My activism probably wouldn’t have gone the direction it did, if it were not for my eye opening, and empowering experience, volunteering at Adela Wisdom’s 420 POW booth at Seattle Hempfest in 2015. I had just relocated to Washington state from Southern California, the month prior. Up to that point, my biggest focus in activism was safe access for medical cannabis patients in Apple Valley, California, where dispensaries had been banned.
Adela and Aaron Wisdom
Before my volunteer experience with POW 420, I was completely clueless to the fact that prisons across the nation house an extremely large number of non-violent “criminals” serving time, many life, over a completely non-toxic healing plant. It is with great sadness that I am now writing about the injustice Adela, and her husband Aaron, are currently facing.
Adela has been a judicial reform advocate/activist for nearly 20 years. Her activism has reached worldwide, speaking in many different countries, and advocating for real judicial change at The United Nations. She has written to over 1000 POW 420’s, and has done 3 prison interviews. Not only does Adela believe that no one should be caged for Cannabis, she has walked the talk, helping and educating many.
Adela and Aaron Wisdom are both judicial reform advocates, and small farmers, residing in Callaway county Missouri. Both husband and wife, are running for political office. Aaron is a candidate for Lt. Govenor. Adela is a candidate for US Representative 3rd District of Missouri. Days after announcing their candidacy, The Wisdom’s were raided. On September 17, 2019, their home was searched by the Sheriff’s department looking for cannabis, and other items related to cultivation, drug trafficking, drug sales, and drug use. Law Enforcement did not find what they were looking for in what seems to have been a politically motivated raid.
A little after 8:00 am, early June 2020, a National Guard helicopter flew over the Wisdom’s farm. Using a telescopic lens, noxious Cannabis was seen on the Wisdom’s property. From the air, they also observed Aaron and Adela burning weeds. Missouri Dept of Agriculture lists Cannabis Sativa L as a noxious weed. The Oxford dictionary defines noxious weed as a weed which is considered to be harmful to the environment or animals, especially one which may be the subject of regulations governing attempts to control it.
The observation of the noxious weed, along with the legally required destruction of it, made Law Enforcement feel justified in conducting a warrantless search. Plain clothed officers showed up to the Wisdom’s property, wearing ski masks, and did not identify themselves. Adela had a gun pointed at her face, by a man who she did not know the intentions of, or why he was on their property. Both Aaron and Adela were arrested. They face a decade in prison each for the victimless crime of having 22 wild growing noxious weed plants growing on their property, and destroying them per Missouri law. The raid was carried out by both the Mustang Task Force and local Law Enforcement. At any time, these charges could become Federal charges.
Seems to me it is pretty clear that the current powers that be in Missouri, feel threatened by Adela and Aaron’s candidacy for political office. Missouri currently has over 7,000 rape kits sitting on shelves, collecting dust, untested. There is no funding to process those rape kits and get violent rapists off the streets, yet somehow funding is always available to investigate and prosecute people over a plant. I say: No Victim No Crime.
The consequences of unjust Cannabis laws are always about more than just a loss of freedom. For Aaron and Adela it has put a halt on the child adoption process they were in. Due to the ongoing investigation, they cannot pass an FBI background check. Adela has had her chances at motherhood taken from her. A baby in need of a loving, stable home with courageous, compassionate parents, who actively make this world a better place, had that opportunity lost.
Long time Wisdom family friend Victoria Hughes was asked about what kind of people the Wisdom’s are. “Adela has turned personal tragedies into a passion for helping others who are struggling. She has a way of bringing hope to people who have often been forgotten by society” Victoria shared. “Aaron is a very hard-working gentle soul. He goes out of his way to take care of others around him. I watched him prepare meals daily to take to their 80 year old Veteran neighbor, without asking for anything in return.”
Callaway County, the state of Missouri, nor the World will be any bit safer by having Adela and Aaron locked in prison for 10 years. In my opinion, it would actually be a disservice to all of humanity to have The Wisdom’s incarcerated. They need our help.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr
*Write a letter to Judge Carol England asking she drop all charges against Aaron and Adela. Please be polite. A template, or sample letter is available on Adela s website. https://www.adelawisdom.com/call_to_action
*Write up a “Drop all charges against Adela and Aaron” sign. Take a photo with your sign and email to itskckush@gmail.com. Photos will be arranged into collages, and sent to the court, in support of Aaron and Adela.
Originally written by By Kerry Cannon for cannabisactivismnow.com
A portable and inexpensive greenhouse can be built in a matter of hours with the right tools and a little elbow grease. You can learn how to build one in this video
Stakeholders say the recent raid at a family hemp farm in Sweden reflects lingering ignorance among authorities that is holding back the sector in Scandinavia’s biggest market of 10 million consumers.
Michael Henell and crew at Magic Herb, Öland, Sweden
“The whole thing is probably about ignorance on the part of the police as they must have mistaken the industrial hemp for marijuana and therefore destroyed the cultivation,” Michael Henell said of law enforcement on the island of Öland, where Henell and his family operate Magic Herb, a boutique hemp company that grows and sells hemp buds and products based on extracts.
Henell said police raided his legal hemp business unannounced Aug. 13 while he and and his family were away on vacation, destroying his small hemp crop and, armed with a search warrant, seizing finished products that were stored in the family’s home.
‘No excuse’
It is legal to grow certified varieties of hemp in Sweden under permitting by the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
“I have triple checked that all papers are correct for the cultivation. We have had hemp for several years and it has never been a problem,” said Henell, who had approval of both local administrators and the national agriculture board for a hemp grow of about 1,000 plants that he was cultivating both outdoors and in a greenhouse.
Henell believes ignorance is no excuse. “It is utterly damning that the police can come and destroy our life’s work, for which we have shed blood, sweat and tears. Our entire annual harvest has now been destroyed by the police,” he said.
Prejudice lingers
Swedish authorities’ prejudice against hemp is rooted in aggressive national anti-cannabis campaigns carried out in the 1970s and ’80s, according to David Appelgren, Chairman of the Swedish Hemp Association, a 200-member strong group that advocates for the sector.
David Appelgren, Chairman, Swedish Hemp Association [Photo by: Crelle]
“Slowly, we’re turning. Most youth understand hemp is a regular thing, and even older people are using CBD,” said Appelgren, who tours Sweden educating about hemp. “But they’ve been pushing this agenda for 40 years,” he said of anti-cannabis elements in the country. “It’s still in the culture and hard to get rid of.”
Little grown
Hemp barely registers in Swedish agriculture. Modern-era records that date to 2004 show 150 hectares were under hemp that year. By 2007, hemp fields had grown to 829 hectares, but then started to decline. A total of 170 hectares were cultivated this year, according to government statistics. Appelgren estimates there are about 150 hemp operators in Sweden, most of which are small family businesses like Henell’s.
Hemp grown in Sweden since 2004, in hectares
The sector has survived only because of court cases that went against the government, both Henell and Appelgren said. Most notable, hemp farmer Ulf Hammarsten received damages from the Swedish state after his hemp crop was repeatedly destroyed by authorities. EU officials found in Hammarsten’s favor in 2003, ruling that national legislation prohibiting the cultivation and possession of industrial hemp was incompatible with the “common organization of markets” under EU law.
Swedish hemp history
Hemp is in Sweden’s history, archeologists have found, with cultivation generally presumed to have begun in sometime in the second half of the first century AD, as indicated by pollen records. Finds of seeds demonstrate that the plant was locally cultivated and processed during that epoch.
Hemp fiber is also revealed in subfossil remains found at Lindängelund in the region of Malmö, signalling the earliest evidence of hemp retting in Scandinavia discovered so far. Experts also have said they found evidence of small scale fiber processing in settlements through 400 AD. Remains of hemp later found in lake sediments indicate that the retting of hemp eventually relocated from settlements to lakes shores, where processing became larger in scale and more integrated into the agricultural system of the time.
Halloween night 2017, an act of compassion quickly turned into a 2 year and 9 month long living nightmare for one Ohio family. Glenn Keeling had a friend in need of cannabis, so he gifted his friend 2 grams of cannabis concentrate. Not too long after the friend drove away from the Kimmel-Keeling residence, he was pulled over by law enforcement. That’s when this good deed became a crime.
Despite the fact that Medical Cannabis was legal in Ohio, law enforcement set their sights on Glenn Keeling. He led the first ever Global Marijuana March in Ohio. Glenn also ran for political office in his town as an open medical cannabis patient. He and his wife Peggy, had began a NORML chapter in their area. Law Enforcement’s attention on this family was no doubt, politically motivated. They were seeking to make an example out of Glenn in corrupt Mercer county Ohio, and had long been doing surveillance on his family’s home.
“I smell marijuana”, the 3 words law enforcement officers often use as probable cause. Those 3 words were said to the friend, when he was pulled over after leaving Glenn and Peggy’s home. The friend fully cooperated with the officer, including naming Glenn as the source of where his cannabis concentrate came from. Later that night, police officers arrived at the Kimmel- Keeling residence. The husband and wife, both being legal patients with a doctors recommendation, thought the misunderstanding could be cleared up by cooperating with the officers. They quickly found out differently. The officers had no interest in seeing Glenn or Peggy’s doctor signed recommendations. Their home was immediately raided. What was discovered by officers, was a legal supply of cannabis for 2 patients, along with a teenage girls craft supplies, the officers assumed was for making cannabis edibles. The officers decided that despite medical cannabis being legal in Ohio, not yet having operating dispensaries, made patients criminals.
Glenn was arrested that night. His wife Peggy was charged at a later date. Their daughter had to get out of bed, to leave her home for the night, to stay with her adult brother. Multiple charges were brought against Peggy and Glenn. Each faced over 50 years in prison. Peggy and Glenn were both allowed to continue treating their health conditions with cannabis, per their bond conditions. That was a first in Ohio.
Unfortunately, this family did not initially have local support outside of their family. I became aware of this injustice, while scrolling Facebook one day. Peggy had reached out for help in ‘The International Cannabis Patients Wall’ Facebook group. I reached out to Peggy to learn more about what was happening to her family. Not only did she tell her side of the story, but she also provided proof to back up everything she said. One of the charges that hit me right in the heart, was child endangerment. I read the letter Peggy provided from the CPS caseworker. In less than 1 month, CPS completed their investigation, with the determination that Peggy’s teenage daughter (Glenn’s stepdaughter) was safe in the family home and should remain in her parents care. Yet overzealous Mercer County Ohio Prosecutor Matt Fox, persisted with child endangerment charges, as well as many other bogus charges, in an attempt to prosecute and persecute this couple.
I personally believe that no one, anywhere, with any amount of a healing non-toxic plant should face criminal charges. No Victim, No Crime. The only victims I saw in all this, was a family at risk of being torn apart. I knew I had to do something to help.
I began a public awareness campaign via social media. Making many more aware of this injustice was step 1. A call to action to call the prosecutors office, to politely ask that all charges against Peggy and Glenn be dropped, was put out shortly after. Many people had made this phone call. Some had telephone conversations with Mr. Fox. The prosecutor told numerous people that the full story wasn’t being told. Sadly some believed that tax dollars wouldn’t be wasted if there was no serious crime, and refused to support this family. It felt like Matt Fox was playing a game, with the arrogance of assuming he’d win.
With all of the details of Peggy and Glenn’s cases being public, I printed up both dockets from the courts website, took to social media in a live video, read all of the charges, showed all of the proof Peggy had provided, compared Ohio law, and proved to many of the doubters, that at most the punishment should have been a small fine. That helped public support really pick up. Throughout this time, I was also collecting photos from all across the country, and the globe, of people holding a handwritten “Drop All Charges Against Peggy and Glenn” sign. I arranged these hundreds of photos into collages. Those photo collages were sent into the court, and added to both of their case files.
Unfortunately, all the stress that came with this long, drawn out legal nightmare, resulted in increased health issues for Peggy. The stress was literally killing her. Glenn came to the conclusion that he needed to take a plea deal, accept whatever consequences Judge Ingraham decided, so that his wife may live. I have much respect for Glenn for making such a loving decision. The stress had taken it’s toll on his health as well. He did what any honorable man would do, he put his wife above himself.
The day to sign the plea deal came. Glenn and Peggy both signed deals. They were instructed to check in with their probation officer before the court date for sentencing. I was very pleased to learn that at the meeting with their probation officer, Peggy and Glenn learned they had their probation officer’s support. I was later told that their probation officer was aware of the ‘Keep Peggy And Glenn Free’ photo collages, as well as a petition I wrote on their behalf. Officer Gross asked Peggy and Glenn to have me email him everything, so he could make sure Judge Ingraham sees them. One Monday morning, I sent the emails. Mr. Gross replied quickly, that he was already printing the photos up and thanked me. I thanked him for his help as well.
Although I have yet to meet Peggy and Glenn in person, nor ever stepped foot into Ohio, I have much love for them and their family. While working on behalf of ending their family’s injustice, I watched them still do all they could do to help others, despite their struggles. I got to know amazing people, who I now consider family.
After 2 years and 9 months this family’s nightmare came to an end. July 27, 2020 was sentencing day. Peggy was facing 84 months in prison, 10 years suspended drivers license, and $17,000 in fines. Glenn faced 90 months in prison, 15 years suspended drivers license, and $37,000 in fines. During the hearing, Judge Ingraham held up a binder of photo collages, mentioning I had sent them in to the court. Peggy and Glenn both escaped prison time. They were sentenced to 5 years probation each. Neither had their drivers licenses suspended, and the mandatory fines were waived. What a huge relief for their entire family. One of the great things that comes from the outcome of their cases, is the precedent now set. It can, and will help other medical cannabis patients in Ohio, that may find themselves in a similar situation.
Public support matters. We all have the power to make a difference. Together we have the power to make a greater difference and a real change. Be the change you wish to see. Stand against injustice. Even if we are not directly affected, we are all indirectly affected. My work made a difference, only because of each and every person who took action with me. I greatly appreciate all who did.
Written by: Kerry Cannon aka “KC Kush” exclusively for cannabisactivismnow.com
When many people hear the words ‘cannabis industry’ they often think of a utopian world where legalization in America applies to everyone and nobody will ever go to jail for growing, possessing, or selling cannabis.
While this may be true for the ultra rich capitalist class of people in America who can afford to pay over a million dollars for a legal cannabis license, it is not true for the majority of us hard working Americans who just want to put some food on our table and smoke a joint or take a dab after a long day of work.
As an activist in Colorado, I learned some interesting things that you won’t see in High Times, NowThis, or any other for-profit corporate media conglomerate. They are only interested in getting money from their rich sponsors, who are only interested in numbers of viewers. The more eyeballs, the more the media company can charge advertisers. This is why they publish sensationalist viral garbage over and over, they seek to appeal to the lowest common denominator and will promote any company who gives them money to do so.
In Colorado, We The People were able to pass a referendum that legalized cannabis for personal use and home growing. As soon as we voted on our own proposed amendment to the Colorado constitution and it passed, politicians in conjunction with cannabis business owners immediately began to roll back our progress and began stripping our newly appointed rights away with dozens of new laws, regulations, and restrictions which hurt patients and only benefited the big business cannabis companies who donated to those politicians to restrict our rights.
While a few of the more ‘daring’ or ‘independent’ media out there might slightly mention what I just described, they will NEVER talk about the main point of this article; how the cannabis industry actually stifles innovation and causes higher prices for patients.
In the capitalist world, everything hinges on one basic concept: ‘intellectual property’. Intellectual property refers to intangible property that is the result of creativity, such as patents, copyrights, etc. Capitalists use intellectual property to justify charging a higher price for their product. Typically this will be done through words and phrases along the lines of: ‘our product was created with a special formula by scientists using a very technical, very expensive machine’… When in reality this product, or one extremely similar, can be made yourself at home quite easily. The capitalist business man, who we will now refer to as the vulgar economist, does not want you to know that you can do this yourself at home because that would hurt his profits. If you can make this, he can’t make money off you buying that product or service from him. So he protects his ideas (which he learned from someone else) by strict intellectual property laws and by deceptively keeping that information from the public.
When we are talking about using cannabis for medical use, keeping vital information that can improve a patient’s outlook and life is not only immoral but is down right destructive. Let’s take the case of Charlotte’s Web, (although every company in the cannabis industry is guilty of this unless they are completely open, transparent, and show the entire process behind how and what is used to make their product).
When Charlotte’s Web came out, nearly every magazine and news station in America carried a story about it and it’s ‘miraculous health benefits’. The company did nothing special to make this product. They simply got a strain from another grower, or created their own which is not hard to do yourself. They then hid any information about what this strain was, so that patients could not grow this strain themselves. Their only option was being forced to purchase products from the vulgar economist made from the strain at the highest price the market allows. If the corporate board members instead would have released the information that ‘Charlotte’s Web’ is pretty much the same thing as the strain ‘R4’, then thousands of patients could have easily have grown this plant at home and maybe then because of the massive increase in moms and dads growing for their epileptic children maybe we could actually achieve a true legalization in America in which all prohibition laws are repealed and we can all grow, sell, and process cannabis instead of just the rich friends of politicians.
Norfolk farmers are learning how they can benefit from growing cannabis – more lucrative per gram than strawberries.
Farmers are being encouraged to look at the business potential of growing cannabis. Pic: Cathal McNaughton/PA Wire
Property giant Savills, better known for selling high-end homes, has teamed up with cannabis specialists to launch a business venture for UK growers.
A new joint project called Crop17 will help farmers with knowing the best land for the crop, sourcing equipment and navigating the legal minefield of the Class B drug.
Although cannabis is illegal in Britain, several countries and states across the world have legalised it, leading to a boom in exports from the UK.Medicinal cannabis plants being grown in a glasshouse at the British Sugar in Wissington. Picture: Archant
Alex Bragg, a director at Savills, said: “The UK agriculture sector is embarking upon a period of unprecedented change. A phasing out of subsidies, a new dawn for trade, adapting to meet climate change targets and a huge growth in agtech presents the industry with huge challenges and opportunities. For the forward-thinking and innovative farmer and grower adapting into new markets is a key priority.”
Kit Papworth, director of farm contracting business LF Papworth, based at Felmingham, near North Walsham, has been invited to attend a Savills conference in London on hemp cultivation in the UK. He said: “The hemp and CBD (Cannabidol) oil markets have a huge potential, for both the oil and the biomass produced by the plant, which can be used in industry, building materials and for sequestering carbon.
“Farming in a post-Brexit world means we have to look closely at all of the opportunities and this is just one of many that we are considering.”
The worldwide legal cannabis industry generated revenues in the region of £11.5bn in 2019 – expected to grow to around £35bn by 2024. The total number of medical cannabis prescriptions issued in the UK could surge from a few hundred to more than 185,000 by the end of 2023 if the country follows a similar path to Australia, whose medical cannabis programme has grown rapidly since the government relaxed restrictions in 2018.
The active ingredient in cannabis – Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – is illegal in the UK but Cannabidiol (CBD) is not. However, all CBD products sold in the UK have to be imported typically from the US, Canada and Columbia.
We have all unwittingly been sowing the seeds of distrust, dismay, and despair within our own community by supporting the continued subdivision of our noble cause; ending Cannabis prohibition. These seeds have quietly taken root and have been growing unchecked in all corners of our community for decades. Activism, advocacy, anarchism, and academia have all seen this narrowing of interest and passion to smaller actions and campaigns around “Medical Cannabis”, “Industrial Hemp” and “Marijuana” that has been to the detriment of all parties and the wider world.
This particularly peculiar and pernicious flora has come to fruition in recent years. Its first bounty is now being harvested in the form of “Legalised Medical Cannabis” in the UK. This corporate victory was primarily achieved by the weaponising and astroturfing of our community to push their narrative, agenda, and the pharmaceutical paradigm until we ourselves began believing it. When the legislation passed on November 1st 2019, our once loud and proud orchestral annunciation of truth and justice was left broken, raspy and cacophonous, unable to muster little more than a death rattle in opposition as we choked on the scale and scope of their betrayal.
We have all been misled into supporting and championing divisive singular narrative campaigns around cannabis. We have been led to advocate for Hemp over Cannabis, and inferior “legal” cannabinoids over other illegal ones, leaving the socially corrosive and criminalising status quo unchallenged. This has allowed for the individual synthesizable, patentable, and profitable components of the plant to be commodified, commercialised, and monopolised by corporate proponents who claimed to uphold the same ideals and serve our collective common goal of “freeing the weed” once and for all.
This has never been more self- evident than the current situation in Europe as the EU now moves to clarify its position on CBD as a narcotic, using the interpretation of the fraudulent and fascistic 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotics as its justification. The Convention states that any and all components or derivatives of the plant Cannabis Sativa L are Schedule IV meaning they have “particularly dangerous properties” and are “likely liable for abuse” so therefore must remain illegal.
If they take this position it would put all of the CBD and Hemp companies and individuals that have profiteered from the perpetuation of prohibition – while Cannabis dealers and community champions faced incarceration – back in the pile with the rest of us. So, isn’t now the most opportune moment to cease these nonsensical definitions and divisions? To stop individual pursuits of profit? To band together to once and for all to liberate this plant from a century of propaganda, paranoia, and prohibition?
The British government as we know tried to get around these restrictions for medicinal use years ago by updating their original 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act with the Misuse of Drugs Regulation 2001. This allowed for Schedule 1 (1971 scheduling) drugs to be lawfully controlled, possessed, and supplied by prescription, while non-controlled supply and production of the exact same substance remained illegal. This greatly helped GW Pharmaceuticals and it’s vulture capitalist investors use the legislation as protection. They later got Home Office approval to launch their first Cannabis-based drug, Sativex, in 2006, thus avoiding prosecution for cultivating, processing, and distributing a Schedule 1 drug.
The subsequent “legalising” of “Medical Cannabis” in 2018 went a step further by creating a new class of Cannabis as a drug in Schedule 2. “Medical Cannabis” is defined in the legislation as a “Cannabis-based product designed to use in humans” acknowledging that it has some “accepted medical value” The deliberately use of “Cannabis-based” is ambiguous and Orwellian language, that I suspect has been used to allow for non-Cannabis derived medications under the interpretation of the law. It was also enough to placate the average advocate and naive tabloid reader into believing that everyone needing cannabis for its medicinal benefits are now legally allowed to access it.
In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. To date, the NHS has only issued TWO prescriptions and there have been less than a hundred private prescriptions handed out by the ever-growing gentrifying and profiteering private clinics. These establishments are predominately patronised by those fortunate enough to be able to afford hundreds of pounds for the pleasure of being told that “Medical Cannabis” can greatly reduce their symptoms and help them manage their condition.
Although some of these clinics are importing raw flower, they are primarily pushing tinctures and pharmacological extractions before the raw plant. I fear that this is part of a much larger plan to switch the market we were tricked into helping build from a plant that anyone can easily grow at home to synthetic cannabinoid analogs, non-cannabis-derived cannabinoids, and other “Cannabis-based” pharmaceuticalised drugs. This would negate the restrictions of the conventions altogether and greatly compounding some of the most sinister socioeconomic and individually destructive elements inherent in prohibition.
I worry that the CBD industry and the emerging private British healthcare sector – which will be created through impending US trade deals – will be Cannabis-free in the coming years. By the perfecting of synthesising and extraction techniques of non-Cannabis derived cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds present in Cannabis, they will nullify and mute the medical argument as an avenue to truly relegalise cannabis for all therapeutic uses. Only the therapies that they approve and profit from personally will be allowed to flourish.
It is these lessons that I implore you to learn from to help us all avoid the next big astroturfing project that is coming from the same minds behind the campaign to “Legalise Medical Cannabis” in the UK. Their next target is the “Hemp Industry” or as it should be known as, the “INDUSTRIAL CANNABIS” industry. In exactly the same way we empowered the medical paradigm, we are doing the same by calling the industrial properties and applications of Cannabis, “Hemp”. Cannabis is Cannabis. End of.
The regurgitation of these misnomers will only further confuse and coerce the layman into believing that “Hemp” and “Cannabis” are different plants. One with the potential to grow a brighter future and the other a dangerously addictive drug that causes psychosis. The continuation of this paradigm by stigmatising and segregating the industrial, medicinal, and individual conscious expanding uses of the Cannabis plant has been to the detriment of every living creature on earth.
It is the same plant that produces the full extract cannabis oil (FECO) that can help treat Cancer, Crohns, and countless other conditions that gives us the raw materials to negate the toxic and environmentally destructive practices and by-products of some of the most polluting industries on the planet.
The day to day processes and procedures of these global industries; Energy, Fashion, Agriculture, Construction, and Transportation, are currently contributing to an ecological and environmental genocide. From endocrine disruptive chemicals like Dioxins that are used to colour timber pulp paper (which is now so ubiquitous that they are present in all mammalian breast milk), to the Schedule one carcinogens BPAs and BPZs present in all petroleum-based plastics (and now found in the faeces of all humans), to the earth-scarring mineral mining techniques that tear open the earth to remove elements that are no longer needed in a world where Cannabis is legal. All of these crimes against nature are a direct result of the vilifying and demonising of this plant nearly a century ago.
There is no such thing as a “medical cannabis plant” or a “hemp plant” – There is only Cannabis and its innumerate cultivars. The misuse of nomenclature is a tool that this small cabal of cannibalistic capitalists wields to subjugate and divide our movement for their own sinister fiscal ends. We must above all else first standardise the terminology around Cannabis. This ultimately means accepting the truth, there is only Cannabis and its industrial, medicinal, and conscious expanding properties and applications.
We have cultivated the Cannabis and delicately woven its fibres into the ever-tightening noose around our necks by allowing the subjugation and arbitrary distinctions of “Medical Cannabis” “Hemp”, and “CBD”. Allowing these independent industries to arise and operate while the common man remains criminalised, creates a profit incentive for those industries to fight to continue their monopolies by demonising the other aspects of this wonderful plant.
In commercialising certain parts of Cannabis we have allowed it to be taken over, controlled, and regulated by vulture capitalists and ruthless individuals intent on profiting from the perpetuation of prohibitive policies.
The UK is not the USA. The factors that have allowed for dispensaries, GYO, the use of flowers as “medicine” and an industrial sector will not happen here while we are governed by these pirates in power. They will seek with every action to accumulate more control and wealth from the creation of any new Cannabis-based industry, be it medicinal, industrial or commercial.
Ultimately, until we stop infighting over the potential crumbs that fall from their table and focus on building our own damn table, there can be no tangible progress. Without a parlay between the individual fractured industries, the various activist and advocate groups within the community and wider industry, there can be only one outcome: The “legalisation” and “medicinalisation” of a plant whose potential could have saved the world, into just another soulless commodity destined to destroy it.
In all good conscience, no individual or industry should be allowed to profit while others remain criminalised and incarcerated. Our only option for resistance at this point is to revolt against the installation of the Prohibition 2.0 paradigm and the co-opting of our culture and community.
We must unify to cultivate a future fair and equitable for all consumer and non-consumer alike by tearing up the antiquated, racist, and fascistic drug laws. So I ask you, what better time than now to sow the seeds of equity, justice, and prosperity? My friends, its time we call for a Cannabis revolution and rebellion.
This zero-carbon house in Cambridgeshire, England, literally comes from the land. Built on the 53-acre Margent Farm, the Flat House takes advantage of the property’s biggest resource—hemp.
London studio Practice Architecture worked with the farm to design the house, which was constructed in two days using prefabricated panels made from hempcrete, a mixture of hemp and lime.
The paneled facade of the house is clad in hemp-fiber tiles that are bound with a sugar-based resin made from agricultural waste. “The materials are breathable meaning they regulate the moisture in the air, resisting damp and mould and leading to a healthier environment and air quality,” the architects told Dezeen. The house also goes off-grid with a biomass boiler and solar panels on the roof.
Inside, the hemp panels are left bare, framed by a timber support system, which gives the walls a cool, neutral-toned texture. Though the house is made from humble materials, it still exudes an air of sophistication. The open-plan lower level has an atmospheric double-height ceiling and a wall of windows light up the dining area. Light timber stairs lead to a mezzanine and the bedrooms.
Can nature win the war on climate change? Maybe with a little help from humanity.
Using old reconditioned military planes, we can plant one billion trees a year. The planes will “tree bomb” deteriorated forests that have been devastated by commercial logging.
The proposed program uses some of that fastest growing trees in the world, which grow over 10 feet per year. These trees can fully counter the negative effects of de-forestation within a few years.
“A fleet of unused and decommissioned C-130 Hercules cargo planes, originally created to drop land mines, could be recommissioned as foresters,” the Guardian states.
“Lockheed Martin — the quintessential military innovation company — and Aerial Forestation Inc, of Newton took an old rusty idea from former UK RAF pilot Jack Walters and turned it into a reality. The planes will be outfitted to each drop up to 900,000 trees in one day and with 2,500 C-130’s sitting unused in 70 different countries, this idea could make for a lot of little saplings.”
The cargo planes will drop cones of seeds that bury themselves in the soil. The tree bombs don’t explode on impact but rather their casing dissolves over time and they contain a measure of fertilizer and enough moisture to ensure that the tree takes root.
“The possibilities are amazing,” says Peter Simmons, a Lockheed Martin representative. “We can fly at 1,000 ft at 130 knots planting more than 3,000 cones a minute in a pattern across the landscape – just as we did with landmines, but in this case each cone contains a sapling. That’s 125,000 trees for each sortie and 900,000 trees in a day.”
Are you looking for a few simple tips how to make your body more alkaline? Or do you want to raise your pH levels?
If so, then it’s not too hard to achieve these outcomes!
In this article, you will get a comprehensive guide on how to alkalize your body. First, you’ll learn about the difference between your various pH levels. Then you will discover a simple strategy to test if your body is alkaline or acidic. Finally you can check out the 15 tips on how to make your body more alkaline.
Why Does Your Body Become Alkaline or Acidic?
Before we get into all the tips on how to make your body alkaline, let’s discuss the reasons why you might have an in-balance in your pH levels.
There are two main factors that contribute making your body too acidic.
The foods we eat. (soda, meats, coffee, chocolate, flour sugar)
The amount of stress in our bodies and how we deal with it.
So you might wonder: “If I changed the foods that I ate and reduced my stress, would that make my body more alkaline?”
The simple answer is it depends.
Let’s talk about the pH levels in your body work…
Can you remember the pH scale? This scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. If a substance is neither acidic nor basic, it is neutral. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14.
Understanding the pH Level in Your Body
Most people don’t stop to consider the acid/alkaline balance in their blood, but an optimal pH is actually crucial to one’s health. Human blood is a solution, meaning that it is made up of a uniform distribution inside a liquid.
Having a balanced pH protects our bodies from the inside out. Some even say that diseases and disorders cannot grow in a body whose pH is in balance. An imbalanced pH allows unhealthy organisms to grow, damages tissues and organs, and hurts the immune system.
The body’s optimal pH is 7.36, which is just barely alkaline.
Because most people are too acidic, it is best to focus on alkalizing the body to maintain proper health. To measure your pH, you can dip a piece of litmus paper in your saliva or urine as soon as you wake up, before eating or drinking anything.
An acidic environment in one’s body will decrease its ability to repair damaged cells and detoxify heavy metals. It also creates an environment for tumor cells to thrive, and it makes the body more susceptible to fatigue and illness.
Acidosis is more common in today’s society than it was in centuries past due to the drastic changes in our eating patterns as compared to those who came before us.
Choosing to eat more alkaline foods can help to change your pH balance. This allows your body to function at its best.
However, many of the foods that people love are very acidic. Eating too many acidic foods over time stresses the body’s natural functions and can leave you feeling tired and sluggish.
So, which foods are alkalizing and which are acidic? As stated, the scale goes from 0 to 14, and you want to shoot for a balanced pH of 7. Our food today is far too high in acid-producing animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy.
Alkaline-producing foods:
spinach
broccoli
carrots
cauliflower
collard greens
strawberries
wild rice
Acid-producing processed food & drinks:
white flour
meat & eggs
sugar
chocolate
cream cheese
coffee
soft drinks
fruit juices
Neutral foods (slightly acidic):
cooked beans
coconut
salmon
Neutral foods (slightly basic):
apples
olives
bananas
It is far too low in alkaline-producing foods such as fresh vegetables like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, collard greens, strawberries, and wild rice.
Additionally, we eat acid-producing processed foods such as white flour and sugar, and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. Popcorn, cream cheese, chocolate, fruit juices, and nuts are all acidic foods that harm our overall health.
Some more neutral foods that are only slightly acidic include cooked beans, coconut, and salmon. On the other hand, some foods that are only slightly basic are apples, olives, and bananas.
Further, all grains, whether they are whole or not, increase acidity in the body. Many people eat most of their quota of plant food in the form of processed wheat or corn. The problem is, if you do not consume enough alkaline-promoting foods to counteract this, the body can become prone to disease.
Calcium-rich dairy products actually lead to osteoporosis because they create acidity in the body. When your bloodstream acquires too much acid, it will take calcium out of the bones because calcium is an alkaline substance.
This will then help the body balance the pH level. So while many people think that eating calcium is the key to strong bones, the best way to prevent osteoporosis is actually to eat a lot of alkaline green leafy vegetables.
How to Tell If Your Body Is Alkaline or Acidic
The big question here is, “How can you tell if your body is too alkaline or acidic?”
The quickest way to get this information is to measure your body’s pH level by using pH level strips that you can purchase at your local pharmacy or online. However, if you don’t have these handy and you want to know where you stand now, here are some symptoms of being too alkaline or too acidic.
Symptoms of Being Too Acidic
If your body is too acidic, you are likely to experience a lot of fatigue, even if you feel as if you are getting enough sleep at night. You may also have joint pain, headaches, chronic pain, or a stiff neck.
You are likely to feel an overall sense of sluggishness, and even depression at times. Many people whose bodies are too acidic also suffer from irritability and brain fog.
Symptoms of Being Too Alkaline
This is much less common than being too acidic, but can come with equally as disturbing symptoms. People who are too alkaline may suffer from hand tremors, nausea, vomiting, confusion, lightheadedness, and muscle twitching.
If you are still not sure after looking through these symptoms, here’s a great video from Dr. Eric Berg. https://youtu.be/m_AKdZ2E1oo
15 Ways to Make Your Body More Alkaline
As you can see, there can be a lot of negative consequences if your body is too acidic. An alkaline body is hard work, but worthwhile. If you’d like to balance it by becoming more alkaline, then here are 15 tips on how to make your body more alkaline.
1. Check your pH levels regularly.
pH Strips are relatively easy to purchase online. They give a fast and accurate reading of your body’s acidity and alkaline levels. The results of these test strips will help guide you in keeping your pH levels balanced so your body can properly process essential nutrients.
These strips give you a convenient method to monitor your pH levels in the privacy of your home. You can use either saliva or urine to test your pH. Results appear 15 seconds after your test is administered, and the strips come with an easy-to-read chart to see what range you are in.
2. Start your day with a tall glass of water with a hint of lemon.
Lemon might seem too acidic, but it actually has the reverse effect because it helps boost your metabolism. Clean water and a slice of freshly squeezed lemon is one of the most highly rated energy boosters of all time.
Water with lemon gives the body clean energy through both hydration and oxygenation that provide extraordinary energy and mental clarity.
When added to your water, fresh lemon helps oxygenate the body and optimize enzyme function. This fruit is known to stimulate the liver’s natural enzymes and assist the liver in the process of getting rid of toxins such as uric acid.
Start your day with a tall glass of water with a hint of lemon.
3. Eat more dark and green vegetables.
When we think of healthy foods, we usually think about the color green. Similarly, when we think about nature, we think about the color green. Green is a color that is associated with all of the good aspects of life, but when it comes to choosing what is for lunch, we typically have a reluctance towards green foods.
Unfortunately, our taste buds have been conditioned to love artificial flavors and sugars. Food manufacturers have made us crave intense flavors that can only be found in packaged products.
So, how can you get yourself to eat more dark and green vegetables? Start by exposing yourself to new vegetables and experimenting with them in the kitchen. You likely don’t know that you will like some of these foods until you try them.
Also, make them easily available. When you reach for a snack, make sure that you already have cut-up vegetables in the fridge rather than a bag of potato chips.
4. Get more exercise.
Exercise helps your body sustain and restore its neutral pH balance of tissues, as well as blood and cellular fluids. Doing aerobic exercise is the best way to maintain the acid-alkaline equilibrium in your body because it works your muscles and can help reduce the accumulation of acid in your system.
When it comes to exercising, make sure to do at least one form of activity each day, whether that is walking, dancing, gardening, swimming, etc. Also, the more you exercise, the better off your overall health will be.
Lace up and get more exercise.
5. Limit your alcohol intake.
Alcohol changes your pH by altering your kidneys’ ability to maintain substances such as phosphate in your blood. Imbalances of substances in the blood can significantly decrease the effectiveness of your body’s metabolism.
When you drink a light form of alcohol, like a beer, you are drinking a significant amount of water while also reducing your kidneys’ ability to get rid of that water. This results in a fluid overload and a change in phosphate levels that then decreases the acidity of your blood, making your pH level rise.
In fact, a single drink of alcohol can begin to change your normal kidney function. If your liver is already damaged from previous alcohol consumption, alcohol’s effects on your kidneys will only become more harmful.
6. Add a teaspoon of natural baking soda to water and drink it first thing in the morning.
Sure, this doesn’t taste so great, but is a quick way to alkalize your body. It is an easy method, and you can feel the effects of it right away. To do this, mix a teaspoon of natural baking soda in a cup of water and drink it as soon as you wake up.
Among other health benefits, drinking baking soda dissolved in a bit of water helps balance the body’s pH and promotes overall well-being while increasing energy.
7. Reduce your intake of acidic foods.
Limiting your intake of acidic foods can help manage your pH levels, help preserve bone density, prevent kidney stones, and eliminate symptoms of acid reflux.
Foods that are acid-forming in the body should be eaten in strict moderation. Some of these foods include processed cakes and breads, processed cereals, eggs, peanuts, walnuts, pasta, rice, oats, and cold cuts.
When it comes to beverages, limit your intake of alcohol, milk, caffeinated drinks, and drinks that contain artificial sweeteners.
Pasta is an acid-forming food. Eat it in strict moderation.
8. Drink more alkaline water.
You have probably heard some of the health claims that are out there about alkaline water. While a few say that it can help slow the aging process, prevent chronic disease, and regulate your body’s pH level, what exactly is the hype around alkaline water?
Alkaline water has a higher pH level than normal drinking water. Because of this, alkaline water can help neutralize the acid in your body. While normal drinking water typically has a neutral pH of 7, alkaline water has a pH of about 8 or 9.
9. Take multivitamins to supplement your diet.
Many of the vitamins included in a multivitamin will help you alkalize your body. For example, vitamins A and C boost the immune system and strengthen the body’s cells while also making the body more alkaline.
Vitamin D also helps the body maintain an alkaline state while also improving calcium absorption and helping the body maintain healthy mineral levels.
While you may not get enough of these important vitamins and minerals in your diet, taking a multivitamin every day can help your body maintain a healthy pH level.
10. Go for a brisk walk.
Exercise helps move any acidic waste products that are stuck in your body so your organs can eliminate them more effectively.
Each day, go for a brisk walk or incorporate another form of cardio into your day somehow. Grab a friend and start a walking routine together, and stick with it.
Walk with a friend.
11. Eat raw, unsalted almonds.
Snack on raw, unsalted almonds throughout the day to help combat acidity in your body. Almonds are rich in natural alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which help balance out the acidity in your body while also balancing your blood sugar.
If you feel the need to reach for some chips or cake, opt for raw, unsalted almonds instead. They will keep you fuller longer, and have a better effect on the pH of your blood.
12. Reduce your intake of sugar.
The most acidic things you can put into your body are foods that are full of sugar, such as sodas, candy, and cakes. Sugar is actually everywhere you look, in plain sight, as well as being hidden in common food items.
Products like ketchup, yogurt, and even pasta sauce are full of sugar. Sugar comes in many forms, such as high fructose corn syrup, artificial sugar, corn syrup solids, fructose, sucrose, and dextrose, just to name a few.
Sugar (in all of its forms) is very acidic. When you stop to think about how prevalent sugar is in foods (and often in high amounts), it is easy to see its influence in contributing to an imbalanced pH in the blood.
13. Reduce your caffeine intake.
Caffeine is often found in coffee and other drinks that are meant to provide you with a pick-me-up. You may be used to reaching for a soda in the mid-afternoon to help get you through the day, or even an after-dinner cup of coffee to help you finish up some work at the end of the night.
However, caffeine is an acidic factor that can damage the pH of your body. Instead of drinking caffeinated drinks, replace them with either water or tea.
Drink less coffee to be less acidic.
14. Reduce the amount of stress in your life.
Studies have shown that your emotional state affects the pH levels in your body. Stress affects the neuron-endocrine system, which leads to higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. As is the truth with any form of stress, half of the battle is realizing that the stress is happening.
Practicing mindfulness and recognizing what is challenging you, and whether you are having a helpful or hindering response is an important part of making sure your negative thoughts don’t have a lasting effect on your body.
Building a mindfulness practice will help you become aware of your emotions and allow them to pass without judgment. Once you are aware of your stress, take some steps to find inner peace to help you cope, which will also help keep your pH balanced and avoid harming your bones.
15. Focus on consuming lots of high-alkaline foods.
While you are avoiding foods that make your body produce more acidic, make sure to also add in foods that help your body come to a more alkaline state.
Eat a diet rich in fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables. Think about raw Brussels sprouts, raw Swiss chard, raw mustard greens, raw eggplant, sweet potatoes, and yams.
If you get stuck, Ross Bridgeford has a list of seven of the most alkaline foods:
Spinach
Kale
Cucumber
Broccoli
Avocado
Celery
Bell pepper
The Dangers of a Body that is Too Acidic
Think about some of the dangers of having a body that is too acidic. It can lead to fatigue, headaches, chronic pain, lack of appetite, increased heart rate, depression, and more.
Without quick treatment, acidosis can lead to several more serious health problems, such as kidney stones, chronic kidney problems, kidney failure, bone disease, and delayed growth.
Found this alkaline body post helpful?
I hope you enjoyed this post on how to make your body more alkaline. If your body is too acidic it can actually be life threatening unless you change your pH balance. So I hope you take it seriously!
Farmers are being encouraged to look at the business potential of growing cannabis. Pic: Cathal McNaughton/PA Wire
Medicinal cannabis plants being grown in a glasshouse at the British Sugar in Wissington. Picture: Archant
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