One of the most common misconceptions about medicinal cannabis is that everyone is just smoking and calling it medicine. Though we do have medical trials that prove even smoked cannabis has medicinal values.  There are people out there who truly need medicinal Cannabis. But because of other health problems are not able to smoke.  So today we are going to cover some of the many ways you can ingest and utilize Cannabis without smoking.

( Great Educational video on the endocannabinoid system )

( Edible‘s ) - Cannabis infused confections 

Infusing Cannabis into your food is one of the safest ways to ingest medicinal cannabis. Though a warning must be issued !  If this is your first experience with Edibles lets take it one step at a time. First time edible users have never used their CB 1 receptors in their digestive system before in regards to cannabis. So it can be a little scary for first time edible users. Just remember,  NOBODY HAS EVER DIED FROM CANNABIS, EVER ! You will be OK after your slumber, I promise !

Most first time edible users tend to eat the entire edible in one sitting. I always recommend to patients who are interested in trying edibles to just take a few bites and wait about 30 minutes to an hour. Then you can judge for yourself what your tolerance level is at and can adjust accordingly. In a self-regulated Industry like the Medicinal cannabis industry. It is hard to find exact dosages of  THC, CBD, CBN on a lot of  products out there today. Though I would have to say there has been a large push in the last 3 years for better, Testing, Labeling and dosages.

( Tinctures ) – Cannabis infused Glycerin‘s and Alcohols 

( information below provided by http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/ ) <—-  Click the link for recipes

Tinctures are not new. Until cannabis was banned in 1937, tinctures were the primary type of cannabis medicines. Tinctures are essentially alcohol extractions of whole cannabis (usually the flowers and trim leaves). Tinctures are easy to make and very inexpensive. Tinctures contain all 80 of the essential cannabinoids instead of only one with Marinol. Some of the cannabinoids such as cannibidiol (CBD) actually reduce the psychoactive effects of THC while increasing the overall efficacy of the preparation.

The best way to use tinctures is sublingually (under the tongue). Titration or dose control is easily achieved by the number of drops a patient places under the tongue where the medicine is rapidly absorbed into the arterial system and is quickly transported to the brain and body. All a patient need do with tincture is use a few drops, wait for the desired medical effects, and either use more or stop as the situation indicates. Tinctures can be flavored for better taste. They are best stored in dark bottles in the refrigerator. Since tinctures average some 75% ethanol there is little worry of bacterial or other biological contamination. Those who wish to avoid alcohol can instead use their tincture as a base for making a concentrated elixir (recipe).”  (from Smokeless Medicine)

( Vaporizing ) – Vaporize the Compounds without burning the plant matter. 

( information below provided by http://www.theweedblog.com/ )

( Special thanks to Johnny Green )

Vaporizing is a common technique for consuming marijuana, while at the same time negating many irritating respiratory toxins that exists within the grown marijuana flower and are released when smoked. Conversely, vaporizing allows one to get at all of the psychoactive ingredients available within that specific strain of marijuana , minus the combustion that ordinarily takes place during consumption.

The basic design of the average marijuana vaporizer is to allow marijuana smokers to inhale the many active Cannabinoids, while at the same time avoiding any of the harmful elements that may exist on that specific flower… although invisible to the naked eye.

While most don’t know it … There is a vast difference in the quality of smoke that one receives when they vaporize versus igniting their plant matter. When one smokes a joint, or hits their bong approximately 88% of the combusted smoke gases contain non-cannabinoid elements, most of which do not get you high and provide potential health risks.

Conversely when one uses a marijuana vaporizer the smoke/gases that they are inhaling consists of approximately 95% cannabinoids, otherwise known as the psychoactive ingredients that both calm the mind and soothe the body.

Those are three different methods that are all safer ways of ingesting your medicinal cannabis instead of the usual smoking.  I hope that this post helps all of those in need, and a special thanks to http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/ and http://www.theweedblog.com/ for the amazing info which I was able to share.

Since 2009,  fresgrounified.com  has been informing 215 patients with education, advocacy and empowerment to help share knowledge about cannabis and its many healthful benefits. We also strongly suggest you learn more about hemp, as the cannabis plant has many beneficial uses outside the realm of medicine. Our friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff also can assist you with any cannabis questions you may have.

So give us a call today

Fresgro Unified Patients Alliance  is a California licensed, Non-profit Mutual Benefit Corporation formed in accordance with Prop. 215 and operating within the California Attorney General’s guidelines. In order to receive deliveries you must register as a member of our collective, which involves signing an agreement stating your intention to relate with Fresgro Unified Patients Alliance as such. This in no way limits your ability to cultivate your own medicine, infringes upon your legal limits, or prevents you from joining another collective. The agreement simply states your intention to be an active member of the collective.

For our final three reasons, we take our view away from the broad picture and focus on the individual. Here we will look at the trees from the forest and discover a couple of logical reasons why every adult should have his option of choice. We look at the civil rights of not only the persons but also at the life of a plant. Can you guess which one?

Pot Three Reasons Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

#3 Cannabis Is Our Beer

“I like to smoke my beer” – Overheard at a party

I’ve heard the above quote a couple times and the reasoning is sound. Some of us don’t care for alcohol. Sure, they may drink from time to time but they prefer green nuggets to amber hops. These are people who would rather opt for a recreational release that leaves no hang over or damage to their liver. And it should be their civil right to do so.

For the ardent prohibitionist among us, who think that Cannabis is a drug and Alcohol is alright if not consumed whilst driving, I have one question. How many Families do you know that have been torn apart by marijuana? Personally I don’t know one.

However Alcohol abuse has ruined many families. AA meetings are filled with down and out stories from the bottom of a bottle. It’s no wonder that you don’t hear of Marijuana Anonymous very often.

#2 Cannabis is Preemptive Medication

There are numerous studies printed in numerous periodicals that speak of the medical benefits of marijuana. Don’t take my word for it, go out and read a couple for yourself. You will learn that not only is cannabis a helpful medication for treating a number of aliments, from inflammation to MS, promising preliminary studies show that marijuana may prevent and even cure many types of cancer.

I know at the beginning, I started out by saying that we are not here to talk about Marijuana as a medicine. And we aren’t. However, we are talking about preventative medication. In a Medical Marijuana environment, a sick patient is allowed to use cannabis as medication. Yet, a non-sick person is only allowed the medication available at the local pharmacy.

Therefore in a Medical Marijuana environment, a person needs to get sick before he can use the medication that might have prevented the sickness. Legalization would ensure that all adults would have access to both over the counter medication and medical marijuana, cannabis, or dabs.

Having said that, my mission is not to force you to a believe that Cannabis is some kind of super medicine, you can believe whatever you want. My mission is to be the owner of my own destiny. I smoke tobacco and my belief is that a cannabis regiment counteracts some of the negative effects of smoking tobacco. I feel there is enough proof out there that supports my theory. If you think that is pure poppy cock, that is O.K.

My point is we live in America, land of the free. We are free to believe all kinds of crazy ideas. If one persons belief has no negative impact on others, then they should be able to practice their belief.

And now for the #1 reason why Marijuana legalization is logical…

#1 Cannabis is a Plant!

Aren’t we killing enough plants through deforestation of the planet? Through the loss of our rain forests, fraking, and mountain top excavation, how many species of plants have we lost? Yet here we go again and place another of “God’s” creations upon the alter of extinction. To paraphrase the big man with a tan, “Our reasoning is illogical!”- Spock, Star Trek.

Hemp, marijuana, cannabis, it’s all boring old plant life. Yet in this fast paced “advanced” time, cannabis continues to foster a rather impressive sub-culture of arm-chair botanists. Americans, your neighbors, peace loving, hell even red, white, and blue loving Americans care about a plant. This public, who we always assume is wired up, spoon fed mass media and zombied out on gadgets galore, shows interest in botany and we want to stop this?

Though amateurs aren’t the only ones effected by legalization of marijuana. Hemp can grow in all 50 states and, according to Jack Herer’s “The Emperor Wears No Cloths“, hemp reinvigorates top soil. So for plants like tobacco that can only be grown so many times in one area, hemp can be used in rotating crops to keep our top soil producing all sorts of plant life.

And We didn’t even mention that hemp can be used to make rope, clothing and, hell even, bio diesel. The current problem with Ethanol is that it takes too much corn to produce enough quantity. If only we had a plant that can grow anywhere in a quick amount of time… Well we might know of a plant out there that may solve this problem.

Now go make sure your friends know about that sweet girl, Mary Jane.

Cannabis Wrap Up!

In these times near the “end of oil” and maybe even sustainable drinking water, we must remember that we require all the plant life we can get.

There are my Pot 5 Reasons: Cannabis should be legal, what are yours?
Leave a comment and let us know.

Join us next time: Pot 5 Reasons: TBA

While I hate to say that one right is more important than another. Rights are like our children or creations, we must love them equally or at least see them as equally important. Yes, the patient’s right for their doctor agreed upon medicine is more important than the wants of the recreational user. Yet, their want for open civil rights is still important and should not be overlooked.

Not to mention that the medical debate leaves the casual user stone cold sober, while the quest for legalization is all-inclusive.

To further the push for legalization, I give you five reasons why marijuana should be legal. They are not the only reasons for a legal cannabis country but a selection that I have deemed most shocking and/or logical to unlock the doors to a world of cannabliss.

Pot Five Reasons Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

#5 – End The Underworld’s Cannabis Profits

Currently, every week a news outlet somewhere runs a story about how the Cannabis trade is the largest profit maker for the Cartels. If we are to take these numerous reports to be true than One is left to assume that legalization is the only way to wrestle our marijuana money from the black market.

In the halls of history, we can find one example of how the largest profit maker for a black market was changed into an above-the-board non-profit organization that benefits society. I mean, of course, the lottery.

Long ago in the days when televisions had dials, one of the largest money makers for outlaws was to run illegal lotteries, or “running numbers” as was the term of the time. A Numbers racket worked like this:

How Numbers Ran:
1. A customer would walk into a bar / candy store / retail outlet.
2. They bought their numbers at the counter.
3. A mobbed-up “underworld type” would go around to the various outlets and collect the numbers.
4. On a prescribed day, a number would be picked and the customer with that number got cash.

This system worked for a long time. However since the 80′s, running numbers is no longer a profitable venture for the underworld. The lottery changed the game. You can no longer profit from running numbers as anyone, who is anyone, can now go into any convenience store and buy a lotto ticket. Yet, not only a lotto ticket but a legal, state verified lotto ticket.

How Lotto Runs:
1. A customer walks into a convenience store.
2. Customer buys lotto ticket at the counter.
3. Lotto Numbers are collected by state run machines.
4. Lotto numbers are picked and winning numbers collect cash!

As you can see from the example above, America did not stamp out the citizens ability to gamble. Instead we made the lotto legal. We took the profits out of the black market and put them to good use in our school and public health systems. Thus to END the machine of terror that collects our cannabis proceeds, we need to take the profits out of the black market and put them to good use in the general and legal economy.

#4 Cannabis Industry Means More Jobs

When we put the Black Market‘s cannabis proceeds into the general economy, then we also add all the jobs that once where part of the Black Market. Just look around the medical marijuana industry and see at all the different jobs that are created.

Sure, there are the growers and the dealers. On the farm, there are helpers, trimmers, and baggers, oh my. On the streets, there are wholesalers, drivers, and street-level traders. These are positions that directly trade over from the black market.

However, the industry in the medical marijuana industry create even more jobs. Here in California, there are bud tenders, security guards, and administration at all the dispensaries. There are labs, filled with scientist, that test the potency of cannabis. There are kitchens filled with cooks who make medicated snacks. Factories who make containers. And the list goes on.

Where the underground market sees marijuana as a commodity, with maybe three different levels; schwag, Beasters, and Nugs, with one basic effect. The medical marijuana industry sees an ever-growing list of strains and byproducts where each one comes with at least one taxable employment slot.

I was at the San Francisco Medical Cannabis Cup and I marveled at the number of booths and the range of products displayed. As from above, each booth and product is another job that was added to the economy directly from the impact of Proposition 215.

Cannabis Numbers #3, 2, and 1 to Come…

Our first two reasons to end cannabis prohibition are down. We need to end the black market’s cannabis profits. If we end the illegal profits by legalization, then we will create an industry from the ashes of our misguided past.

While these two reasons maybe enough of a justification for Legalization, we still have three more reasons to go.

Join us next time for Pot 5 Reasons: Marijuana Should Be Legal Part 2

By: Red Eyed Kracker