleared of wrongdoing. The two charges of "obstructing justice" were stayed, meaning they can be re-activated within a year if she re-offends.

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Bitcoin Accuracy

Early in the fall from the top at 20k, I predicted a correction back to 7000 USD. It was the start of several extremely accurate predictions of Bitcoin prices, following several years of consistent success.

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In February, I offered readers an insider look at the cannabis activism scene in Vancouver BC, with lots of photos of history being made at the grassroots level!

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Then, I implored my 8000+ YouTube subscribers to make the switch to Steemit!

The (now 5) pink kush plants continued to grow taller.

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In mid-March, I went "all in" on STEEM, transferring out of Bitcoin. I then distributed some of the liquid STEEM to my wife and team, for powering up.

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I ridiculed the Canadian government's ridiculous mandatory symbol for anything containing THC:

Legalization really does boil down to that, though - a great big stop sign! It has never been about making cannabis less illegal, or about making Canadians more free. It's about controlling the people, and monopolizing an already-thriving industry.

I proposed a better symbol:

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In response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's press announcement on "legalization":

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The first weekly post in my series on Steemit growth was made here, but there isn't much to see until later iterations as the data pile up! I identified a team goal of pulling in 15 Steem per week. We're currently working hard to maintain an average of 10.

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After being topped, the (now 4) Pink Kush girls were each growing 2 healthy stems.

I wrote at length about my respect and admiration for plants, without which ALL animals would perish.

I was religious before cannabis, and spiritual after.

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This is a longer writeup, touching on my wife's lifelong struggle with cancer, an explanation of why I do what I do, and a link to our early-2016 documentary "Cannabis CURES Cancer".

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Grow organically whenever possible! And grow in peace. - me

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As I've done for many years, in April I called for peace in Syria, and called for the USA to stop provoking Russia.

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The pink kush continued to flourish as I moved more of my activism over to the blockchain!

When PayPal cancelled my PayPal debit card, I closed my eBay business of 17 years, and I decided it was a great time to leave the traditional banking system behind!

In the time since, I've been VERY happy to not deal with banks or credit cards! So much hassle and cost, gone. I'm much more free because of it, and recommend it.

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I talked about my late grandparents, and declared that "My mission is to spread love and banish fear".

Here I am, diving in!

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Here is my DTube video of Vancouver's 4/20 event, or click below to watch on YouTube:

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I celebrated my first DLive video by giving away heirloom tomato seeds and free shipping worldwide.

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In a legendary call, I spotted that "The current chart (at the orange arrow) looks reminiscent of the 2014 correction which lasted over 2 years":

The 2014 moving-average crossover signal has recurred, making a longer correction seem likely.."

I've been following this repeating pattern all year, and it has been nearly flawless!

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Beginning a tradition of anti-FaceBook posts...

Here's a great article I wrote, which went almost unnoticed at the time: 6 new things FaceBook censors that will drive people away! Included were the undefined "hate speech", and "questioning the validity of alleged witnesses of school shootings and other tragedies", the rule which has since then been used to ban and memory-hole Alex Jones and many other conservative / alternative voices.

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When Larry Harvey (the creator of Burning Man) died, I wrote about my appreciation, and posted a photo of MediKatie and I from 2010:

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David "Dave-the-Big-Fat-Roofer" Hill is a well-known Vancouver activist. I was there when he was wrongfully arrested by police on April 20th, at the "free vending" section at Sunset beach:

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In this post I wrote "A small group of activists has held a 420 farmers market in downtown Vancouver since 2015, when Trudeau was elected to legalize cannabis. In late 2017/early 2018, the activists were the target of "Project Apprentice", an expensive plot to demoralize and dissolve the grassroots movement, making way for what appears to be a government monopoly. I was there with a camera from day one. Here's our story."

You can also find the 20 minute clip on YouTube:

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I then warned that the coming "legalization" was a trap:

Prohibition isn't ending, and in most cases, it's increasing. Companies, mainly owned by ex-cops and ex-government-officials, have positioned themselves for guaranteed profits by providing the only government-approved cannabis in the country (medical, recreational, or otherwise). The existing industry, right down to the little guy with a tiny closet garden, will still be illegal. Anyone outside the legalized regime is subject to $10,000 fines and up to 14 years in jail for non-crimes like growing or owning too much cannabis, trading it at a farmers market, concentrates, edibles, glassware, and other parts of the cannabis culture here in BC. Things that would be included in any real legalization will get us thrown in jail to protect a government-run corporate monopoly.

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In early May, I uploaded raw footage from the Global Marijuana March (an event held in major cities all over the world every year). Police had attacked the protest as it gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery. See my footage of the scuffle as police attempt to seize cannabis, edibles, and seedlings! The crowd chants "legalization's a lie!" as we marched in the street! Part 2 can be found here.

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My wife MediKatie FINALLY got a prescription for cannabis, after trying for over a decade to get access to safe medicine without being abused by police! I wrote a post called As a Spouse of a Medical Cannabis User.

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@MediKatie helped me transplant the pink kush plants I'm growing to make medicine for her. The post can be found on her profile.

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About 5 months ago now, I posted a photo of one of the Pink Kush plants, stating that they were still 100% organic and natural, and now each had 6 tops!

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(BC Bud Day's official flag, designed with @MediKatie)

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Coming soon? Hopefully not.

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Here, I noted I was growing 6 times faster on Steemit than FaceBook, and blamed heavy FaceBook censorship, shadowbanning my activism for a couple years now. Steem on!

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Here's a list of 225 reputable peer-reviewed scientific studies on the curative effects of cannabinoids on cancers.

You'll also find a link to a DTube video (no longer plays) and its YouTube counterpart:

"Power to the Patients (ep.8) Cannabis CURES Cancer!"
by @DRutter and @MediKatie

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This is how it feels to me to suffer from nonstop diffuse fasciculations (involuntary muscle twitches all over my body). I didn't put a photo with the post, but it was well-written. I also answer the question "Do you get used to it after a while?"

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In May, I introduced Canadians to the new police powers brought in with cannabis "legalization": warrantless search and seizure! SURPRISE!!

This is the "legalization" I've been warning about since 2012, here on social media, and on the streets of downtown Vancouver.

Nothing much has changed from what I originally reported. The police force is actually called the "Community Safety Unit" (CSU). And this phony legalization began 2 weeks ago: October 17th 2018. As of Halloween, the CSU is said to be nearly ready to deploy.

C45 ushers in a new era of tyranny for Canadians.

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Next, I exposed some personal details about local "activists" through my dealings with them over the past few years.

In this crazy time of Canadian cannabis "legalization" - or rather monopolization and criminalization - previously-strong voices of the free market are being won over with promises of safety, and a piece of the "legal" market monopoly.

Sadly, "The Blue Door" (a famous black market dispensary on Hastings in Vancouver) announced they are 'going legal and legit'. Many other local dispensaries are doing the same, and I fear for the ill, the poor, and the homeless. The Blue Door was a supplier-of-last-resort for many, who for various reasons can't or won't purchase online or in a government shop. The loss of these truly black market cannabis sources is troubling because they put no barriers between people and cannabis.

There will be more closures, raids, and sellouts coming. : (

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In this post I uploaded a DTube video about how to make cannabis oil. YouTube keeps censoring and giving me strikes for uploading it there! DTube and DLive take all videos down after a few weeks. I wish there was somewhere for this lifesaving content!

In the meantime, here's some great info from Rick Simpson.

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Do we live in a simulation like the Matrix? It appears to be more and more likely.

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My wife @MediKatie and I threw a protest at Vancouver City Hall, to voice our concerns with the coming "legalization" of cannabis with long prison terms for anyone outside the legalized regime. Here's my post about the event.

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Then I wrote a post with detailed instructions showing how to make a free Steemit account, instantly, without giving a phone number or email address.

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If you could get a message from somebody who is gone, who would it be from, and what would it be about? I got a message from my hero - my late grandfather - and I'm very happy to share it with you on the blockchain.

I recently found that forgotten note tucked inside my (his) copy of the book.

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"Legalization" (Bill C45) is about to make cannabis more illegal than ever before in Canada. This has been a long con, a scheme perpetrated by elements of the deep state. First they gave us Harper's terrible prohibition (including mandatory prison minimums), priming us to lunge at Trudeau's offer of "legalization", only to clamp down on cannabis users and the culture. - dire warning for Canadians about cannabis legalization

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"Longer correction" now confirmed by chart

• bitcoin to fall to 4000 or lower and stay there all 2018 (has fallen below 6000 several times this year)
• 2019 will be the recovery year

(From early June.)

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I then wrote a long and opinionated post on veganism.

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#justsaynotolegalization

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The course of society is so dark nowadays, those of us best at foreseeing it are called "fearmongers" and "paranoid" by the ignorant and those who have trouble spotting patterns.

What's next? (<----- click to find out!)

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I voiced my concerns with the practice of buying upvotes on Steemit.

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I experimented with cloning my pink kush plants, using only water, and was very successful:

Then, I posted a photo of my successful pink kush clone:

Cannabis remains incredibly prohibited, especially compared to caffeine. It's becoming "legalized" in October, but only a few government-licensed people get to grow and sell it. And only certain people get to buy it and use it. There are new provincial police tasked with attacking dispensaries, farmers markets, and private gardens. Billions of taxpayer resources being poured into enforcement and prisons. Price fixing. Warrantless searches and seizures. An erosion of the things that have made Canada Canada.

There would rightfully be outrage if caffeine (or even cigarettes and alcohol) were treated this way.

As an experienced gardener, researcher, therapist, medical professional, and patient - cannabis should NOT be treated the way it is being treated under supposed "legalization". A criminal corporate monopoly is being bought and constructed for the rich and powerful to profit off a plant at the expense of the people and the free market.

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To help other Canadians who want to grow cannabis "legally" (or otherwise), I sent out free seeds to anybody who wanted them. I continue to give away seeds to people I meet on Steemit.

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Here's @MediKatie in 2015, helping hold a banner across one of the main intersections of Vancouver. She's the shorty with hair blowing in the wind, looking toward the camera, mid-frame.

It was this day, including the moment caught here on camera, that galvanized us as activists. We had been doing activism online for many years, but this was when we first truly felt the power of the people, and how it can be wielded appropriately and effectively. We took over the streets! Why? The police had just attacked several well-respected activists doing peaceful civil disobedience (selling joints). July 1 2015, a day that lives forever in Vancouver infamy!

From this post at the end of June. You can see my footage of the whole thing on YouTube.

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Then I showed off some Steem OG seeds my friend @jonyoudyer sent me:

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Click here to see my photos from Cannabis Day (July 1st).

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And click here to for some gorgeous shots of my pink kush plants in full vegetative growth.

I started in January and I've been growing these all year. I'm going to turn them into RSO (full spectrum plant extract) for my wife @MediKatie who is still battling cancer and the permanent effects caused by all the radiation she had. Every step right from seeds has been documented here on my Steemit page.

I don't want her to die, and this is the best chance I've got at keeping her healthy, so it doesn't really matter to me that it's "not legalized". Cannabis has been a medicine for humans for 10000 years or longer. We've evolved along with this plant and it's resins. Corporate monopolies criminalizing people for growing and selling plants? Bothersome. But not as nasty as cancer.

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In week 16 of my series on Steemit income, I noted that upvotes and payouts in the cannabis category have been disappearing lately, except for those using certain.. techniques.

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My death

I wrote a post about my death on an operating table in 1999. It was called "one of the most fascinating things you've ever shared (on Youtube or elsewhere)" and "a very disturbing piece of literature".

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From They Watch.

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From the top of the plant, which is where it makes oil,
To the point where the stem grew up out of the soil.
Nature's the one who provided the seed.
Take carbon from air using light - you get weed.

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My lengthy and personal post I'm a drug addict and it's killing me! became my most-read and most-upvoted post ever (and still holds those records).

The post was considered "exceptional content" by numerous influential and respected curators.

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I hope you've enjoyed so far! Please click here for the other mega-post!
DRutter