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My neighbourhood is nice, middle class, mixed race, and pretty headstrong. We kicked out a Walmart with a No Big Box in Leslieville campaign and won. Almost all of the businesses are independent and doing quite well. Our BIA is fantastic and supports our little hempire 100%. I've come to learn that I have a very special niche of clientele that frequent my shop and events. I don't seem to attract the kind of people you might expect and this has given me a very interesting perspective. A lot of the people coming in are fairly well educated and are not your atypical potheads.

Take the iceberg analogy and apply it to cannabis consumers. I mean ALL of them, even the ones who've only had it once or twice. The tip of this iceberg constitutes the consumers you'd expect, the zoomers, mmar patients, the hippies and hipsters, first nations, the rebellious youth. These people are automatic voters for anyone who promises to repeal prohibition as long as they know its going to happen. The strip around the iceberg at water level, represents those who float between being a consumer and abstaining. And its usually fear of getting caught or poor mitigation that's caused them to abstain. The base, the largest part by far, is full of people you would never expect, are difficult to pick out and may not even realize that they would consider themselves cannabis consumers. I call them the one hit wonders, and they might only have one hit in their lives!

A lot of these people just need to be reminded that cannabis is a serious issue, is a thriving business and that legalization needs to happen. They have archetypes, and although they aren't everyday consumers, they constitute a higher population than the obvious ones, and have various reasons for their use, not all of them medical. The folks gone north camping and fishing, the group out back behind the bar on a weekend night, the wedding tokers heading out to toke up the bride and groom, the holiday bakers making stuff for gift giving, the single mom who managed to get a babysitter and doesn't want to come home drunk, or those who would imbibe but never do because of drug testing, and how about those office party moochers? Always showing up at the circle without a joint!

These people may only consume cannabis once in their lives, once a year in celebration, or maybe if they got sick. Sometimes its planned, sometimes its a whim. They don't own any tie-dye clothing, would never show up at a rally and probably don't even have any rolling papers lying around their homes. They are good law abiding citizens and they should have the right to a responsible night out or wedding present of some exotic buds, just as much as they have a right to a Cuban cigar or some 12 year old Scotch.

The first love lesson we learn in life is to hug.  The first math lesson we learn is 1+1=2.  They are but they same thing.

Life is full of love and math, its where the left brain and right brain come full circle and meet at the top. It’s where the creative and passionate meet the absolutes, where chaos becomes order and where art becomes physics. Where a hug can be calculated and where calculations can be dissolved into a hug.

When we’re in a positive state, our electrons are charged with positive ions. These ions attract with other positive charges and bond together, like when you rub a balloon on your head and it sticks. When they encounter negative ions, it causes friction and lightening, like when you rub your feet on a carpet and touch your finger on someone stationary and get zapped.

If your body is constantly bombarded with negative ions, this will have a damaging effect. I mean real ones, not just rubbing your feet on a rug. I mean negative thoughts, emotions, word and actions, those have ions too.  You will eventually have anxiety or sleeping problems, difficulty focusing, a higher chance to manifest disease, and a likelihood that you will create situations continuing the cycle.  If your body is bombarded with positive ions, this will have a healing effect. Thoughts of love, positive emotions, kind words and community support. You will develop a more stable mind; you will have better rhythms with sleep and thought; you will find it easier to go out and do and eat the things you need to stay healthy and you will seek out situations that will cause more positive charges, thus having a positive effect on you overall. When you direct these positive and negative ions, you are playing with physics, specifically quantum physics. It is in this moment that you become ‘God’ and can manifest any reality you want.

The math goes deeper too … Ever hear of The Golden Ratio, 1.61803399…?  It’s an infinite number like Pi, only it’s called Phi. It’s is the number that all life is built upon, and it is the most pleasing this to look at, proven by math. Phi is calculated by taking any number in the sequence divided by the previous. The farther you are in the sequence, the closer you are to Phi, and endless spiral. This number shows up constantly in nature - in seashells; cacti; dolphins; bees; water; clouds; galaxies and most importantly - in people, in fact it seems to show up more in the human body that any other biological organism!  If you take the last digit on one of your fingers, and multiply it by Phi, you get the length of the digit before it, and this can be repeated in your hand, arms, legs and face etc.  We are constantly attracted to and charged by The Golden Ratio and the closer to Phi the object gets, the more appealing it is to us.

Ok back to the basics and how to make that work for us … when we were babies and unable to articulate our needs, we just cried until our caregiver figured it out (-1+1= 0).  But since we babies need positive ions to grow, we figured out how to voice those needs, and depending on who showed us how, determined how much positive or negative we got over time.  As we got older, we were taught how to charge positivity by ourselves.  For instance when in need, we no longer had to cry, just say what we needed, and we got it and eventually got shown how to gain that for ourselves, thus going from a negative state past zero and into a positive. (-1+1+1=1).  And as we learned to absorb other positive influences like laughter; music; art and nature, we start to learn the higher math like physics and algebra. Some learn it through numbers and geometry, some learn it through music and art, and some learn it by going into nature or though divination.  In the end we all play ‘God’ in the same quantum field, and that creates the experience we call life.

When we are born, I see us as having a sort of spiritual ‘bank account’. We make transactions of positive and negative withdrawals. Some people are born with lots of love around them and are rich in positive accounts.  Some are born with little and have to learn to keep these accounts from going in arrears. Some learn to constantly replenish, and some are always overdrawn and asking for credit.  If we want to make the best of our lives, we need to forget about how much we have or don’t have, and focus on our spiritual accounts. They can be filled every second of the day, and when trauma hits, or when we encounter a negative charge, we can afford the cost.  When our spiritual accounts are full, we can confidently go about the day and work to obtain the situations and objects we desire.

When you walk in a room and you smile at everybody, they may not all smile back, but watch - they will receive the positive charge you give off, and it spirals off.  When you walk in and scowl at everybody, just watch every single one of them will either scowl back and reciprocate the negative charge or turn away, leaving you with the negative charge to hold on to, the spiral goes within you.

Look at the people around you, notice their reactions to the positive and negative charges around them, watch what they look at, what they reciprocate. Don’t confuse those who put on a happy face with those who are simply positively charged. Some of the most hard core looking people I know are more positively charged that the ones who look generally positive.

When I was a child I got in a lot of fistfights. I was new kid a lot, I was king in one school and loser in the next.  I got into fights in some schools and not in others.  When I look back I realize now, it was simply that I couldn’t stand some injustice and wanted to stop the flow of anger and hate that was causing it. Fighting made no sense to me and for some stupid reason I thought fighting was the only way to stop it.  Canceling out a lot of negative charge with another big charge. I learned later this was a not a good way to deal with it, and would sometimes worsen a situation or fester more negativity, making a spiral of negative. I figured out that dealing with it positively not only cancelled the negative charge, would cause the other person to want to pass the positivity on, thus creating a positive spiral. Now as an adult, I’m more aware that its all about math, adding positives and playing with the physics.

I woke up this Christmas morning feeling a bit sorry for myself, feeling lonely and dejected, tired and not really looking forward to the day. I decided then it was not fair to me or anyone I encounter that day to be in that state, so I decided to have a positive day, do some math and not let it effect me. I only looked at pleasing things and started thinking about the people in my life that I was thankful for, the friendships I have forged. I thought about my health and family and how there were so many in way worse situations. I avoided reading any news, which is always about death and problems. I petted a puppy on the subway. I phoned and texted messages of love to my friends. I played lego with my nephew. By mid day, what was probably -10 had made it above zero, and here I am at the days end, and I sit now in a much more positive state.  My sleep will not suffer tonight and my day will be better tomorrow.

Some math that helped me out today: - Going to the coffee shop and having my coffee for free just because it was Christmas, that made me smile. 1+1=2 - Seeing a local homeless guy with a present in his hand, he’s the one who’s always pleasant and friendly to everyone, so he got a gift because of that, made him even happier showing it off all wrapped pretty. 1+1=2 - Walking my dogs in the park, the first stranger I encounter smiled and said ‘Merry Christmas’. Usually people avoid my dogs, they’re pit bulls. And the stranger was perhaps East Indian so getting a Christmas greeting and have them not afraid of the dogs was encouraging, gave me the urge to smile and made me feel thankful for the multicultural city I live in. 1+1+1=3 - Reading my twitter feed and noticing a post that led me to a blog about positive thoughts equaling positive change.  One girls struggle to stay positive, plus another guy telling the world to read it. That was multiplication, 1+(1x10(to the power of infinity) = infinite positivity - At Christmas dinner I saw my adorable nephew win over the entire party without saying a word. We are also full of inertia, a thing that stays in place until something else puts it in motion, a look or a smile or a 7666 touch. It’s pure physics.

Mother Nature’s Roller Coaster Park And Tea Emporium

Most of us love roller coasters and amusement rides, we grew up with them and we trust the mechanics have been figured out. Some of us even figure them out ourselves and make new ones. They have to put it through rigorous testing and when they know its safe, they let us on!  So when a new ride comes in to a park, nobody questions that it will be fun and safe, we just race off and have a good time. Human beings have always loved joy rides, we’ve always sought altered states … and we always will.

Before the advent of technology and modern mechanics, we had many ways to find fun and inspiration, like mind-altering substances.  I see these as being similar to rides in an amusement park. Some, like cannabis are nice as the ferris wheel, you can go round and round and take in the view. (Some people don’t like the ferris wheel, so they happily stand on the side and hold your cotton candy, and some never make it to the park!)  Substances can range in intensity and some are more like roller coasters, and with proper mitigation you’ll come out having a blast. Most people don’t spend the day on these rides, and those that do would have found some crazy joy ride anyway.

Lately because of the drug war, there have been a litany of ‘smoking spice’, ‘herbal ecstasy’ and ‘tripping blends’, chemistry made up in someones basement to serve the wants of the people. They make and take these substances because they have to pass drug tests but they still want the experience. Synthetic THC (synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists JWH-018) sprayed on Damiana or BZP (Benzylpiperazine) pressed into pills with unknown agents, have been a huge seller in the last decade, replacing weed and ecstasy, and has been banned by some governments for the links to seizures and possibly death. People come into my shop constantly and I am always telling them the potential dangers of these substances, most of them were unaware and agree with me in the end that we don’t necessarily need them … Mama’s got a Coaster Park that can provide fun and excitement for the whole gang!

The first time I ever did Salvia Divinorum, I thought, “what a carpet ride!” I was folding and rolling along not even aware of this place. When I came back down, all I could wonder about was how the hell could I buy this at any gas station and I couldn’t buy weed!  Before I had done the Salvia, I had done my proper research and took it knowing it could never harm me, just maybe scare the bejesus out of me. I also know it has to be set up and mitigated properly, with a guide who’s not on it, just like the rides in the amusement park where I go - there’s an operator not on the ride! I may not understand the physics of it, but I trust the operator and off I go!

I hear a lot of negative comments about the entheogens I sell, and I can’t help but think that all those experiences that people are having are not being set up properly. Imagine bringing an old skool Peruvian shaman to a roller coaster park and taking him to the biggest ride, not telling him what’s up and just strapping him in to the ride and sending him off!  When he got off the ride, he’d puke, lose his mind temporarily and never trust you again! 

This is how I feel about enthoegens, they can be a lot of fun and very inspiring, but most of the time the scene isn’t set up right. We shouldn’t be able to buy salvia at the gas station. We shouldn’t be making synthetic THC.  We shouldn’t be buying our fun from questionable sources, and we should be respecting the power these plants have.  It should be more than just a joy ride to us.

Similarly the medicinal herbs should not be taken for granted. Just because there’s no joy ride, doesn’t mean it’s not going to make you feel good!  Some of the medicine in the medicinal herbs can kick you in the ass over time, yet never get you high! 

The stuff described below can cause a bit of confusion, but it’s not confusing stuff!  These plants have all been classified legal in my country of Canada, but check the laws in your area, some may be legal if ‘not for human consumption’, and some may be outright illegal. Also before trying anything out, do your research, especially if you take medication, have anxiety disorder or are prone to addiction. Even non addictive substances can be habit forming, or scare the living crap out of you!

SECTION 1 - APHRODISIACS & MOOD BOOSTERS:

DAMIANA (Turnera diffusa) is a fragrant flower belonging to the family Passifloraceae and it contains active compounds including damianin, tetraphyllin, beta-catotene, eucalyptol and tannins. It has a long history of use in drinks, teas, smoking blends and wines, and has been used traditionally for social gatherings as well as medicine for sexual dysfunction and mood disorders. This herb has recently gotten bad press and been banned in some places as it is the base they use to spray fake THC and other bad chemicals. Taken by itself it presents absolutely no harm to the body.

BLUE LOTUS (Nymphaea caerulea) is a tasty purple and yellow flower that hails from Egypt to the Orient and has been used for thousands of years as an anti depressant and aphrodisiac. It contains nuciferine and aporphine, sedating and mildly psychoactive alkaloids. In high doses or mixed with red wine, it can cause euphoria, and when eaten cause sedation. The effects are delightful without a sluggish stoned feeling.

HORNY GOAT WEED (Epimedium) has been used in China and eastern Europe for thousands of years as a stimulant, aphrodisiac and to treat osteoporosis. Taken as a tea or ground into a powder and eaten, this herb contains icariin, purported to work by increasing levels of nitric oxide, which relaxes muscle tissue. It has been demonstrated to relax penile tissue and increase blood pressure. Icariin also stimulates osteoblast activity in bone tissue and can help with the treatment of osteoporosis.

SWEET FLAG (Acorus calamus) is a root used by Native Americans for its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and even aphrodisiac properties. The scented leaves and more strongly scented rhizomes have traditionally been used medicinally and to make fragrances, and the dried and powdered rhizome has been used as a substitute for ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. It contains methyl amine, choline, tannins and mucilage, and has been used traditionally across the world for its sedative, laxative, diuretic, and carminative properties and for a variety of ailments including gum troubles, indigestion, anxiety and in the treatment of drug hysteria. 

WILD DAGGA (Leonotis leonurus) also known as Lion’s Tail, is a plant species in the mint family, native to the southern Africa region. The main psychoactive component is leonurine, which has euphoric effects.  Lion’s Tail is also purported to have anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic properties.  It is often associated with Cannabis as they share the same slang, ‘dagga’ and has a similar effect as THC, only not as potent.  The flowers and leaves can be made into tea, the flowers can be smoked or the resin extracted. When eaten in high doses it can produce feelings of happiness and even ecstasy. 

SECTION 2 - ANTI-DEPRESSANTS & MAOI’S

SASSAFRAS (Sasafras albidum) has been used by Native Americans for its energizing, antidepressant, anticoagulant and antiseptic properties. The root bark contains safrole, a substance thats been banned by some states and countries as it is the precursor to MDA and MDMA. A tea made from this bark can be used to treat hypertension, rheumatism, swelling, skin sores, kidney problems, menstrual disorders, bronchitis and dysentery.

PASSION FLOWER (Passiflora) has over 500 species, the fresh or dried leaves are used to make a tea or the leaves can also be smoked.  It has been used by all cultures over the world for a variety of things like depression, insomnia, hysteria, and epilepsy. Many species have been found to contain beta-carboline harmala alkaloids, which are MAO inhibitors with anti-depressant properties. MAOI’s can also be combined with other herbs to potentiate their effects.

SYRIAN RUE (Peganum harmala) is a plant of the family Nitrariaceae. It is native from the eastern Iranian region west to India and has been used for thousands of years for a variety of purposes. The seeds and specifically seedcase contain harmine and harmaline, and a few other alkaloids that are purported to be analgesic, anti-inflammatoiry, anti-bacterial and anthemintic. These seeds can be eaten raw or brewed into a tea, can reduce depression and anxiety and produce a feeling of well-being. Harmaline is a central nervous system stimulant and a reversible inhibitor of MAO-A (RIMA), a category of antidepressant, that can also be combined with other herbs to boost their effect. Some scholars identify harmal with the entheogenic haoma of pre-Zoroastrian Persian religions.

KANNA (Sceletium tortuosum) contains Mesembrine and 4 other compounds that can help reduce depression, anxiety, stress and tension.  High doses have been shown to produce distinct inebriation and stimulation often followed by sedation. The plant is not hallucinogenic and no adverse effects have been documented. Kanna is considered by many to potentiate the effects of other psychoactive herbal material, such as cannabis.  It should not be combined with other SSRIs, MAOIs, or cardiac medications. Headaches in conjunction with alcohol have also been noted.

SECTION 5 - SLEEP AID & PAINKILLERS 

SKULLCAP (Scutellaria lateriflora) is a member of the mint family and is a hardy perennial herb native to North America.  At least 295 chemical compounds have been isolated from Scutellaria, among them flavonoids and diterpenes. Studies show that Scutellaria and its active principles possess wide pharmacological actions, such as antitumor, anti-angiogenesis, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antibacterial and antiviral activities. It has also shown to reduce anxiety, pain and muscle spasms, help boost the immune system and help expel phlegm and toxins.                         KAVA (Piper methysticum) can help with sleeplessness and pain. Kava’s active principal ingredients are the kavalactones, of which at least 15 have been identified and are all considered psychoactive. Effects of kavalactones include mild sedation, a slight numbing of the gums and mouth, and vivid dreams. Kava has been reported to improve cognitive performance and promote a cheerful mood. Kava has similar effects to benzodiazepine medications, including muscle relaxant, anaesthetic, anticonvulsive and anxiolytic effects. It is consumed ground and eaten or drank in a shake. It should not be taken with other substances, especially alcohol, nor should it be taken if liver damage is present.

KRATOM (Mitragyna speciosa) is a plant from the coffee family hailing from south east Asia and has been used for depression, anxiety, chronic pain, fatigue and opiate withdrawal. 40 unique compounds had been discovered in the leaves, including mitragynine, mitraphylline, and 7-hydroxymitragynine (which is currently the most likely candidate for the primary active chemical in the plant). There are many strains and forms it comes in; Maeng-Da; Red Viened and Balinese are the most common, a powder made from the leaves is eaten or made into a tea or capsules. No overdose of Kratom has ever been reported.

WHITE WILLOW (Salix alba) is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia and is the natural source of Salicin, a precursor to Salicylic Acid (aspirin), isolated in 1938. A tincture made with ethanol, or a strong tea made from this bark can help reduce pain, reduce fever and help with rheumatism and arthritis. This remedy is also mentioned in texts from ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria.

DREAM HERB (Calea ternifolia), otherwise known as Mexican Dream Herb or Calea Zachatechichi this plant has almost 20 identified compounds. It grows from southern Mexico to Costa Rica, and has traditionally been used for oneiromancy (a form of divination based on dreams.) Smoked or made into a tea can produce a feeling of extreme calmness with lucid dreaming later during sleep. 

SECTION 6 - ENTHEOGENS

WORMWOOD (Artemisia absinthium) this plant has been used by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and across Europe as a highly prized medicinal plant. It has a number of elements including glycoside (absinthin and ababsinthin). As a tea it has been used for a variety of ailments like digestive disorders, loss of appetite, stomach and bowel trouble, heartburn and liver or gall congestion. As an alcoholic liquor it can become extremely intoxicating and is banned in most countries. Prolonged use can be damaging. Research is recommended.

MORMON TEA (Ephedra sinica or Ephedra funerea) is known in Chinese as ma huang and has been used in traditional medicine for 5,000 years. Native Americans and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed called Mormon Tea. The effects of Ephedra are due to the presence of the alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. These compounds stimulate the brain, increase heart rate, constrict blood vessels (increasing blood pressure), and expand bronchial tubes (making breathing easier). Their thermogenic properties cause an increase in metabolism, evidenced by an increase in body heat. Ephedra is widely used by athletes as a performance-enhancing drug, despite a lack of evidence that it improves athletic performance. Ephedra may also be used as a precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine, hence Ephedra is illegal in some places.

FLY AGARIC (Amanita muscaria) this famous red and white mushroom is found wild all over the world, but originates from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Amanita muscaria contains several biologically active agents, at least one of which, muscimol, is known to be psychoactive. Ibotenic acid, a neurotoxin, serves as a prodrug to muscimol, with approximately 10-20% converting to muscimol after ingestion. The chemicals are water soluble and a tea made from this mushroom can often cause sedation then hallucination. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia, and has a religious significance in these cultures. A fatal dose has been calculated as 15 caps. Deaths from this fungus have been reported in historical journal articles and newspaper reports, but with modern medical treatment, fatal poisoning from ingesting this mushroom is extremely rare. The North American Mycological Association has stated there were no reliably documented fatalities from eating this mushroom during the 20th century. 

HAWAIIAN BABY WOODROSE (Argyreia nervosa) is a perennial climbing vine that is native to the Indian subcontinent and introduced to numerous areas worldwide, including Hawaii, Africa and the Caribbean. These powerful seeds contain ergoline alkaloids, such as Ergine or lysergic acid amide (LSA), which can produce hallucination. The plant is a rare example of a plant whose hallucinogenic properties were not recognized until recent times, first brought to attention in the 1960s. The skin of the seed can cause stomach discomfort and flatulence, so it must be sanded before grinding and brewing into tea or tincture.

OLOLUIHQUI (Turbina corymbosa) these seeds come from Mexico and contain Ergine (LSA), an ergoline alkaloid that produces hallucination. The Nahuatl word ololiuhqui means “round thing”, and refers to the small, brown, oval seeds of the morning glory. The seeds are also used by Native shamans in order to gain knowledge in curing practices and ritual, and are also named Rivea corymbosa, ‘Little Gods’, ‘Seeds of the Virgin’ and ‘Christmas Vine’.  While little of it is known outside of Mexico, its seeds were perhaps the most common psychedelic drug used by the natives. The chemical composition was first described in 1960 by Dr. Albert Hofmann and has been studied by the CIA for its potency in varieties. 

VOAGANGA (Voaganga africana) comes from West Africa, the bark and seeds of the tree are used in Ghana as a stimulant, aphrodisiac, and psychedelic. These effects are due a complex mixture of iboga alkaloids such as voacangine, voacamine, vobtusine, amataine, akuammidine, tabersonine, coronaridine and vobtusine. Of particular pharmaceutical interest is voacangine, which is a common precursor in the semi-synthesis of the anti-addiction medication ibogaine. Brewed as a tea, it can be nauseating at first then euphoric, often producing hallucination. When the effects are done, it often has created new thinking patterns and addiction to substances has been lessened. Research is recommended.

PERUVIAN TORCH (Echinopsis peruviana) is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the western slope of the Andes in Peru, between about 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft) above sea level. It contains the psychoactive alkaloid mescaline as well as other alkaloids. The Peruvian Torch is similar to the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi) which is found in the same region. The human use of the cactus dates back thousands of years to the northern coast of Peru and the monks of a pre-Inca culture known as Chavín (900 BC to 200 BC). They prepared a brew called “achuma”, “huachuma” or “cimora” which was used during ritualistic ceremonies to diagnose the spiritual links to a patient’s illness.

ACACIA (Acacia confusa) also known as Hawaiian Rainbow Tree is found all over the Pacific islands. Traditionally this tree has been used for charcoal and support beams and the gum used in chemical products, food and drink.  Dranks as a tea, it has mild medicinal effects. The inner root bark contains many compounds including DMT, dimethyltryptamine, which is normally broken down in the stomach, however if brewed in a tea with an MAO inhibitor it can produce a hallucinogenic effect, research is recommended.

JUREMBA (Mimosa tenuiflora) also known as Mimosa Hostilis, this perennial tree is native to the northeastern region of Brazil and found as far north as southern Mexico. It has traditionally been used to treat skin lesions, couch and bronchitis, veinous leg ulcers and washing animals to keep parasites away. It is rich in tannins, making it excellent for dyes, charcoal and construction materials. The bark is known to be rich in tannins, saponins, alkaloids, lipids, phytosterols, glucosides, xylose, rhamnose, arabinose, lupeol, methoxychalcones and kukulkanins, and it has been recently shown to have a DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) content of about 1%, and the presence of the other compounds makes it orally active without taking an MAOI. A tea brewed from the ground inner root bark can produce trance and mild hallucination, and when combined with an MAOI, it can be more intensive, research is recommended.

DIVINER’S SAGE (Salvia divinorum) is a psychoactive plant which can induce dissociative effects and is a potent producer of “visions” and other hallucinatory experiences. Native to the cloud forest in the isolated Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s chief psychoactive ingredient ia a structurally unique diterpenoid called salvinorin A a potent k-opioid. It is not an alkaloid, (meaning it does not contain a basic nitrogen), unlike most known opioid receptor ligands and it is the first documented diterpene hallucinogen. By mass, it is the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen. Research has shown that salvinorin A is a potent and selective κ-Opioid receptor. Results from a study at the University of Iowa indicate that it may have potential as an analgesic and as a therapeutic tool for treating drug addictions. Taken traditionally as a tea with fresh leaves or chewed, modern methods have made it a smokeable substance with far more powerful effects. There are no known addictions or fatalities due to the drug itself.

SOURCES: All research has been done from a variety of sources, but the science and most of the wording has been quoted from Wikipedia, along with my own interjections.  The purpose of this blog is not to train but rather to educate. Humans will always seek joy rides, I’m hoping with this knowledge it will help some of those joy rides to be more responsible!

When I started studying plants and their medicinal value, I was always surprised to find it was some ugly plant or a bark or root. I wanted my medicine to be exotic and beautiful, not some scraggly thing by the roadside. I wanted the extraction to be complicated and expensive. I wanted to have knowledge of exclusivity and a feeling of finding something rare. 

Recently a comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe was performing in my club. He had broken his tooth eating something and was in terrible pain. He’d taken a pain killer; squeezed on Ora-Gel; smoked weed; put ice on it and still he was in pain. All this time I didn’t know, so when I heard of his situation I went next door to my shop and grabbed a bag of cloves. I told him to stick one between his teeth and let the juice flow and soak into the cracked tooth. I told him it would taste like Christmas and only work for 20 mins or so, but what did he have to lose? He came back to me a little while later totally amazed that it worked, to the point where he had to say something on the stage. We were cracking jokes all night that with all that medical marijuana in the room … what worked was a single clove!

Years ago when I started studying herbs and their effects, it was because I was looking for a substitute for tobacco to start making quitter’s blends. Customers were always asking, and the products available were sometimes sketchy with ingredients not listed, or ‘not for human consumption’ written on them.  I know it was to disclaim themselves in case of a problem, but I wanted to provide my customers with something purer. 

The first plant I was surprised at, but wasn’t the first I studied, was the greater plaintain plant (not to be confused with the plantain banana). When we were kids in Saskatchewan, I remember chewing this rubbery bitter leaf and smearing the paste onto bites and nettle rashes. I don’t know who’d actually taught me, we just did it as kids and went back to playing. I don’t remember even knowing its name, it just worked and it was fun having green smears on my legs.  When I moved to Ontario, the kids didn’t do it here and I forgot about it.  Years later when researching herbs, it came up as one that helps with skin irritations, asthma and tuberculosis and was used traditionally by natives for centuries. I laughed when I saw its picture, it should be common knowledge - growing in the cracks of sidewalks everywhere! I had a hilarious cartoon in my head of someone bitching about a rash, or taking their asthma puffer while standing on a plaintain plant sticking out of pavement. But that’s a joke before its time I suppose!

I heard a theory once that for every poisonous plant, there is a remedy growing next to it, I have a further theory that for every ailment we suffer as a people, there are plants growing right next to us that can remedy it. One day I was walking in a park and some workers were cutting down a hedge of nettles and complaining to each other what a nasty job it was. I had just been to the health food store and had bought some tea that had nettle as one of the ingredients. Nettle has a ton of nutrients, is high in iron and a fantastic anti-oxidant. I started chuckling to myself as I thought of all the anemics and people with cancer in the city with what they needed being eradicated as a weed right beside them and noone knows it! Then I stopped chuckling when I thought of the $7 I just paid for the tea when I could have picked it in the park.

When I moved to Toronto, I noticed that every morning in Riverdale Park, groups of older Asian women were always there picking the dandelions. I always knew I could eat it, but never thought of it as food. Now grocery stores are selling it for $5 a small bunch, and the Asian ladies get it free!  Another time in the store I saw Wild Canadian rice at $15 per 500g, and GMO rice from overseas next to it at $1.95.  How did that happen? Why is our indigenous rice or corn not cultivated? Why are we treating good food as a weed? So much food gets considered not food, and we eat crap from corporate fields from afar, and think its better cause the company paid to have the nutrients listed? Even those who can afford to eat well can still fall into that trap.

All medicine comes from plants or elements found naturally. They make pills, syrups and ointments, most of which are unpleasant. The stuff is never cheap either, and the packaging and marketing can be overwhelming. I hate taking pills and fighting down nasty syrups. Yet I love tea, so I figure its better to skip the whole process, save some money and drink something delicious!  I started foraging for plants and growing my own after that! 

Common Medicinal ‘Weeds’ in North America:

Most of these are considered weeds and have been part of an eradication system to help with food crops. You can still find most along roadsides, abandoned fields and naturalized areas. Check before you pick in case its not allowed there. All these herbs can also be found dried and cured at most herbalists or health food stores. Do your research before you brew these up! Some of them can compete with your food regime or medication. For example St. John’s Wort is a common remedy for depression, however it contains SSRI’s and will cancel or magnify certain anti-depressant medication. 

Catnip - Flower - sedative - edges of fields and forests, Canada and USA Chamomile - Flower - sedative, anti-bacterial - under small trees and partial shade, usually domesticated, Canada and USA Coltsfoot - Leaf - stomach and lung mucilage - in fields and meadows, Canadian shield Dandelion - Leaf - anti-oxidant, mineral and vitamin rich, in meadows and open fields, Canada and USA Echinacea - Flower - immune booster, in meadows and open fields, Canada and northern USA Hibiscus - Flower - temperature regulation, vitamin rich, along roadsides and edges of forest, southern USA Horsetail - Leaf - stomach and bowel relief, found in meadows and fields, Canada and northern USA Irish or Icelandic Moss - lung or throat relief, found on rocks near tundra, Canadian Shield Lavender - Flower - anti-septic, anti-bacterial, sedative, found in fields and meadows, Canada and northern USA Marigold - Flower - anti-septic, immune booster, in fields and meadows, Canada and USA Mullein - Leaf - stomach or bowel relief, mucilage, along roadsides and in fields, Canada and northern USA Nettle - Leaf - anti-oxidant, mineral rich, in fields and edges of forests, Canada and USA Plantain - Leaf - mucilage, in fields and meadows, cracks of the pavement, Canada and northern USA Peppermint - Leaf - stimulant, anti-septic, in fields and meadows, Canada and USA Raspberry - Leaf - systemic boost, found in woodlands and edges of forests, along the Canadian Shield Red Clover - Flower - throat and stomach relief, in fields and meadows,  Canada and USA Rose Hips - vitamin and mineral rich, in fields and edges of forests, Canada and northern USA St. Johns Wort - anti-depressant, anti-oxidant, found in fields and meadows, Canada and northern USA Yarrow Flower - stomach relief - in fields and meadows, Canada and USA

Some tips on medicinal tea brewing:

"Prohibition is an awful flop. We like it. It can’t stop what its meant to stop. We like it. It’s left a trail of graft and slime, It didn’t prohibit worth a dime, It’s filled our land with vice and crime, Nevertheless we’re for it.”

This was written in the New York World in 1931.  It was in reference to alcohol prohibition, but the drug war we face is so similar it’s eerie!  Why are WE facing such graft and slime? Why do WE have vice and crime?  Of course it’s prohibition!<!—more—>

For the 10 odd years alcohol was prohibited, gang warfare and crime rose dramatically.  Alcohol distilled improperly was making people sick and even go blind.  Good law abiding citizens were forced to get their dinner wine and christmas scotch from bootleggers that operated back door shops.  Sales of unregulated alcohol went directly to fueling the gangs that supplied and protected the bootleggers, and with that came the guns and organized crime.  Because of the nature of alcohol, it didn’t take long for the public to realize that prohibiting it in the first place not only didn’t solve the problem, it made it way worse!  Better to legalize and regulate it.

Alcohol didn’t become legalized by a bunch of partying alcoholics, it was put in force by respectable people, businesses and politicians who listened to the requests of the people.  People who may or may not even drink.  So neither will cannbis be legalized by a bunch of partying potheads.  It will be legalized by respectable people, businesses and politicians who listen to the requests of the people.

Cannabis wasn’t outlawed for the same reasons as alcohol.  But the prohibition argument is the same.  If you look very carefully at history, it always seems prohibition precedes the problems, or at least elevates them. And technically outlawing cannabis was breaching the constitution itself, that’s why in 1937 the US gov’t had to invent a tax stamp for marijuana production.  By never issuing any they effectively made it outlawed, killing the hemp industry at the same time.  Lobbyists and proponents were not given ear, one doctor after testifying that there ‘s no evidence that marijuana is a dangerous drug, was told by a congressman, ” Doctor, if you can’t say something good about what we’re doing here, then go home.”  These sorts of biased politics and comments would not be able to happen today.  Especially those made by Harry Anslinger, the man responsible for forming the DEA. One of his comments was, “Marijuana makes black men look at a woman twice, and step on men’s shadows”. Or how about, “Marijuana causes insanity, criminality and death.” ???  And somehow Canada and the rest of the world listened to them.

The government has been debating legalization for so long now it makes me wonder why.  It’s not like they are unaware of the industry.  The businesses are flourishing, the gov’t accepts tax from them, and occassionally brings legalization up in house of commons.  Health Canada created the MMAR program for the ill, and sells cannabis to them.  They’ve altered laws so the consumers don’t get jail time, yet pass laws to go harder on our farmers and distributors (they call them grow-ops and dealers).  Its a bit of a mixed message, and its no wonder our politicians, police and people are confused.  I suspect the delay is not in legalizing itself, but who gets the money.  However, we can’t wait for the power game to decide this, full legalization needs to happen now.

Cannabis sativa appears to have originated in Central Asia and was probably first cultivated for its fibre. It has been grown in China for at least 4500 years. It is thought to have reached Europe by 1500BC.

Stone Age (8000 BC) - Hemp use dates back to the Stone Age, with hemp fiber imprints found in pottery shards in China and Taiwan over 7,000 years old. Civilization, agriculture, and hemp textile industries begin in Europe and Asia.

2900 BC - Chinese Emperor Fu His References Marijuana as a Popular Medicine. “The Chinese Emperor Fu His (ca. 2900BC), whom the Chinese credit with bringing civilization to China, seems to have made reference to Ma, the Chinese word for Cannabis, noting that Cannabis was very popular medicine that possessed both yin and yang.”         

2737 BC - First written record of cannabis use, in the pharmacopoeia of Shen Nung, one of the fathers of Chinese medicine.

1500 BC - Cannabis-smoking Scythians sweep through Europe and Asia, settling and inventing the scythe.

1400 BC - Cultural and religious use of gangaor cannabis, and charas or hashish (resin) recorded used by Hindus in India.

600 BC - Zend-Avesta, Indian scripture, speaks of hemp’s intoxicating resin.

550 BC - The Persian prophet Zoroaster gives hemp first place in the sacred text, the Zend-Avesta, which lists over 10,000 medicinal plants.

500 BC - Gautama Buddha said to have survived by eating hempseed. Cannabis used in Germany (Hochdorf Hallstatt D wagon burialsite). First botanical drawings of cannabis in Constantinopolitaus.

450 BC - The Greek historian Herodotus describes the Scythians of central Asia throwing hemp onto heated stones undercanvas: ‘as it burns, it smokes like incense and the smell of it makes them drunk’; additionally notes the making of fine linens from hemp.

200 BC - Specimens of hemp paper were found inthe Great Wall of China.

300 BC - Carthage and Rome struggle for political and commercial power over hemp and spice trade routes in the Mediterranean.

100 BC - Chinese make paper from hemp and mulberry.

70 BC - Roman Emperor Nero’s surgeon,Dioscorides, praises cannabis for making the stoutest cords and for its medicinal properties.

45 - St Mark establishes the Ethiopian Coptic Church. The Copts claim that marijuana as a sacrament has a lineage descending from the Jewish sect, the Essenes, who are considered to be responsible for theDead Sea Scrolls.

70 - Roman Emperor Nero’s surgeon, Dioscorides praises Cannabis for making “the stoutest cords” and for it’s medical properties.

100 - Roman surgeon Dioscorides names the plant cannabis sativa and describes various medicinal uses. Pliny reported of industrial uses and wrote a manual on farming hemp.

140-208 – Hua Tuo, famous Chinesephysician and herbalist uses cannabis in a general anesthetic and other remedies.

400 - Cannabis cultivated for the first time in England at Old Buckeham Mare.

600 - Germans, Franks, Vikings and others make paper from Cannabis.

800 - Mohammed allows Cannabis, but forbids alcohol use.

1000 - The English word ‘Hempe’ first listed in a dictionary. Moslems produce hashish for medical and social use.

1150 - Moslems use Cannabis to start Europe’s first paper mill. Most paper is made from Cannabis for next 850 years.

1484 - Pope Innocent VIII singles out cannabis as an unholy sacrament of the Satanic mass.

1492 - Columbus sailed across the Atlantic with a ship made from 80 tons of hemp sails, caulking and rigging.

1494 - Hemp paper making starts in England.

1545 - Spanish bring Cannabis cultivationto Chile.

1554 - Spanish bring Cannabis cultivationto Peru.

1563 - Queen Elizabeth I decrees that land owners with 60 acres or more must grow Cannabis else face a £5 fine.

1564 - King Philip of Spain follows lead of Queen Elizabeth and orders Cannabis to be grown throughout his Empire from modern day Argentina to Oregon.

1606 - British take Cannabis to Canada tobe cultivated mainly for maritime uses.

1611 - British start cultivating Cannabisin Virginia.

1619 - Virginia colony makes CannabisCultivation Mandatory, followed by most other colonies. Europe pays Hemp bounties.

1631 - Cannabis used for bartering throughout American Colonies.

1632 - Pilgrims bring Cannabis to New England.

1645 - The Puritans cultivated hemp in New England to make clothes, shoes, ropes, and paper.

1700’s - American farmers are required by law to grow hemp in Virginia and other colonies.

1753 - Cannabis Sativa classified by Linneaus.

1776 - Declaration of Independence drafted on Cannabis paper.

1783 - Cannabis Indica classified byLamarck.

1790sGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson andJohn Adams, our founding fathers, grow hemp and extol its benefits.

1791 - President Washington sets dutieson Cannabis to encourage domestic industry. Jefferson calls Cannabis “anecessity” and urges farmers to grow Cannabis instead of tobacco.                 1797 - The U.S.S. Constitution is outfittedwith 60 tons of hemp sails and rigging.

1800’s - Australia survives two prolonged famines by eating virtually nothing but hemp seed for protein and hemp leaves for roughage.

1807 - Napoleon signs the Treaty of Tilset with Czar Alexander of Russia which cuts off all legal Russian tradewith Britain. Britain blackmails and press gangs American sailors into illegally trading in Russian Hemp.

1808 - Napoleon wants to place French Troops at Russian ports to ensure the Treaty of Tilset is complied with. TheCzar refuses and turns a blind eye to Britain’s illegal trade in Cannabis.

1812 - 19th June America declares war on Britain. 24th June Napoleon invades Russia aiming to put an end to Britain’s main supply of Cannabis. By the end of the year the Russian winter and army had destroyed most of Napolean’s invading force.

1835 - The Club de Hashichines, whose bohemian membership included the poet Baudelaire, is founded.

1839 - Homeopathy journal American Provers’ Union publishes first of many reports on the effects of Cannabis.

1840 - Abraham Lincoln uses hemp seed oil to fuel his household lamps.

1841 - Dr. W.B. O’Shaunghnessy of Scotland works in India then introduces Cannabis to Western medicine. In thefollowing 50 years hundreds of medical papers are written on the medicalbenefits of Cannabis.

1845 - Psychologist and ‘inventor’ of modern psychopharmacology and psychotimimetic drug treatment, Jacques-JosephMoreau de Tours documents physical and mental benefits of Cannabis.

1850’s - Petrochemical age begins. Toxicsulfite and chlorine processes are implemented to begin making paper fromtrees.

1857 - ’The Hasheesh Eater’ by Fitz HughLudlow is published. Smith Brothers of Edinburgh start to market a highly active extract of Cannabis Indica used as a basis for innumerable tinctures.

1860 - First Governmental commissionstudy of Cannabis and health conducted by Ohio State Medical society.

1862 - The decorticulator allows for the easy separation of the various grades of hemp fibre.

1870 - Cannabis is listed in the USPharmacopoeia as a medicine for various ailments.

1873 - Levi Strauss receives rights to patent their denim jeans made from hemp cloth to reinforce points of strain, such as the base of the button fly and pocket corners.

1876 - Hashish served at AmericanCentennial Exposition.

1890 - Queen Victoria’s personalphysician, Sir Russell Reynolds, prescribes Cannabis for menstrual cramps. He claims in the first issue of The Lancet, that Cannabis “When pure and administered carefully, is one of the of the most valuable medicines we possess”

1890- 1940s USDA Chief Botanist, Lyster Dewey, grows five varieties of hemp at Arlington Farms in Virginia, the current site of the Pentagon.

1895 - The Indian Hemp Drug Commission concludes that cannabis has some medical uses, no addictive properties and a number of positive emotional and social benefits. First known use of the word ‘marijuana’ for smoking, by Pancho Villa’s supporters in Sonora Mexico. The song “La Curaracha” tells the story of one of Villa’s men looking for his stash of “marijuana por fumar”

1910 - African-American ‘reefer’ use reported in jazz clubs of New Orleans, said to be influencing white people. Mexican’s reported to be smoking Cannabis in Texas. Newspaper tycoon Randolph Hearst has 800,000 acres of prime Mexican Timberland seized from him by Villaand his men. Could this be the reason why his newspapers subsequently ran many stories portraying Negroes and Mexicans as frenzied beasts under the influence of ‘Marijuana’.

1911 - Hindus reported to be using ‘Gunjah’ in San Francisco. South Africa starts to outlaw Cannabis.

1912 - The possibility of putting controls on the use of Cannabis is raised at the first International OpiumConference.

1915 - California outlaws Cannabis.

1916 - Recognizing that timber supplies are finite, USDA Bulletin 404 calls for new program of expansion of Cannabis to replace uses of timber by industry.

1919 - Texas outlaws Cannabis.

1923 - The South African delegate to the League of Nations claims mine workers are not as productive after using ‘dagga’ (Cannabis) and calls for international controls. Britain insists on further research before any controls are imposed.

1924 - At the second International Opiates Conference the Egyptian delegate claims that serious problems are associated with Hashish use and calls for immediate international controls. A Sub-Committee is formed and listens to the Egyptian and Turkish delegations while Britain abstains. The conference declares Cannabis a Narcotic and recommends strict international control.

1925 - The ‘Panama Canal Zone Report’ conducted due to the level of Cannabis use by soldiers in the area concludesthat there is no evidence that Cannabis use is habit-forming or deleterious.The report recommends that no action be taken to prevent the use or sale of Cannabis.

1928 - September 28th. The Dangerous Drugs Act 1925 becomes law and Cannabis is made illegal in Britain.

1930 - Louis Armstrong is arrested in Los Angeles for possession of cannabis.

1931 - The Federal Bureau of Narcotics is formed with Anslinger appointed as its head.

1937 - Following action by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and a campaign by newspaper magnate William RandolphHearst, a prohibitive tax is put on hemp in the USA, effectively destroying the industry. Anslinger testifies to congress that ‘Marijuana’ is the most violence causing drug known to Man. The objections by the American Medical Association (The AMA only realised that ‘Marijuana’ was in fact Cannabis 2 days before the start of hearing) and the National Oil Seed Institute are rejected.

1938 - The February edition of US magazine Popular Mechanics (written before the Marijuana Transfer Tax was passed) declares ‘Hemp - the New Billion Dollar Crop.’

1941 - Cannabis dropped from the American Pharmacopoeia. Popular Mechanics Magazine reveal details of Henry Ford’s plastic car made using Cannabis and fuelled from Cannabis. Henry Ford continued to illegally grow Cannabis for some years after the Federal ban, hoping to become independent of the petroleum industry.

1942 - Henry Ford builds an experimental car body made with hemp fiber, which is ten times stronger than steel.

1943 - Both the US and German government surge their patriotic farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. The US shows farmers a short film - ‘Hemp for Victory’ which the government later pretends never existed. The editor of ‘Military Journal’ states that although some military personnel smoke Cannabis he does not view this as a problem.

1944 - New York Mayor LaGuardia’s Marijuana commission reports that Cannabis causes no violence at all and cites other positive results. Anslinger responds by denouncing LaGuardia and threatens doctors with prison sentences if they dare carry out independent research on Cannabis.

1945 - Newsweek reports that over 100,000 Americans use Cannabis.

1948 - Harry Anslinger now declares that using Cannabis causes the user to become peaceful and pacifistic. He also claims that the Communists would use Cannabis to weaken the American’s will to fight.

1951 - UN bulletin of Narcotic Drugsestimates 200 million Cannabis users worldwide.

1952 - First UK Cannabis bust at the Number 11 Club, Soho.

1961 - Harry Anslinger heads US delegation at UN Drugs Convention. New international restrictions are placed on Cannabis aiming to eliminate its use within 25 years.

1962 - Harry Anslinger is sacked by President Kennedy. Kennedy may well have smoked cannabis in the White House, perhaps as a pain reliever.

1964 - The first head shop is opened by the Thelin brothers in the United States.

1966 - The folk singer Donovan becomes the first celebrity hippy to fall foul of the law.

1967 - In July over 3,000 people hold a mass ‘smoke-in’ in Hyde Park in London. The same month, The Times carries a pro-legalisation advertisement which declares that “the laws against Marijuana are immoral in principle and unworkable in Practice. The signatories include David Dimbleby, Bernard Levin, and the Beatles.

1967 - The most famous bust of all, on the home of Rolling Stone, Keith Richards, uncovered marijuana. Richards and Mick Jagger were sentenced to prison for respectively three months and one year. The sentences prompted an outcry that culminated in Lord Rees Mogg’s famous Times editorial ‘Who brakes a butterfly on a wheel?’ The convictions were quashed on appeal.

1967 - In New York, on Valentines Day, Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies mail out 3000 joints to addresses chosen at random from the phonebook. They offer these people the chance to discover what all the fuss is about, but remind them that they are now criminals for possessing cannabis. The mail out was secretly funded by Jimi Hendrix, and attracts huge publicity.

1968 - A Home Office select committee, chaired by Baroness Wootton, looks at the ‘cannabis question’. Its report concluded that cannabis was no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol, and recommended that the penalties for all marijuana offences be reduced. Campaignagainst Cannabis use by US Troops in Vietnam - Soldiers switch to heroin.

1969 - Incoming Labour minister Jim Callaghan rejects the Wootton recommendations and introduces a new Misuse ofDrugs Act, which prescribes a maximum five years’ imprisonment for possession.The Act remains in force to this day.

1970 - Canadian Le Dain report claims that the debate on the non-medical use of Cannabis “has all too often beenbased on hearsay, myth and ill-informed opinion about the effects of thedrug.” Marijuana Transfer Tax’ declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.

1970 - U.S. Congress designates hemp, along with its relative marijuana, as a “Schedule 1” drug under the Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal to grow without a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

1971 - Misuse of Drugs Act lists Cannabisas a Class B drug and bans its medical use despite the recommendation of the Wootton Report that “Preparations of Cannabis and it’s derivatives should continue to be available on prescription for purposes of medical treatment and research”. President Nixon declares drugs “America’s public enemy No.1”.

1972 - The White House passes a $1billion anti-drug bill and Nixon again declares drugs America’s public enemyNo. 1”. The US Government Shafer report voices concern at the level of spending used to stop illicit drug use. From 1969-73 the level of spending roseover 1000 percent.

1973 - President Nixon declares “We have turned the corner on drug addiction in America’. Oregon becomes the firststate to take steps towards legalisation.

1975 - Hundreds of Doctors call on US Government to instigate further research on Cannabis. Supreme Court of Alaska declares that ‘right of privacy’ protects Cannabis possession in the home. Limit for public possession is set at one ounce.

1976 - Ford Administration bans government funding of medical research on Cannabis. Pharmaceutical companies allowed to carry out research on synthetic, manmade Cannabis analogues. Holland adopts policy of tolerance to Cannabis users. Robert Randal becomes first American to receive Cannabis from Federal supplies under a Investigational NewDrug (IND) program. Ford’s chief advisor on drugs, Robert Dupont declares that Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco and urges for it’s decriminalisation. Disturbances erupt at the end of the Notting Hill carnival.BBC News reports: ‘Scores of young black men roamed the streets late into the night, openly smoking marijuana joints and listening to the non-stop pounding of reggae music’.

1978 - New Mexico becomes first US state to make Cannabis available for medical use.

1980 - Paul McCartney spends ten days in prison in Japan for possession of cannabis.

1983 - UK convictions for cannabis possession exceed 20,000, having risen from just under 15,000 in 1980. US government instructs American Universities and researchers to destroy all1966-76 Cannabis research work.

1988 - In Washington, DEA Judge FrancisYoung concludes at the end of a lengthy legal process that “Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man”. He recommends that medical use of marijuana should be allowed, for certain life- or sense-threatening illnesses. The DEA administrator rejectsthe ruling. US Senate adds $2.6 Billion to federal anti-drug efforts.

1989 - Outgoing president Reagan declares victory in War on Drugs as being a major achievement of his administration.Secretary of State James Baker reports that the global war on narcotics production “is clearly not being won.”

1990 - The discovery of THC receptors in the human brain is reported in Nature.

1991 - 42,209 people are convicted of cannabis offences in the UK. 19,583 escape with cautions.

1993 - Hempcore become the first British company to obtain a license to grow Cannabis as the Home Office liftrestrictions on industrial hemp cultivation.

1994 - Home Secretary Michael Howard increases maximum fines for possession from £500 to £2,500. Germany becomes the first European country apart from Holland to decriminalise possession of ‘small quantities of cannabis for occasional use’. The Liberal-Democrat conference votes for a Royal Commission, yet the tabloid press report that they support legalisation! Key rings with leaves taken from Hempcore’s first Harvest are illegally sold in such publications as ‘Viz’. The Home Office are aware of the situation but do not prosecute Hempcore who could have been facing 15 years and an unlimited fine. Association of Cannabis Therapeutics talks to Department OfHealth about possibility of Legalising Cannabis for Medical use.

1995 - Channel 4 dedicate 8 hours of programming to Cannabis on Pot Night. The BBC respond with blatant anti-cannabis propaganda on Panorama. 10 millionth cannabis arrest in the US in July. Labour shadow minister Clare Short says the subject of decriminalisation should be discussed. She is immediately denounced by other leading Labour Politicians.

1997 - The newspaper The Independent launched a “Decriminalise cannabis” campaign. They believed that a change would come to the newly elected Labour government but they were wrong, but they did organise a big demonstration in London in March of 1998 before dropping the campaign. These large demonstrations becamean annual event fpr some time thereafter, although they were no longer organised by the newspaper.

1998 - The U.S. begins to import food-grade hemp seed and oil.

2000 - 2010 New processing technologies arise to commercialize “cottonized” hemp, hemp concrete, high-tech hemp composites and other novel hemp applications.

2000 - After four long years of attempted repression of cannabis under the first Labour Administration of Tony Blair, the climate of opinion began to change. In September of 2000, at the Tory party conference, the then shadow Home Secretary, Anne Widdecombe to make her keynotes speech which was to be in the tradition of firm support for the issue of law and order. She announced that the next Conservative government would have a”crack down” on cannabis and she even proposed on the spot fines for simple small scale possession. The media and the police tore the speech apartas unworkable and even undesirable. Several Tory MP’s admitted past use, the crack down on cannabis was over.

2001 - At the start of the new administration in June 2001 the police in Lambeth, South London announced that they would no longer give anyone found in possession of cannabis a criminalrecord and the issue of legalisation became a major issue in the campaign forthe leadership of the Conservative party. We began to hope change was close.

2001 - October: The government sets up a Select Committee to look at drugs policy. When giving evidence the HomeSecretary (David Blunkett) announces his intention to move cannabis from classB to class C, making possession a non-arrestable offence.

2004 - January: The long awaitedreclassification finally happened, but the law relating to Class C drugs waschanged so as to make most of the changes meaningless. The government spends 1million pounds on an advertising campaign to tell people nothing had changedand that Cannabis is still illegal.

2004 - Ninth Circuit Court decision in HempIndustries Association vs. DEA permanently protects sales of hemp foods andbody care products in the U.S.

2005 - A bill is introduced in the U.S.Congress for the first time to allow states to regulate hemp farming, but todate no committee hearing or floor vote has taken place.

2005 - Reefer madness V2 launched by themental health charities RETHINK and SANE, drawing attention to research whichclaimed to show a link between cannabis use and serious mental illness. The campaign was used as a platform to oppose the reclassification to class C andover the next four years a series of alarmist and totally inaccurate newspaperreports carried scare stories of a dangerous new version of cannabis -“skunk” - said to be 30 or more times stronger than cannabis used to be.

The ACMD examines the issue and recommends no change to the classification of cannabis and the Home Secretary Charles Clarke agrees to keep it where it is, but orders a total review of the drugs classifications. Clarke is replaced shortly after and his review is scrapped.

2007 - Tony Blair finally stands down to widespread relief, but is replaced by Gordon Brown who announces his intention to move cannabis to class B again. The issue is returned to the ACMD for their advice upon which the decision would normally have been based.

2007 - The first hemp licenses in over 50 years are granted to two North Dakota farmers.

2008 - ACMD reports that cannabis should remain class C. Research carried out for the Home Office but not made public forover a year is leaked by the Guardian and shows incidence of psychosis has actually dropped during the time cannabis use increased (see here). Gordon Brown ignores the ACMD advice and announces cannabis will be returned to class B.

2009 - Cannabis is returned to class B of the misuse of drugs act in January. The chair of the advosory body the ACMD, Prof Nutt, is forced to resign for criticising the governments descision to move cannabis back to class B.

2010 - HIA uncovers diaries and photographs of the USDA’s Chief Botanist Lyster Dewey, who grew 5 varieties of hemp on the current site of the Pentagon.

2011 - Today, the U.S. is the only developed country that has not established hemp as an agricultural crop, according to the Congressional Research Service.

2012 – The U.S. states of Washington and Colorado, by voter referendum, pass legislation calling for the recreational-use legalization of cannabis for adults. Hemp production will also be allowed in Colorado.

2013 - The country of Uruguay fully legalizes cannabis for recreational use.

2014 - Jan - New Hampshire legalizes fully for recreational.

AND HISTORY IS BEING MADE RIGHT NOW!!!

References:

Part of the timeline was compiled by Rob Christopher of CHIC using the following sources: Chris Conrad, HEMP, Lifeline to the Future(ISBN 0-963975-1-2) Ernest Abel, Marijuana, The First 12,000 years(Plenum Press, New York 1980) Jack Herer, The Emperor Wears No Clothes (ISBN# 1-878125-00-1) Peter Stratford, Psychedelics Encyclopaedia(ISBN 0-9114171-51-8)

Some more came from the web site that accompanied Channel 4’s Pot Night.

UKCIA checked and corrected the above and added more using: Terrence McKenna, Food Of The Gods Abbie Hoffman, Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test