ASSHAT OF THE YEAR AWARD

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Recently I came in contact with some folks from The Families of Sick Patients in Georgia.  This collective has formed to fight for expansion of Georgia’s House Bill 1, The Haleigh’s Hope Act. Sign the Petition

This is Jagger Cotte, a 5 year old Georgia child suffering from Leigh Syndrome.  Leigh syndrome is a severe neurological disorder that typically arises in the first year of life. This condition is characterized by progressive loss of mental and movement abilities (psychomotor regression) and typically results in death within a couple of years, usually due to respiratory failure.

Jagger’s FB page is here: Moves like Jagger

It is a “24/7 struggle” for Jagger’s parents just to keep him alive, according to Sebastien Cotte, Jagger’s Dad.  Thanks to Allen Peake’s HB1, the Cottes can now legally possess CBD Oil and administer it to Jagger, but Governor Nathan Deal’s gutting of the original bill poses a serious dilemma for them.

Peake’s original Bill contained language for in-State cultivation of Medical Marijuana.  Governor Deal just wasn’t, and still isn’t, having that.  This becomes a very real problem for the folks who are on Georgia’s Medical Marijuana Registry and can legally possess CBD Oil.  That problem is, they cannot gain access to the CBD Oil in Georgia without violating Federal Law!!  Now, there is some debate about whether Hemp products containing < .3% THC can legally be shipped across State lines.  The Federal Farm Act of 2014 section 7606 “seems” to allow it, but the language is not specific to mailing, rather to “sales”.  Looking at that legislation as a retired LEO I’m pretty sure the DEA could push a case of Interstate Transportation if they really wanted to.  To quote my old Granddaddy, “That ain’t good, boy!”

Jagger’s treatments consist of a combination of CBD Oil & a THC content higher than allowed by HB1.  So the Cottes temporarily  moved to Colorado for a year, far from their home in Georgia, because Georgia has, well I’ll just say it, the “STUPIDEST” law ever written for CBD access.

In Colorado the Cottes, of course, made contacts sympathetic to their plight.  They have now moved back to Georgia.  As I chatted with Sebastien Cotte he said “We can get [Jagger’s] CBD by mail now, but his THC is much more complicated since it can’t be mailed.  Obviously I don’t talk too much about how we get his THC”.  He also said “I am able to get what I need because I made some connections when we lived in CO, but most parents in GA are in a bad situation until Deal allows in State cultivation”.

The Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis recently voted down in-State cultivation, largely because of testimony by representatives of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association and Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  Apparently these Law Enforcement types are “afraid” that legal, in-State cultivation would be too hard to monitor and enforce.   They’re also afraid that it will lead to Marijuana grows (like there aren’t tons of it being grown in GA each year already).  Macon Telegraph Coverage

I watched all the Commission on Medical Cannabis testimony through a live stream from the Hearing Chamber and the further along it got the more I could see in Rep. Peake’s eyes that he wasn’t liking what he was hearing.  Partially because of that vote, Representative Peake resigned from Governor Deal’s Legislative team and has decided to fight, from his House of Representatives Seat, for the in-State cultivation his original Bill called for.  I say BRAVO Mr. Representative!!!  Peake steps down

So, we’re set for a battle here in Georgia in 2016, between Deal’s threatened veto of ANY legislation regarding in-State cultivation and Peake’s determination to make in-State cultivation a reality .  Sadly, the lives of children, like Jagger, and the adults in Georgia who desperately need this medicine hang in the balance.  What’s also in the balance is the clean criminal records of the parents and caregivers.

So without further ado, I hereby award my First Annual Asshat Award to Governor Nathan Deal.  I’m sure the crown will fit him well.

The Constant Sorrows of Mary Jane

This is mostly for the many folks I’ve met over the past couple of years who have shared their stories of “marijuana woes” with me (and for those who haven’t yet).

I know it feels like:

But Hold your Head Up friends.

Always know that,

And maybe you’ve

BUT, BUT, BUT, you gotta ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler’ because you gotzta believe a change gonna come!!

AND AFTER ALL

So always remember to just

I’m praying for good things to come to each and every one of you, known and unknown, who have been adversely affected by the lies, hypocrisies and injustices perpetrated by the War on Marijuana!! 

 

 

 

 

Prohibition vs Prohibition

This is a bottle of Templeton Rye, a simple pipe and less than a gram of weed.  Notice the label on the rye.  Prohibition Era Recipe!

I’m in a story telling mood, so here we go.  I ran across this whiskey in Nebraska.  It had a small pamphlet attached to the neck, which I read.  Here’s the story.

Templeton Rye refers to rye whiskey originally made in Templeton, Iowa during the prohibition era as a way for farmers in the Carroll County area to supplement their income.^[1] Amber in color, it was considered to be of particularly high quality and was popular in Chicago, Omaha, and Kansas City speakeasies.^[2] It was said to be the mobster Al Capone‘s drink of choice.  (Wiki of course, but the story on the pamphlet is the same.  Why retype it?)

I dug a little deeper.  During prohibition, so the story goes, this WHOLE TOWN (population 373 in 1920), whose farms had supplied grain to a now defunct liquor industry, decided to start distilling whiskey with the grain they grew, since they no longer had a market for it.  That whiskey turned out to be so fine that Al Capone labeled it “The Good Stuff”.  A town of less than 400 people, devastated by the ratification of the 18th Amendment, defied Federal Law to survive and caused the coining of the phrase “gimme the good stuff”.

What a great story of American determination to be free! Of pursuing what is becoming the “illusive” American Dream based on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by providing a quality product to a demanding public.

I’m not much of a drinker these days.  Alcohol has caused me a lot of personal relationship problems.  I have been a bad husband at times because of it.  It took me a while to look myself deep in my own eyes about that and I didn’t like the man staring back at me when I finally did.

So, I try to keep a bottle of this around for the occasional chance I get to share a shot of it and this story with a new friend, but those shots are few and far between.

I also keep a little bit of medical “chronic” around.  I use it a lot more often that the rye 😉.

Here’s a list of legally prescribed medications I used daily and have been able to drop because of smokeable medical:

HYDROCODONE 10/ACETAMINOPHEN 325MG TAB (Norcos)
METHOCARBAMOL 750MG TAB (Robaxin)
TRAMADOL HCL 50MG TAB (Ultram)
GABAPENTIN 800MG TAB (Neurontin)
SERTRALINE HCL 100MG TAB (Zoloft)
TRAZODONE HCL 50MG TAB (Oleptro)
ZOLPIDEM TARTRATE 10MG TAB (Ambien)

I’d go to the VA with symptoms, they’d do some tests, say “take 2 and call me in 3 months”.  Like the “good soldier” I was I said thanks, saluted smartly and took the poison they were pumping into me. (Gonna blog about the VA soon)

Amazingly, though marijuana has “No Known Medical Use”, all the symptoms that caused me to have to swallow all that crap went away over a period of time, so I just quit ordering them.  (Those Norcos sell for 5 – 8.  I was steady getting 90 a month for $9.00.  It was tempting, mighty tempting, but I’m not a felon.  I’m not a criminal at all.)

I think it’s a damn shame we didn’t learn anything from the 18th and 21st Amendments.  As a matter of fact we REGRESSED!  The 18th Amendment didn’t prohibit the possession or consumption of alcohol.  The War on Marijuana does, so it’s never been a War on Drugs, it’s always been a War on People.

Harry J. Asshat, sorry, Anslinger stated it boldly:

Nice guy, huh?

Look, I know it’s not a cure all.   I still have days I hurt, but the euphoric effect of the THC makes it easy to deal with what pain I do have. The kicking legs, the night terrors and the depression associated with two heart attacks, and a triple bypass are all gone.  I feel like getting out and being active again.  I’ve lost close to 90 pounds and my Type 2 diabetes is gone.  I know what it’s done for me.

I also know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be EVERYONE’S CHOICE.  It’s all about FREEDOM to be able to use this as the safe, natural medicine that it is without government interference.

Whole Plant Legalization and Me

I’m 65 in January.  An honorably retired veteran and LEO, I have never been arrested and my record of service to both my country and community are unassailable.

I’m a chronic user of chronic who used it to stop a 5 year run with legally prescribed opiates, among other meds. I don’t care that it’s illegal, it’s a misdemeanor.  

 

The VERY worst thing they can do to me for <oz is give me a year in county (and they’ll HAVE to do it because I ain’t pleading to SHIT). Crank the wheels down on that “jury of my peers”. Even if they DO convict, I’m a cop and they’ll have to put me in my own cell. They can’t deny me access to exercise so I will have the yard all to myself. By the end of week one I’ll be a favorite of the trustees (if I’m not a trustee) and I’ll have everything I could get on the outside.  Maybe they’ll let me cook!!

Tom Juray, food director at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, mixes the cheese for his veggie lasagna.

This is where I make my stand!!!

I am sick to death of watching our young people’s lives ruined over a plant. I am sick to death of the uneducated (that’s right) masses buying into the HYPE of reefer being bad for you. That’s what happened under the 18th Amendment with alcohol, ya know. People got sick of it. People said E-fuckin’-NUFF and that Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment.  Our “rulers” didn’t learn a damned thing.

This is Harry J. Asshat, I’m sorry, Anslinger.  Before the ink was dried good on the 21st amendment (ratified in 1933) this bigot was driving the marijuana criminalization train.

I was supposed to become a member of LEAP’s Speakers Bureau, but I’m cancelling that. I will maintain my membership with them and promote their agenda, always, HOWEVER:

From now on I am dedicated to Whole Plant Legalization!! and I say E-FUCKIN-NUFF. I’m gonna let my Senior NonCom personality out of its cage and HE is all about getting the MISSION accomplished. If my language offends you, tough shit. Get over it. You’re an adult and I earned the right to use it around you while I was bouncing around the world protecting your sorry ass.

I’m also gonna stop being even the least PC about this issue, so if political opinions other than your own bother you, don’t read ’em. I am not a member of any party. I don’t want “Partiers” in Office. I want Statesmen in Office. I look at a man’s or woman’s RECORD. Where do they stand and what have they done? So I don’t give a damned about your political affiliation. I’m calling bullshit wherever I see bullshit. Maybe we’ll all be able to step around it TOGETHER. If I criticize the President (Dem or otherwise) it is not Treason, it is my RIGHT as an American. Those who disagree need to look to the lesson of Nazi Germany. My Dad made sure I had a firm grasp on THAT lesson, since he damned near died freeing Europe from it.