Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Top ten CULTURAL reasons cannabis freedom is rising


1.  The rise of advocacy groups which by their very names challenge the prevailing cultural order and prohibition-era stereotypes built up over generations.  Examples: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)...  Blueblood Yankees On Cannabis (they’d sooner die).

2.  Moms for Marijuana.  Watch out!  When the moms of America finally wake up and see what cannabis really is and what it can do for their family…Washington is gonna get so nailed for lying, and the drug war will be grounded. Forever. Nuff said.

3.  Countries like Uruguay, Portugal and Switzerland are taking the lead on crafting modern drug-use strategies, and proving once again that the freedom to choose works.  

4.  Cannabis is horticulturally, historically, medicinally, economically, artistically, and socially significant, and way cool.  It’s our very own ancient, healing, best exotic, fragrant, sweet, silly, sticky, sexy weed.

5.  Mainstream Americans, still the most influential cultural group in the world, are discovering the medicinal truth about cannabis in large numbers by way of their ailments, and internet testimonials by brave patient pioneers like Shona Banda and David Triplett.

6.  Alcohol and pill abuse is rampant in our culture, and cannabis is proving to be a useful exit drug for patients wrapped up in those costly, toxic, and often tragic addictions. [Myth-busting research study by Amanda Reiman: http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/6/1/35] 

7.  Doctors, particularly in free states, have begun to assert their sacred oath by insisting on treating patients in the privacy of their own practices—with cannabis if that works.

8.  Long-lasting, stealthy cannabis edibles and extracts are starting to make the party scene; 420 revelers typically drink less and feel better in the morning.  Evidence: Drunken driving fatalities decline in states that give their citizens the right to choose cannabis [see Maia Szalavitz piece for Time Magazine: http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/02/why-medical-marijuana-laws-reduce-traffic-deaths/].

9.  Cannabis festivals are all the rage: fun, safe, friendly, and often held on private land, these vibrant transitory marketplaces expand the support base, provide income for sellers of everything from goat soap to edibles, and serve as a key meeting place for local and regional growers, patients, ganjapreneurs, advocates and aficionados.

10.  To the utter frustration of the prohibitionists in power, the internet has fallen into the hands of the people.  The convenient medicinal and economic truth about cannabis is now appearing on screens large and small, all over the world.

Related works:
My new tune in celebration of cannabis freedom. http://cannatv.org/video/173/Free-To-Choose
Baking with Mom  http://cannabisrising.blogspot.com/2012/09/baking-with-mom.html
 


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Ten Reasons to Give Thanks for Cannabis


1.   Cannabis is powerful medicine with a sense of humor
2.   Cannabis is not toxic or physically addictive
3.   Cannabis helps people overcome toxic addictions
4.   Cannabis sparks clarity, imagination and creativity
5.   Cannabis crowds are famously peaceful
6.   Cannabis is an emerging enterprise frontier
7.   Cannabis hemp provides food, fiber and fuel
8.   Cannabis connects us with the spirit of all things
9.   Cannabis is an ancient, beautiful, exotic, sexy flower
10. Cannabis can be grown in the privacy of our own lives

Happy thanks and giving to all my friends in cannabis country!


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Patent proves the lie: They know cannabis is medicine

The tragicomedy of the war on cannabis is that our own government knows cannabis is medicine, and they have the patent to prove it.  Here are the details>

US Patent # 6,630,507

Inventors: Hampson; Aidan J. (Irvine, CA), Axelrod; Julius (Rockville, MD), Grimaldi; Maurizio (Bethesda, MD)
Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, DC)
Appl. No.: 09/674,028
Filed: February 2, 2001
PCT Filed: April 21, 1999
PCT No.: PCT/US99/08769
PCT Pub. No.: WO99/53917
PCT Pub. Date: October 28, 1999 

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507

Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants

Abstract

Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting of H, CH.sub.3, and COCH.sub.3. ##STR1##

http://overgrow.ning.com/photo/dsc05552/next?context=latest 

Very Helpful Source:  http://electropig.blogspot.com/
Thanks for sharing!

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Cannabis Trades Wheel of Fortune

For investors, entrepreneurs and job seekers.  

Just in case you imagine that cannabis enterprise is all about dispensaries and grow equipment.  Keep in mind that this summary does not include opportunities on the hemp front of this emerging enterprise frontier.


Note: Leaf strain pictured: Monster, which seems appropriate given the possibilities

Related piece: Top Ten reasons why legalization is inevitable. http://cannabisrising.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-10-reasons-cannabis-legalization-is.html


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Cash Hyde's story should be enough to end the war


Cash Hyde. Pioneering cannabis patient who steeled the resolve of medicinal rights advocates, and gave hope to patients online all over the world.  Dead at 4.

It was brain cancer.  Radiation worked against the tumor, but it might have killed him if his father hadn’t been able to sneak cannabis oil into his two-year-old’s feeding tube. Cannabis helped Cash pulled through once, but the cancer returned.  He died this week in the arms of his brave, heartbroken parents.  

A crowning example of the power of anti-pot propaganda is that his doctors were okay with treatments that are deadly by design, like chemo, but wouldn’t even discuss the use of cannabis, a nontoxic medicinal flower that has never killed anyone.  Ever.

The Feds treated the Hydes like criminals, and the state of Montana shut down the dispensaries. Cash was forced to go without his healing medicine while his parents scrambled to find other ways to get it for him.    

The cruelty!  The insanity!  The healing power of cannabis. All revealed in the very brief life of this little boy.  

Wake up America!  Cancer research groups have been sitting on the good news since the seventies, and in 2003 your own government filed a patent on the medicinal effectiveness of the flower (#6,630,507, entitled Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants).  

 Look it up.  It’s true.  Ask Obama; he knows.

Cannabis is not rising in the polls and being legalized outright because we’ve finally given into the demands of stoners.  It’s not dope.  It's medicine.  For Cashy Hyde it was life-giving, and his story is all the President should need to make history and end the war.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Cannabis Sociables seeks Producer



We are trying to…make the thing sort of a sophisticated weekly get-together of people we dig and who dig us.  Just have ourselves kind of a late-night ball…

Hugh Hefner speaking with Lenny Bruce
Playboy’s Penthouse, October 24, 1959



Link to Stage 32 proposal: http://www.stage32.com/profile/48980/project/cannabis-sociableschanging-world-one-party-time


Healing the world, one party at a time



 Coffeehouse Pitch
Cannabis Sociables will be the Playboy After Dark of this century
Smart  Classy  Fun
A magnet for mainstream viewers—because as you well know
Americans love to watch people they wish they knew,
Hanging at parties they wish they could attend.

I’d play host; a tall, thin, well-groomed 50-something cannabis Yankee
From a pair of conservative Eastern medical families, and conveniently,
A self-taught guitarist and authority on medicinal uses of cannabis
A Hefner party without the Mad Men, alcohol or tobacco
Chatting with smart and interesting creative artists
About their connection with cannabis

THE TWIST
It’s a prohibition-era mask with invited guests treated to beautiful disguises

THE HOOK
Celebrities come on as themselves because they don’t need to hide.

My host persona will draw from
Hefner, Carson, and Benny
A bit of Robin Leach, a dash of Tom Lehrer…
No Dean Martin.

Mr. Hefner made a hero of the martini.
I’m going to do the same for the finest green.


What’s the Attraction?

This reality show will reflect the ‘honesty’ Lenny Bruce talked about with Mr. Hefner back in 1959; it’s actually a party.  The message; Look smart, be well-informed, have fun and act civilized.
 
The show will be popular with college students and young professionals, since many guests will be rising young artists, musicians and actors who see the party as a great place to openly discuss their connection with cannabis.


Cannabis Sociables will attract boomers and senior viewers who use cannabis in the shadows—and have fond memories of The Tonight Show and Playboy After Dark (I was 12, sneaking episodes while the house slept).


Just as Playboy After Hours attracted viewers who didn’t necessarily use alcohol, Cannabis Sociables will attract folks whose view of cannabis has been shaped by the most successful and far-reaching propaganda campaign the world has ever devised.  Americans will tune in for the vibe; beautiful people and intelligent conversation, and along the way we’ll show them the true nature of cannabis and the people who choose it.

 
Why now?
Cannabis use is rising in every demographic and support for full legalization grows with every election cycle.  Legalization is now inevitable, and more viewers than ever are tuning into cannabis-theme shows.
·         

Who will buy?
ADVERTISERS OUTSIDE OF THE CANNABIS TRADES: Clothes, jewelry, watches, eyeglasses, airlines, travel and resorts, spas and hotels, computing and communication devices, snacks and beverages, chain restaurants, feature films, musical instruments
CANNABIS TRADES ADVERTISERS: Dispensaries, consultants, extract/edibles manufacturers, glass makers, 420 retailers/e-tailers (clothing, merchandise, head shops, cafes), vaporizing and smoking devices, cultivation and processing equipment (lights, nutrients, trimming), grow room builders, ganja vacations
Production Notes

ADDITIONAL REVENUE:  Limited number public ticket sales, product placement, merchandise.

DOMAIN ASSETS:  www.thefinestgreen.com/net/org, www.cannabisrising.com/net/org

AGGRESSIVE ATTITUDE: Some of us who have been ducking and dodging prohibition for decades have had enough of the bullshit.  Like many I use cannabis medicinally and it’s my creative and spiritual muse.  We harm no one, and yet in New Hampshire, for example, they could still come for you; put you away.  National advocacy groups are not taking the case to the people.  For them it’s all about holding smoky festivals to expand the base, and crafting laws with people who were elected to maintain the status quo.  If the American people were shown the truth about cannabis; about how people use it in the context of successful lives, this long and terrible war would be over sooner than later.  This is the way to reach them…

HONEST ENTERTAINMENT:  In the growing field of cannabis programming, content is often defensive, fact-laden, noisy, crazed, or just silly.  That holds minimal appeal for mainstream viewers.  No appeal, no interest, no education; so The Great Prohibition continues.  Cannabis Sociables is a reality show that can tear down the wall and attract Middle Americans.  When they tune in, they’ll learn the truth about cannabis and the sorts of people who use the herb—by way of upscale parties with celebrity guests, talented performers, and smart people respectfully enjoying the finest green.

SMART TALK WITH CREATIVE, ARTICULATE GUESTS:  Cannabis aficionados are often deep thinkers, and Carl will want to hear what they have to say on a wide range of subjects and issues.  Held in undisclosed, classy settings in legal states (a mansion in Newport, a chalet in Telluride, a San Francisco rooftop), these private gatherings will attract socialites, models, fashion designers, musicians, writers, philosophers, visionaries, teachers, artists, inventors, and entrepreneurs. Some guests, like rising artists, will be looking for exposure; most will choose to remain in the shadows…

COMING OUT IN DISGUISE:  Guests not wishing to reveal themselves at the party will be treated to a custom disguise by a team of Hollywood make-up artists.  Well-spoken, successful closet stoners (doctors, lawyers, teachers, moms, dads, stiletto stoners) will finally have the chance to express themselves about cannabis outside of the legal and/or social framework that keeps them underground.  These artsy semi-formals will be visually intoxicating; beautiful guests in disguise mixing with established artists, entertainers and entrepreneurs who no longer feel the need to hide.

EXCESS SELLS:  This house party concept is of course entirely self-serving and hedonistic in the same manner as Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was for Robin Leach.  Cannabis Sociables will be classy, smart, interesting, and very exclusive.  Viewers will tune in for the vibe, the people, the music, the strain reviews, and especially to see who might drop by to talk cannabis connections with Carl.  In the course of being entertained and dazzled, Americans will receive cannabis truths by way of comments and testimonials from successful, vibrant people they respect, admire, or at least envy.

A CANNABIS TASTING:  Cannabis Sociables will begin with a tantalizing look at the evening’s featured strains.  While the expert (dispensary/seed company sponsors) describes the flavor, medicinal uses and other characteristics, images of the bud and magnification shots are cut with shots of masked guests listening to the presentation.  Several perfectly cured strains will be chosen to demonstrate how different the flowers can be from one another—in appearance and in effect.  A medicinal use practitioner will be on hand to dispense the buds, answer questions, and provide guidance.

CANNABIS ONLY:  Alcohol will not be served and tobacco use will not be shown.  Great food, fresh juice, coffee, tea, smoothies, ice cream, chocolates; a stoner’s culinary paradise…

TRUTH AND MUSIC:  Venues would feature an area for musical exploration; a nice piano, maybe an artisan violin and some beautiful guitars maybe on loan from Taylor Guitar.  Carl will sit in on impromptu jams, which would be encouraged between guest performances. 

PRODUCTION:  One camera would stay with Carl while he greets guests and sparks conversation.  At the same time, other videographers roam in pursuit of musical moments and compelling discussions.  The raw material from each sociable will be cut to make two reality show segments.

SUMMIT GATHERINGS:  Once or twice a season Cannabis Sociables will travel abroad to provide Americans with a look at more progressive countries like Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and Argentina.   Stoner celebs (on vacation or shooting on location) will drop by to chat and sample the best of the local green. 

YOUR HOST:  Writer, musician, tincture maker, and cannabis patient/advocate Carl Hedberg, 56, will host the show modeled on Mr. Hefner's socially groundbreaking Playboy’s Penthouse and After Dark shows.  

Carl is not a typical cannabis advocate, and he’s no stoner.  He’s a boomer Yankee with conservative roots who grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts—Dexter School boy, former skeet shooter and curler at The Country Club, MBA from Babson College, co-founder of Boston Bagel, a wholesale business he ran in the 1990s. 

A few years ago Carl managed to take himself off of pharmaceuticals (for headaches) using a potent cannabis tincture he still makes for himself and legal patients.  In 2009 he came out in the Nashua Telegraph about it, and ever since he has been working to find ways to deliver the truth to the world.   

As a father of two teen girls—with one headed for the film industry—Carl says it’s important to tell the truth to young adults who finally have a chance to end this terrible war:

The new generation is not buying the crap anymore, but we still need to fascinate them with the possibilities of freedom before they get caught up in their jobs, money, and family and end up as closet stoners like most of my generation has…

Carl is the son and grandson of Harvard Medical School physicians.  He was named after his mom’s grandfather; Schyler Carl Wells, founder of S. C. Wells & Company, a well-known turn-of-the-century ‘cures and remedies’ maker.  Carl worked as a teaching case writer at the Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College until 2008.