I am a child of the ’60s and I know a lot about marijuana. I even remember the days of the so-called “matchbox dime,” when in the days of yore a matchbox full of weed cost 10 bucks.

FAR BETTER TODAY

The downside of that was, while the weed was cheap, it was no good. It was all stalks and seeds and wouldn’t get a fly off, as the expression goes. Time and science of course march on and marijuana today is far better and is legal. 

Now I can tell you I didn’t think the country was really ready for legalization. It was too fast coming and needed more time and more thought. It was rushed along. So today I have free advice for government on what it has to do, on a go-forward basis as the politicians say, to get back on track on the road to success. Basically, there are three issues on the table. They are; strength, supply and price. 

RELATED: CANNABIS
Pam Pardy-Ghent: Pot Marks the Spot
Medical Cannabis: Fact vs. Myth
CannaConnect With Veteran Kevin Dunne

The weed has to be good to compete in the market and let me assure you there is still an underground market. So I’m told anyway. It only exists because there is a demand and that is a demand that is fed largely from mail-order business. 

Apart from people with glaucoma or other medical issues who want weak weed, it is still a business of getting your consciousness altered. 

It’s like the sale of “near beer” like O’Dool’s. Some people will buy it but it won’t drive Mr. Molson or Mr. Labatt out of business. Most people buy weed for a buzz. 

If government weed isn’t as good as the black market stuff government is going to lose customers. That is despite the fact it does offer control over exactly what you are getting at the counter. 

SUPPLY PROBLEM

The supply problem is another issue. In business when your store is open you have to have the product the customer wants because if you don’t he or she will take their business elsewhere. 

That is so simple and is true from someone running a candy store to your local weed emporium. You have to have product on the shelf! 

The whole thing got off to a rocky start because of poor supply lines. It reminded me of the old British music hall song; The Pub with No Beer. People kept showing up at the weed stores only to find the stores didn’t have much to sell them. 

Finally there is the price issue and this is an important one. The product is packaged to death and that costs money. It’s done up like a prescription with packaging inside of packaging all wrapped up nice and tight. That is fine and that is not to say it is too expensive. It is just to say it better not be. 

If government, through its agents, takes care of all of this they will be fine and they can enjoy the revenue. 

NTV’s Jim Furlong can be reached by emailing: jfurlong@ntv.ca

While the experience of raising a girl vs. a boy is, in itself, a whole other kettle of fish, the world I’m raising my daughter in is also so very different from the one my son experienced. 

BPL VERSUS APL

When Brody was small, technology was nowhere near what it is today. Phones, even the ones you took with you out-and-about, were simply for making calls. It’s much easier to monitor a kid and their online activity when you’re dealing with a family computer or a shared laptop, but when the world comes to a personal hand-held device wherever you happen to be – including the bathroom – then that presents way more challenges. 

RELATED: CANNABIS
Jim Furlong: Smoke Clearing
Medical Cannabis: Fact vs. Myth
CannaConnect With Veteran Kevin Dunne

The stigma tweaking of marijuana use with the adjustments to the law also marks an interesting spot in any parenting timeline. There’s now a ‘BPL’ (before pot legalization) mothering skill set and a ‘APL’ (after pot legalization) one. Gone are the days when the drug line in the sand was cut and dry. Drugs were bad because they were against the law. Period. As a non-using mother, I hoped that setting a good example was a good starting point. Combine that ‘goodie-two-shoes-sainted-mother’ routine with real-life as-they-happened discussions about a kid in school who went without school supplies on day one because her parents ended up in jail just in time for back to school shopping or chats about someone’s dad who was sent home from out west because of drug use and you have a pretty well-rounded basis that screams ‘drugs are bad, kid, so make better choices,’ from the rooftops. 

SAILING WEED SCENTS

But that’s not the case now. These days a neighbour – a lovely mother of two off on disability – is growing her own supply, and frequently puts her ‘babies’ out on the deck for some afternoon sun. It’s obviously not a fern. Weed scents sail across our sensitive noses on afternoon dog walks in the park or as the kids play outside on a warm-enough winter’s evening. Gone are the exaggerated mom-looks of disgust meant to show the wee ones that what they’re inhaling is the stink of bad life choices. 

So, now what? As a mother, I still want to raise a drug-free child. You can’t fault me for that, can you? But I’m also afraid of speaking out of two sides of my mouth and not being heard at all, because I’d also like to raise one who never raises a glass of booze to her lips. 

What’s the chances of that when I’m gulping down goblets of red with glee on a scatter evening or on any given weekend? Mommy might not puff, but there’s been many a night mommy-dearest was ‘under the red-wine weather’. 

One evening at the camper this past summer I apparently made us both go to bed with our clothes on – hoodies included – when the task of a regular bedtime routine was sinfully way too much for my wine-sogged soul to deal with. 

PARENTING HURDLES

What life lesson did I pass on the morning after by saying; ‘all the better to be ready earlier to face the day, my darling’, the morning after, I wonder? 

Had I been stoned instead of sloshed, we probably would have woken up with our jammies on. 

The reality now is this; weed has to become what booze has long been; just one more parenting hurdle that needs to be overcome with as much grace, style, and, most importantly, humour as any parent – including this flawed 50-year-old one – can muster. 

Pam Pardy Ghent, The Herald’s Managing Editor, can be reached by emailing pghent@nfldherald.com

It’s an accurate representation of the many different kinds of people who use marijuana today.

‘REEFER MADNESS’

Marijuana – also known as pot, weed, reefer, ganja, grass, dope, mary jane, and more – has had a bad rep since the mid-1930s, when the drug was used as a scapegoat to bolster confidence and coin for the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics in the USA. 

This led to the creation of the 1936 cinematic adventure, Reefer Madness, a propaganda film that demonized marijuana with highly exaggerated and fictionalized cautionary tales of what would become of potheads.

Today, over 80 years later, many of the widespread myths of marijuana use have been debunked, and many positive uses and adaptations have been discovered. Somehow, the stigma remained, and even now, in 2018, weedheads encounter prejudice day-to-day.

Pop culture icons like Cheech and Chong, the cast of Dazed and Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Friday, Half Baked, and other films of the like have created a particular image of a stoner – unintelligent, unorganized, uncaring, and unkempt.

This stereotype, which has created vast amounts of admittedly hilarious comedy, does not represent all marijuana users, however. 

When compiling input for this article, 30 sources, ranging in ages from 19-60, agreed to be interviewed for this story. The interviews were granted on the basis of anonymity, due to the negative views many people still hold against pot.

Most of the smokers aren’t waking and baking, and many wouldn’t dream of toking at work – instead, they are lighting up after work, using pot to chill out after a long day in the same way many reach for a beer or a glass of wine to wind down.

As we head towards legalization and decriminalization, many weed enthusiasts are hoping that marijuana will be viewed with the same casual attitude that alcohol is met with, and even now, with dope still stuck somewhere in legal limbo, they’re vocal about their current use, and their hopes for the future of pot.

When it comes to the state of the current cannabis climate, a 32-year-old tradesperson who has been smoking for almost 20 years, suggested taking a look around your own neighbourhood.

“You will be amazed at how many successful, intelligent and positive people in this community are also smoking weed every day,” they said. “I have a successful career, I am a homeowner (before the age of 30, mind you), I take time to volunteer in the community, I am well-spoken and intelligent, and I’m a strong union member involved with the ongoing and the future of my union hall,” they continued.

Does that fit the typical image of the couch-bound teenager, covered in Cheeto dust?

There is no typical image of the modern-day stoner – “All sorts of people from every class of society use cannabis,” a software developer shared.

POT SMOKING DOCTORS

A local journalist followed up with the fact that they have “been in the company of pot-smoking doctors, politicians, janitors, the unemployed and skilled tradespeople. I’ve seen those in their 70s light up and I’ve seen those in their 20s,” they said. “Have I met lazy and useless pot smokers? Yes! But I’ve met lazy and useless non pot smokers too. I’ve met more creative, intelligent, knowledgeable and dependable weed smokers in my life than lazy, useless ones,” they continued.

An occasional toker of 41 years joked that “the stoners who are lazy and useless when stoned are lazy and useless when they’re not stoned,” they said. “Anyone can be unproductive and some of the most productive people I know are high,” a local author shared.

Out of the 30 people interviewed, only a handful expressed interest in smoking at work, and many pointed out the potential dangers of doing so, also discussing the current laws surrounding driving while high.

One user, a refrigeration mechanic in their late 20s, stated that being able to smoke at work would make them more productive, and more focused on their work.

Another toker shared that they smoked at school and graduated top of their class with honours with a 95 per cent final average.

RELATED: MORE BY WENDY ROSE
transVersing: From the Stage to the Page (2019)
Cops in Kabul (2018)
The Haunted Hike: Revived (2018)

A local arts worker noted that marijuana makes them feel productive, powering through household chores and tedious paperwork.

“When I smoke, I am able to take a breath and not be anxious or stuck in my thoughts,” they said.

This is not the case for everyone of course, as different people react differently to various drugs of all kinds, marijuana included. Yet it’s obvious, as noted in these true testimonials from local tokers, that many of the preconceived notions about potheads are inaccurate, and outdated. 

One 19-year-old cook implored readers to “have a look into the many different types of people from all over the world that smoke weed for many different reasons. Look into why those people smoke weed,” they said. 

“I think one of the biggest misconceptions is just how many of us there are,” a 29-year-old film industry professional said. “I know plenty of users in the 50+ range and more getting into it for pain management, etc. People who pass down judgement on others probably don’t realize how many of their neighbors participate.”

When pot becomes legalized, and all the ensuing smoke has settled, many have high hopes for our economy.

“I think it will be an integral part of our society and I hope that the tax income that comes from it will enable our province to dig themselves out of debt,” a 25-year-old software company salesperson said.

‘CANNABIS CULTURE’

One local journalist contributed a dose of realism, bringing glaring clarity through the haze:

“I don’t think any of us can say for certain what the future of anything is in this morally bankrupt world. I think the furor over legalization will die down very quickly and that one day — not any time soon, mind you — we’ll have a cannabis culture the same as we have a beer culture that supports hundreds of craft and microbreweries around the country,” they said.

“I’m excited to see the emerging of new products and industry centered around such a versatile resource,” an actor added.

Throughout the serious discussion, some clever wit shone through, like a graphic designer’s genius idea to save rural Newfoundland with “Bake-cations.”

To those with doubts, take this parting advice from a 60-year-old, who has been blazing for 45 years: “It’s been here forever and it’s gonna stay forever.”

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

For more by Wendy Rose, click here!

For decades, cannabis has been under the microscope with its reputation cultivated and controlled. This has led to powerful stigmas against the popular plant, flooding the general population with an abundance of misinformation; Is pot a gateway drug? Can casual use lead to addiction? Does cannabis really cure cancer? Does it kill off brain cells?

While many in today’s society acknowledge the truth about cannabis, the myths and misconceptions are still repeated in the majority of mainstream circles. Studies have been taking place for years, and only now is the evidence coming to the forefront proving that the majority of the arguments against cannabis simply don’t hold up. 

The Newfoundland Herald breaks down FIVE of the most persistent myths about cannabis — followed by the actual facts to debunk them. 

Myth: Cannabis use leads to addiction       

Fact: We hear this time and time again; “Weed is a drug and you’ll become addicted”. It’s important to understand that anything on this earth can become a dependency, including marijuana. However, marijuana is not addictive. The plant does not contain physically addictive properties like those of alcohol, cigarettes, or heroin. Instead, it’s euphoric high has the potential of becoming a dependency, similar to drinking coffee regularly. 

RELATED: CANNABIS
Jim Furlong: Smoke Clearing
Pam Pardy-Ghent: Pot Marks the Spot
CannaConnect With Veteran Kevin Dunne

“Addiction is an uncontrollable urge to use a substance even when it is causing negative effects in your life, and once you stop you have major withdrawals. Marijuana dependency is more like caffeine dependency. When you stop you’d like to still have it, but there is no strong urge to continue. 

You may get minor withdrawals such as: headaches, insomnia, and slight irritability, but have you gone a few days without your coffee? I know you can’t look at me!” shared Taylor Wakeham, owner and operator of Higher Tides. 

Myth: Cannabis is a gateway drug

Fact: You’ve probably heard this amongst all of the anti-marijuana propaganda that came spewing out during the 1970s and beyond. It’s been said that marijuana is a gateway drug, leading teenagers and adults down a blind tunnel of experimenting and using harder drugs like cocaine, heroin, and meth. 

Scientists studying marijuana have taken this theory into consideration for decades, but the long-held theory is controversial. Many scientists have stated that other factors such as trauma, homelessness and poverty could be more significant contributing variables leading to the use of illicit drugs. On the contrary, cannabis has actually been proven to reduce the need for opioid prescriptions.

“Cannabis is no more of a gateway drug than is Tylenol. Cannabis has been proven to help addicts come off of harsh and addictive medications. A person searching for a high will use anything, there are kids snorting sleeping pills these days, enough said,” stated Kevin Dunne, cannabis counsellor at CannaConnect in St. John’s. 

Myth: Cannabis kills off brain cells  

Fact: There is little to no evidence suggesting that any of the active ingredients in the marijuana plant administered at doses appropriate for human consumption actually affects brain cells or neurons. However, this myth isn’t completely a myth.

Age restrictions do exist for a reason. Consuming certain things while young will most definitely affect your brain development. This goes for not only marijuana, but also alcohol, too much screen time, and sugar. 

That being said, cannabidiol (CBD), one of the compounds found in marijuana, is often used to treat children. While children shouldn’t consume cannabis containing high levels of THC, the compound in marijuana that causes the high, studies prove that ingesting CBD oil can be very beneficial in treating children, as well as adults and animals, for a variety of medical conditions.   

Myth: Cannabis is dangerous 

Fact: It’s a dangerous situation when you’ve consumed cannabis in some form and find yourself standing in front of the fridge, let me tell ya. In all seriousness, cannabis is not dangerous. According to studies, you would need to consume around 1,500 pounds of it to overdose, which generally you would “green out” (get stomach sick, followed by falling asleep) way, way beforehand.

As comedy icon Bill Murray once said, he “finds it quite ironic that the most dangerous thing about weed is getting caught with it.” While this is true, if used irresponsibly, yes, there are potential dangers related to cannabis. But that’s a choice made by the people, not at fault of the plant.

For one, don’t get behind the wheel after ingesting cannabis. Would you drink and drive? Don’t operate heavy machinery whilst under the influence. Don’t leave your meds, or cannabis, within easy reach of young children. 

Although cannabis itself isn’t dangerous, in young children it can potentially raise their heart rate to a fatal level if over-ingested. You wouldn’t leave an open bottle of Tylenol around your young child, so don’t do it with medical cannabis. Again, to reiterate, children can consume CBD for medical purposes if prescribed and monitored by an adult. 

Myth: Cannabis is an illicit drug 

Fact: While cannabis remains illegal for recreational use in Canada, we were in fact the first nation to legalize marijuana for medical use back in 2001. British Columbia, for example, has essentially no enforcement for recreational use except for large growing operations and DWI offences, understandably so. 

With all of its proven health benefits, who cares about a little safe recreational cannabis use? Considering the myriad of side effects, it’s no wonder why cannabis is becoming more accepted as medicine, legally! Cannabis can remedy pain, curb nausea, encourage appetite, boost the mood, offer energy and motivation, cure insomnia, promote weight gain, and ease anxiety and depression. 

Medical cannabis has been strongly linked to the big “C” word, cancer. It’s also been linked to helping inflammation, migraines, sleep disorders and arthritis. It’s been proven to help with muscle spasms cause by multiple sclerosis, poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness such as HIV. Medical cannabis has been used on a wide range of age groups in aid with seizure disorders and Crohn’s disease, as well as Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. We also can’t leave out it’s incredible side effects on mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and BPD. 

Lazy Pot Heads?

“I believe marijuana is like anything else, in moderation it’s fine, and it shouldn’t even be compared to other illegal drugs,” Taylor Wakeham adds. “The only misconception I would like to add is that marijuana makes you lazy. Marijuana does not make you lazy, you allow yourself to be lazy. I still run a business, am at the shop every day. I hike a lot, snowboard, work out, mountain bike when the weather is nice, I’m always working on my car and truck. I have a trade under my belt, and I am going to university in September for electrical engineering. I hang out with a lot of people and know a lot of people who are flat out all day, every day, but still smoke weed regularly.” 

For more information on medical cannabis, stop by or call Kevin Dunne Cannabis Counsellor at CannaConnect, 687 Water Street or (709) 757-9346 

It’s becoming easier and easier to get marijuana, legally. Advocates have shared that they strongly believe this has allowed many people with intractable medical issues to receive an effective and safe form of treatment. Opponents of medicinal cannabis argue that advocates ignore the potential harm of marijuana and that the only objective is to make it easier to use the plant for recreational purposes.

The Newfoundland Herald caught up with a cannabis counselor at Cannaconnect here in St. John’s, Kevin Dunne.

CANNABIS CURED

“I am a retired veteran of 22 years. I served until 2012 when I retired on a medical release,” Dunne explains.

“A few years later I was introduced to cannabis by a doctor for my PTSD symptoms. I was dealing with night terrors and night sweats. I was on thirteen prescription meds a day. Since I started using cannabis, I’m only on one prescription med aside from cannabis itself. I’m on Pantoloc because of the damage that was done to my stomach from all of the prescription meds I was taking, and secondly from all the preservatives that were in all the army hard rations. Within six months my night sweats had ceased, and my night terrors have cut right back drastically.”

There’s a lot of stigma still attached to smoking and ingesting cannabis, especially by older generations who lived through the 60s and the 70s, where marijuana first became very popular for recreational use.

“People think of cannabis, they think of the 60s and 70s, and everyone just getting high and it’s a rock and roll thing. But now that it’s pronounced out there for its medical use, a bunch of people are interested,” explains Dunne. “Within this clinic that I have here, our youngest client is nine years old, and our oldest is 93 years old. What an age gap difference. The child suffers from brain tremors. His parents had to come in of course, and go through the entire process. The child use to receive around 15 shocks a day, and now he’ll maybe get one. There’s a gentleman that comes in to see me who’s had a stroke. He’s got paralysis all down the left side of his body, wasn’t very mobile, now since he’s been using cannabis, he’s up walking around.”

RELATED: CANNABIS
Jim Furlong: Smoke Clearing
Pam Pardy-Ghent: Pot Marks the Spot
Medical Cannabis: Fact vs. Myth

One of the major controversies that make some people label marijuana as a “bad drug,” is the possibility of addictive properties. However, marijuana is not physically addictive like alcohol, or drugs such as heroin. Although marijuana can become psychologically addictive, as in the habit can become a dependence, a study showed that 91 percent of those who try it, do not get hooked.

The two major compounds found in marijuana are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). For decades, researchers have known that THC is responsible for the famous cannabis high. However, CBD can serve to balance the effects of THC and provides a range of symptom relief and medical potential.

“CBD is wonderful, but there are also conditions where you need THC. It depends on you, your condition and your body,” Dunne makes clear. “CBD is great for people who work on heavy machinery or have to drive. There are plants out there that are straight CBD, and there are other ones out there that there is THC in it, but it’s very low. CBD is for pain, inflammation, and cell regrowth.” 

CANNABIS EDUCATION

The major thing that people need to know before choosing to use medical marijuana, is that there are four types of plants, including CBD, and 700 different strains. Each one of them does something different.

“Sativa is a stimulant. If you have high anxiety, or ADHD, or schizophrenia, that is not a strain for you because it’s going to amplify the effects. Sativa is to get you motivated to do your day-to-day activities, for example, those who are suffering from depression,” Dunne suggests.

“Then you have an indica. Indica is for relaxation and sleep. So that’s a good one for bedtime, instead of using other sleep aids like Zaleplon, and prescriptions like that. You then have a hybrid, which is a split between the two, sativa and indica. You can get an 80/20, 70/30, 60/40. Depending on the chemistry of your own body, you need to find out what works best for you.”

Overall, medicinal cannabis may have a shortlist of short-term cognitive effects, but it has an extremely long list of positive effects. It’s been proven as an effective form of treatment for a long list of medical conditions, with little to no long-term side effects.

For more information on medical cannabis, visit: cannaconnect.ca or stop by CannaConnect at 687 Water St.

For more by Krystyn Decker, click here.