Do you Rock the Ganja?

[CitrusHigh]

Just curious how many people here are down with the reefer. Also if you're in to other substances please feel free to list, describe and/or elaborate.

I fall under the reefer category with plenty of exploration with synthetic and naturally occurring substances. Though since 2 years ago I've been philosophically against most synthetics (ie pharmaceuticals) but I would make exception for LSD.

I think these plants are here for important reasons and that it's not just a freak accident that they seem to show us different ways of looking at the world or even reality. Think about the way we see the world in labels, this defines the way we see 'reality', and plants can have a profound impact on this.

[TylerDurden]

I prefer using meat to get a "high", namely  "high-meat". Plants just don´t do it for me.

[Techydude]

Don't you have to smoke it ie burning it ie cooking it ie carcinogens mixed in with the natural plant chemicals? Doesn't seem raw to me - unless you eat weed. But doesn't that kill you?

[sabertooth]

I have used Ganja off and on for the last couple of years. I abstained from it completely after my teen years until I got so ill I felt I needed something to help me. It did seem to help with my appetite( at the time I couldn't eat anything without getting ill.

I will agree its not without its drawlbacks, if you use it to much and too often you become burned out and it loses its magic. I haven't been using it much lately, I will keep a one hitter and toke it every once in a while. I will use only homeopathic amounts, I am talking milligrams. Less than a gram a week. So even if I inhale a few puffs of charred plant matter, it still doesn't add up to much because I use so little. Considering that I have seen elderly Rastafarian's and Willy Nelson toke whole joints daily for most of their adult life, along with the fact that cheech and chong are still alive and kicking proves to me it can be reasonably safe even in large amounts.

I dont advocate that perfectly healthy people go out and use it, but I had already become accustom to it way before I went paleo and still find it comforting. I will recommend that people who are suffering and are considering taking other drugs may want to try pot before they start popping pharmacuitles.


I am also aware of the history of the herb and have discovered that it has the power to liberate the minds of the enslaved. It was used by both slaves and masters in colonel America. Thomas Jefferson and George washington would trade seeds. I believe the American revolution could have been started by pot heads, and perhaps the Independence movement was started by pot smokes who used the herb as a means to cultivate the freedom of thought that gave the colonials the courage to take on the empire. Only pot heads would be so bold as to declare Independence. The author of the declaration (Thomas Jefferson wrote in his auto biography)
"Some of my finest hours have been spent sitting on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see." - Thomas Jefferson

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country."
- Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President quote on Hemp
"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere."
- George Washington, U.S. President quote on Hemp

They called it Indian hemp but it was marijuana, and many of them smoked it out of pipes so you would never know what they were smoking, they were cool about it as well and usually went out on the back porch to toke up.

The founding fathers were by no means the first of the white rastas, It goes way back to before the beginning of written history
http://www.therightperspective.org/2008/11/29/2700-year-old-blond-haired-blue-eyed-mummy-found-in-china/
http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2006/12/lab-work-to-identify-2800-year-old.html
Hippies lived thousands of years ago and they lived as nomads who traveled into the far east.

[Neone]

Ive used pot pretty much every day for nearly 10 years and if i thought it was having negative effects on me i would stop. (I dont smoke all day, just at night when everythings done usually.... isnt everybody drunk at night? haha)
Then again ive used a vaporizer for most of that time, so maybe i can say i use it 'raw'... like that matters... If you're worried about smoke not being raw then you should probably avoid it, you're paranoid enough... haha.

[sabertooth]

Raw smoke, that's a good compromise.

I have already been scolded by my wife who found my one hitter the other week. I might as well invest in a good vaporizer. I hate to disappoint her, but she just doesn't understand how its a part of who I am, perhaps I can put it in a vaporizer and convince her its part of my herbal therapy. I think her main hang up is the fact that I smoke it.

Everyone I know has some bad habit. My wife drinks coffee and eats sweets, many in my family smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. Even my 86 year old grandmother is addicted to artificial sweeteners. I am a total non drinker and wont even use caffeine, cigarettes, or any pharmaceutical medications. High meat and a toke of pot are my only chemical vices, which is a damn miracle in itself, considering all the junkies and alcoholics I have lived around my whole life.

[Caveman]

The last time I've tried it, about 4 years ago, I ended up having a horrible experience. I had some lasting bad effects for years after up until recently. Whenever I would eat something higher in fat, be around too many people or other circumstances, I would freak out like I was dying. I think it had a lot to do with my body's state of health at the time, but I've found that any kind of substance that alters my mind to such an extent (even weaker substances) are not for me and I can't handle them. I do believe in the medical uses for it along with all other kinds of plants, as long as you benefit from it, though. Also, I don't believe we should be smoking anything and infusing substances in good foods should be the way to go, but I don't know if it's possible while still keeping the food raw. I would make exceptions if the pure oil was extracted, I know hemp oil is wonderful.

[RawZi]

    Could you let it ferment raw?  Would it get you high that way?

    I don't smoke or bake.

[laterade]

The leaves contain silica, according to david wolfe. It would definitely be an interesting ferment.

[kurite]

    Could you let it ferment raw?  Would it get you high that way?

    I don't smoke or bake.

I heard that if you stick it in enough fat you can actually eat it raw but you will definately to eat more then if you cooked it. Also I don't buy any but when my friends do it then Ill take a few hits. I probably do it on average once a week to once every two weeks with my friends.

[CitrusHigh]

Good responses peoples!

Unfortunately that quote by Jefferson regarding his veranda toking is probably fictional. Though george washington certainly had plenty to say about the reefer.

Yes, smoking was grandfathered in from my SAD days also, but truthfully speaking IMHO, smoking is pretty detrimental to health because of the toxins absorbed and the extreme heat on the lungs. In this respect, vaporizers without cooled vapor would be dangerous too, though the toxic load would be substantially lighter. In my opinion the most healthful way would be a raw infusion to a fat of some sort, this however increases the amount of raw plant material needed and the length of time for the product to be ready. Next to that would be actually eating the straight plant material fresh and raw, which supposedly is active if you eat enough. But probably the simplest compromise between health and convenience is making canna butter, which is very potent, easily ingested, and comparatively healthy. It is probably something to be done infrequently, tolerance, at least for me builds fast. Oh that reminds me if you are in to alcohol, then some everclear will facilitate an efficient extraction which can be drunk as is or evaporated to make a concentrate. Got to get ready for work but will put more later.

[Sitting Coyote]

How about just kicking your addiction, so you don't have to worry about it?

[CitrusHigh]

Addiction is the symptom of some underlying psycological issue, and can manifest itself in many different ways, so it's quite ignorant to think that you can quit a particular habit and be all better. Addressing the underlying issue is the proper way to handle addictive behavior. Aside from that, calling all use of cannabis or any pscyhoactive, and addiction is a vast generalization and born of the brainwashing that is performed on society our entire lives. Frankly I'm surprised to find such ignorance on a board where the main topic is diametrically opposed to mainstream thought, fascinating!

[sabertooth]

I have been attempting to explain to my wife how my pot use is more to me than just a drug habit.

I was suffering with issues before I ever had my first toke of pot, I was diagnosed with insomnia and seasonal depression when I was still a child, I was diagnosed with a serotonin imbalance and perscribed drugs at the age of 13. I never took the meds because they made me feel so sick, but I did learn that I could self medicate using Marajuana. I have manged to become adapted to its effects quite well, and I have been able to maintain my sanity through some insane life experience.(I have experienced hell)much more than I will ever try to explain to others.

It seems to calm my overactive mind and gives me a strength to put up with and tolerate the drudgery's of everyday life as a working class father. It was always a favorite pastime among the poor and slave classes. Even if I cant prove that Thomas Jefferson smoked it, I know that many of people in his time did and lived well and did not suffer from addiction.

 I will say there is a catch to habitual pot use and being able to maintain a healthy moderation can be like walking the razors edge. Once you have become comfortable with the effects of marijuana its hard to let go. It may be different for different people, but I use it as a spiritual as well as physiological tonic. I seem to get so worked up and anxious and burdened with stress that it seems pot is the best thing that can keep me level headed under pressure. Although now I have high meat so I don't use as much pot. All I need is a couple of tokes and then I can work steady and stay focused for about three hours(before it wears off) , no matter how stressfull the situation.

I do not like the stigma of being called an marijuana addict, because I believe pot can be herbal medicine if used wisely, and I use it as such. If you would call a pot smoker an addict then you must also call whoever uses any other herb as a drug user. Coffee, tea,chamomile,saint johns wort, Valerian root,nightshade,nutmeg and on and on.

I have an other belief that marijuana is so mild and non damaging to the body and the benefits for those who enjoy it are so great that if you force someone to give it up out of some moralistic notion that its inherently bad then you may be causing who you are attempting to save more harm than good.

My Uncle is a master chef, a real intelligent man who has used pot for twenty years and has lived well with it, he had to give it up because of his job(random testing). He has no physical withdrawls, but he had always used it to wind down after work and now he cant sleep at night and has started to take ambian. He also gets sick more often and just isn't as happy as he was when he could smoke a little pot. But at least he has kicked that terrible addition that seemed to make him so happy for most of his adult life. I have an other uncle who quit and he just seems to drink more and other than that he is no better off.

So when it comes to my own habits I am kind of content to do what I am doing and smoke  enough to lift my spirits from time to time as well as leaving it alone for a few days so as to keep tolerance low. I may be just deluded or attempting to justify my habits, but I feel I am a better person overall with it than without. I am more loving toward the world and have more Patience with my children, more playfull and free spirited. I have an overall more positive outlook when under the influence of cannabis. No one will ever be able to tell me I am somehow making it up all these benefits I get from it. Trust me I have been dealing with these issues regarding cannabis use for a long time and have not yet found any better way to personal happiness.

 I am still conflicted  about what is the right thing to do, my wife thinks I can just put it away and grow out of it, as if its some kind of crutch to be cast off, I try to explain that its a way of life that I shouldn't be made ashamed of.

[sabertooth]

When God made this place
In the beginning, did he plant any seeds
Or did he put them there for Adam and Eve
So they'd be hungry for the apple that the snake was always offering

Weird Al "what if God smoked cannabis"

[CitrusHigh]

I hear that Sabertooth. It's so crazy how backwards the world is. Society is cool with loading yourself full of drugs and food related toxins from the SAD way of life, but whatever you do, don't use a plant that needs no human interference in production, no rendering, no refining, no assembling, it's just there in nature.

I agree, it is wonderful to treat this plant spiritually, it will teach you if you let it, and likewise it can turn you in to a couch potato if you're so inclined, but in the end it was your own actions that determined your experience, not the plant's.

[kurite]

I hear that Sabertooth. It's so crazy how backwards the world is. Society is cool with loading yourself full of drugs and food related toxins from the SAD way of life, but whatever you do, don't use a plant that needs no human interference in production, no rendering, no refining, no assembling, it's just there in nature.

I agree, it is wonderful to treat this plant spiritually, it will teach you if you let it, and likewise it can turn you in to a couch potato if you're so inclined, but in the end it was your own actions that determined your experience, not the plant's.

IMO whats backwards is that alcohol is legal and regularly killing people through over use and driving under the influence. Yet marijuana, is illegal even though it has less of a negative effect on your judgement and has never killed from overdose or driving under the influence.

[sabertooth]

 There is nothing backward about the war to suppress marijuana , there are reasons much more sinister than those that were given at the time of its prohibition. The whole marijuana is relatively safer than alcohol argument doesn't seem to gain much traction in the minds of those who fight against legalization. This is a spiritually battle through and through. Marijuana has the power to change the whole outlook of ones spirit if used in positive ways and in the company positive people. It can make one feel at Peace and so dissolving the hold that the men of money, power and influence have over those under ITS effects. It can make one feel content even if the conventions of society are telling you otherwise. Its clear that it is a force to be reckoned with. I may be far out with such claims about how the founding fathers were closet pot heads, and the spirit of liberty may have been something dreamed up by the sons of liberty after many of nights of toking. Wither or not pot out right encourages radically non material thinking and rebellious behavior is a good point for discussion. Something so inexpensive that no Barron could monopolize didn't have a place in commerce. Something with the utility to be used as a medical remedy that is far safer and effective than the parasitical drugs being pushed; also had something to do with the medical establishments persecution of it.

The forces of Greed  seemed to have conspired against the use of a weed and the bastards have done a somewhat half baked job of keeping it suppressed and demonized to a point where it will  cause the least amount of disturbances on their grip on things.

(I see the whole "for or against" issue from a level of a conflict of differing spirits that stand on a great divide, where there is no absolute wright or wrong stance)

Someone must see must see that an herb with such properties that it could encourage people  to give up their cares of money and social standing for a simpler life of recreation and merrymaking, is something that the Empire must suppress. The sideeffects of "low motivation" from with the use of cannabis may not be something the local slave master wants to see in his slaves .

Its obvious that there was a mass propaganda campain that outright lied about the effects of the herb, they made all types of outrageous claims that it made you crazy with reefer madness, when the reality of the situation was the quite contrary. Many pot users will engage themselves in either harmless or even beneficial activity. Activities that have become cliche in the Hippie movement  (such as Hacky sack, hemp weaving, drum circles, music festivals, far out groovy speech,tree hugging,hair growing, etc)

My main thesis is that marijuana is not illegal because it posses some excessive personal danger, it is illegal because the spirit it nurtures within the user becomes libertized and thus less likely to tolerate the chains of tyranny or the trappings of materialism, and therefor must be discouraged and sanctioned by those who's interst are in controlling, managing and fleasing the population.

These types of mellowed out good vibration states of mind cant be allowed by those in power who wish to keep the human live stock at peak production. The square and sheltered type of people who have made criminals of those who use of marijuana are obtuse and unjust in the the way they perceive pot users. Many anti pot advocates wont even bother to distinguish between those who use it and those who missuses it, they just know its the devil and it scares the Bejesus out of them. So they think they can make laws to do away with it.

[Laddox]

I used to smash it like a fiend!!  many times daily!!, from when i was 15 till i was about 29....it lead to other drugs like acid, speed (lots of speed) and extacy, but also DMT, mushrooms, and ice, coke ....now i don't touch anything, except for the occasional wine or beverage.....

I found it (weed) on my own while i was bush walking as a youngster. I saw some guy in a suit, with a suitcase , tending these weird plants in the bush....when he left, i looked more closely at the plants, and kind of knew what it was from stories at high school. So i picked, dried it and smoked it. I will never forget that first stone when i was 15.

I smoked it , ate it, drank it (tea) grew it...there is a massive pot culture in Australia..... it was very hard to get away from in my later years of  my use of it.

I think it is a very miss used and misunderstood plant...i definitely did not give it the respect it deserved, and as a result, developed other serious drug habits later in life....

I seriously think it damaged my mind in the early teen years, and as a result i am seeking some nurofeedback therapy for a possible attention disorder.....

Not sure on the science on its overuse, but i know i definitely overdid it......

Some people seem to function fine on it, others , not so....

But i also see habitual users that use it daily, running themselves into the ground to afford their half ounce a week habit, on top of their other habits....its silly to create a reality that is so expensive to keep! ha ha....  Unless you grow it of course....

Ganja? yeah i knew that guy.....haven't seen him for a while.....