but I really question my sanity.
I have been much happier being ignorant of the daily noise, and as far as I can tell, it has not made me a worse citizen or denizen of this frozen nook. If I poke my head out I will be awash in outrage, which I can no doubt turn to for comic fodder. But making fun of politicians is a bit like laughing at a pit of vipers, who really can do you harm, but seem very difficult to control.
And when I start in on the war on drugs, or big pharma, I lose all humour, as it cuts too close to the bone, and makes my life and those of many, many, chronic pain sufferers one of increased misery, expense and danger. To paraphrase an old Shoe cartoon, marijuana is bad for you because it can get your whole body thrown in jail.
So you can’t even write about it, really. But wait, there’s hope:
Canadian Senate recommends legalization
Comprehensive report calls for legal pot and erasure of criminal records.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2652.html
Oh, sorry, that was in 2002. And it took over two years to write the report. I wonder how much that cost? So I ask again? Can I stand to get my hopes up and then have them dashed, time and time again? On issue after issue, where common sense is defeated by back room deals and secret compacts that keep money flowing to politicians’ coffers?
After delving even briefly into this issue it becomes apparent that marijuana was banned in Canada after a meeting of the League of Nations in 1923, and that domestically it was a very offensive race based campaign.
As the opium laws had been used against the Chinese in the west, so the new drug laws could be used agains the black population in the east. The laws weren’t enforced however, until the late 1940’s, and really the police didn’t get activist against marijuana until the 1960’s, when the war on drugs really took on even more overt racial and social control impetus.
It makes my blood boil to think that a decision by a bunch of old men ages ago on foreign soil on undoubtedly peculiarly narrow economic and special interest grounds is impacting my life so negatively today. There can be no doubt that our current drug policies have nothing to do with patient care or individual rights and responsibilities, but everything to do with international policing and the insane militarization of our police forces.
From Health Canada’s own website, in the information for physicians section, and after multiple disclaimers, we find this interesting fact:
1.0 The Endocannabinoid System
The endocannabinoid system (Figure 1) is an ancient, evolutionarily conserved, and ubiquitous lipid signaling system found in all vertebrates, and which appears to have important regulatory functions throughout the human body. The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in a very broad number of physiological as well as pathophysiological processes including neural development, immune function, inflammation, appetite, metabolism and energy homeostasis, cardiovascular function, digestion, bone development and bone density, synaptic plasticity and learning, pain, reproduction, psychiatric disease, psychomotor behaviour, memory, wake/sleep cycles, and the regulation of stress and emotional state.
Figure 1
I include Figure 1 more for humour’s sake than anything. If your insides look like that, you have definitely been smoking too much of something, while eating pop rocks and batteries.
But you sure can guess that cannabinoids might be useful medically. And consider the incredible pain they need you to exhibit before they will let you get what is clearly an incredible effective drug:
- Any symptom treated within the context of compassionate end-of-life care,OR
- Symptoms related to specific medical conditions, namely:
- Severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis
- Severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms from a spinal cord injury
- Severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms from a spinal cord disease
- Severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss, and/or severe nausea fromcancer
- Severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss, and/or severe nausea fromHIV/AIDS infection
- Severe pain from severe forms of arthritis
- Seizures from epilepsy
Category 2 Symptoms
- A debilitating symptom that is associated with a medical condition or with the medical treatment of that condition, other than those described in Category 1.
It is simply a slam dunk to know that politics not common sense or compassion rules the day. I will stop before I get lost in how I can get narcotics from my doctor, but not weed, and that is simply because big pharma can’t make money off weed. For some reason we have left that money making business to the underworld, and nothing bad ever came from prohibition right? Just the mafia. And now the swat teams.
Oh dear, I didn’t stop. It is obvious that the government is currently working on cornering the commercial market, which actually might mean they are thinking of finally legalizing it. It would fit right in with their sin monopoly: gambling, liquour and narcotics. Why not add pot?
the Government of Canada introduced the new
Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations which came into force on June 7, 2013.
The regulations aim to treat marihuana as much as possible like any other narcotic used for medical purposes by creating conditions for a new, commercial industry that is responsible for its production and distribution. The regulations will provide access to quality-controlled marihuana for medical purposes, produced under secure and sanitary conditions, to those Canadians who need it, while strengthening the safety of Canadian communities. In addition, the new regulations will also enable more choices of marihuana strains and licensed, commercial suppliers.
So there is hope, now that the government is in play to be the middleman. I guess I should be happy.
Ya wanna do Jackson Browne? This is iconic for me.
Go in the way-back machine, 25 years, more or less. Add way too much alcohol. At what was then the Dane County Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin. He wouldn’t play it, and wouldn’t play it. He made us beg for it. But he finally came through, last number. Yeah. Pretty much all I remember is losing my voice from yelling out the name of that tune. Yup, way too much alcohol. Mrs. O was driving, so what the hell.
for Xty. we’re getting unburied in the Midlands.
this will kill the thread for sure.
since i done went and killt the thread anyway. by the way, its 25F now, highest it’s been all day.
a white guy, a black guy, a yellow guy, and a lawyer from California walk into a bar…
I know what you are talking about. Just when you start to wonder whether something was really as disgusting as you remember it, Yup, there it is. Turns out maybe it’s even gotten worse. If that even possible? Good Grief, what a mess.
And a Thank the Goddess it’s Frige’s Day to you all.
And after it ascended it became the ring around Saturn. You left out the best part. And before I even saw it I knew (and you know I knew) that would be your song.
And there’s some joke about a Rabbi performing circumcisions who says the pay is not much, but the tips are good (fried in lard). And so forth.
Ska, my sistah and brothas- blame the bird.
That was a catchy morning treat … in the biblical sense … is now running through my head. Very much must have been an influence on Kid Creole and the Coconuts, that weird band I post sometimes, unless I have my dates all mixed up, with their equally delightful lyrics. I have posted this before, but it seems a good follow up tune:
Might as well keep it going:
nice zoot suit- I’m styling today in my bib overalls.
thanks for the Anne Hathaway EO. i didn’t know she could sing too. i have a crush on her for sure.
the “word of the day” topic makes me uncomfortable, as in squirmy. i’m sure glad i don’t remember all the way back to my birth.
last night i tried to pick some bands that were popular around the time you were in London Xty. i was introduced to Ska about ten years later. it never made it into the mainstream in the USA.
below one of my favorites, and most people have even heard this one.
i might open a window here today. unreal. 35F. my cats are all wound up too and they don’t even get to go outside. bring spring man.
I do not want to discuss the squirmy topic either – it was just so silly, especially the ring around Saturn, that I was too polite to mention. I have very fixed opinions on the subject of altering one’s natural state, and you can probably guess them. And there was this baby shaped tray in the NICU, with straps … that cemented any doubts.
I am stunned that anyone ever worried about Jesus’ foreskin – what a stupid thing to worry about, let alone argue about. Gross. Of course, we can all blame EO, not me, for accidentally introducing this cutting edge topic.
Plenty of “blame” to go around on this most interesting of blogs. Never know which way it will turn.
EDIT: speaking of which, nice to see Chris Christie’s tit in a wringer for once. 😀
So it seems we’ve left ska for a while and back to religion? Or do we move on to politics? I think I’ll hit the big R theme one more time with this inclusion from way back. After years of looking it’s finally on youtube. Good thing ’cause I’ve worn out side one of my copy. Religion does play a big role in Americana. Is Canadiana a word too?
Oh yeah, we have Canadiana. Paddles and carved wooden loons. A monopoly on maple trees and maple syrup, Vermont etc., be damned.
And the good old beaver. What could possibly be funny about having a beaver for your national animal?
From, and I kid you not, the:
Canadian Citizenship Guide
Quick Guide to Canada and Canadian Citizenship. What every Canadian citizen must know.
The beaver was adopted centuries ago as a symbol of the Hudson’s Bay Company. It became an emblem of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, a French-Canadian patriotic association, in 1834, as well as other groups. This industrious rodent can be seen on the five-cent coin, on the coats of arms of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and of cities such as Montreal and Toronto.
And here is the image they include [I want to hide my head in shame]:
i’ll segue us back on topic by playing a song about Jesus performed by a band named for a marijuana cigarette.
by the way, i’m sad about Chris Christie. he was my favorite RINO! 😀 😀 😀
it costs 60 dollars for a tractor trailer to cross the GW bridge. had i been stuck after paying that toll, i’d be pissed off! wonder if any of those drivers that tried to snarl DC have any fight left in them, or even a driving job anymore! the irony. 😆
Here’s my favourite Jesus song. If only it were so simple:
I’ll pile on. What the hell.
Note: If you are not a fan of the One Big Union, that’s ok, just ignore the last verse. The rest is solid gold. Take what you like, and leave the rest, as with everything (especially with religion and politics).
I lose my laptop to my mum for entertainment in the afternoon/early evening – because I am an idiot, it suddenly occurs to me. My broken mac would connect to the interwebz to find us such interesting documentaries as:
Baroque – Episode 1
Actually, that one was very interesting, and disgusting too, as you can feel the rails coming off society and the ugly underbelly rearing its head in art and architecture.
You “loose” it? C’mon xty, I come here to escape stuff like that!
EDIT: oh, sure, fix it now. I know the truth, bwa ha ha
One Big Union and Ani DiFranco, and I thought you were adding gay marriage to the debate table!
Dang but you are fast and unforgiving.
Boy, I just really clued in to the fact that my profile picture is a picture of my running shoes. (Which clearly placed me as close to Toronto as it could in the language thingy.)
I need to find a new me!
Sorry. Lose and Loose is a bit of raw nerve for me. Just thought I’d yank your chain a bit. All in good fun.
Stephen Colbert on Chris Christie’s Apology
Why this one? Utah Phillips, featured here recently, wrote it and the singer obviously needs religion. If you’ve never heard it and don’t know where the title comes from, you may be surprised.
man, i’m having a hard time keeping up today! anyway, your video on the Baroque period will not play. i will now segue from Baroque back to Jesus… and won’t need to post another video for 3 hours!
rock salt and nails – ouch. i loaded a shell with dimes once. the sound of the coins spinning through the air was bizarre. hey, i did a lot of dumb things when in my teens. glad i remembered to remove the choke.
i just received this link in an e-mail. this is an issue i really care about – government spying, especially over the internet. the internet can be a powerful tool for the advancement of mankind, or not. so please peruse…
https://thedaywefightback.org/?r=dp
Reposting this in case some missed it (ha) but Jesus Christ ( he) I LIKE IT (ska) (ho) (ho) HOOT MON
ya mon.
Jesus may have been black, just like Santa Claus…