Out Of A Deep, Dark Depression

[ernstinen]

Not a good idea, if you're on SSRIs, Ern; your instincts are dead on. I think that's actually a tree, name of which I don't recall; there's a leafy resemblance, but the woody bark of the stalk differentiates it from the fun stuff. Keep in mind my wife's the O.G. (for organic gardener) and my cousin used to run the eradication program up Medaryville way-they have a rather large problem, since they grew Hemp For Victory, back in WWII...so I'm jes' sayin.

Remember "Paraquat" from back in the U.S. government's war against Mexican marijuana? Their answer was to spray a poisonous herbicide on the fields to kill the plants. Of course, the Mexican drug barons still harvested the pot and sold it in the U.S. --- Damaged for life many a young person's lungs. Really dumb idea.

Ern

[mazz]

I grew up in Siskiyou county, just over the mountains East of Humboldt County in a little town called, coincidentally, Weed, CA . Ahhhh the late 70s were somewhat memorable. The town was named for a man who's last name was Weed, not for the abundant supply of the other type that was available in my late teenage years.

Mendocino County, south of Humboldt County, about 100 miles north of SF, allows folks to grow something like 25 plants for personal use. It's the wild west up there for sure!

But it's a depressant, like alcohol, so if one is depressed or has other mental issues, maybe it's not the best solution. I believe that it's mostly prescribed for pain, although I have a feeling there's a lot of folks that are feeling "pain" just to get a prescription.

It's been almost 30 years for me since I've partaken, I function much better without it, thank you!

[mojobone]

"Memorable" is a relative term, in that case. Sad fact of the matter: weed, or the sacrament, as some prefer, with or without capitalization, plays hell with short-term memory, which, oddly enough, is one of the properties that make it useful for victims of post-traumatic stress; some studies would appear to indicate that cannabis is vastly superior to grief counseling, as said counseling and the attendant verbiage (as opposed to , heh, herbiage) tends to prolong the agony that causes the stress in the first place. Your mileage may vary; whatever and ever, amen. (note the absence of smilies, cuz I'm totally serious) There are also some very good and very verifiable reasons to look to marijuana for regulating blood pressure and treating (yet not alleviating) chronic pain. Certainly, I can provide both anecdotal and second-hand testimony for the latter.

[suzdoyle]

Ern,
How sweet to hear you've found your joy again! And as T & V said so well, one of the most amazing things about Taxi is the authentic, loving, supportive community that exists here to provide a safe place to witness whatever we encounter on the ever twisting and turning -- and sometimes confounding -- paths of life.

I'm so glad this community exists. I know it supported me in the past while my daughter was recovering from her car accident, and it's wonderful to know it has been there for you, too. Yet another reason that Taxi is such an extraordinary place.

BRAVO!
Suz