#24 ©July, 2001 ••••••• Don Harthcock, Editor OpinionSoup may contain language and topics unsuitable for children.
"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." ~C. G. Jung
IN THIS ISSUE:
ECOLOGY - Personal from Donny
HYDRANGEA - Look, but don't smoke.
INFLAMMATION - Protective Reaction, and herbs to treat over-reaction
JASMINE - "Jasmine Tea" is a potent cancer-fighter.
NETTLE - The most remarkable weed on the entire planet
QUASSIA - "Unscientific and unsubstantiated claims," says the FDA.
ROYAL JELLY - Ho-Hum, or Hum-Bug?
TURMERIC - Related to Ginger; also, Gilligan and The Skipper
USNEA - Anti-Bacterial Lichen
YERBA SANTA - Bronchial Amigo
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Personal from Donny
------ Forwarded Message
From: Robert Ingram xxx
Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2001 03:00:32 -0700
To: xxx
Subject: Fred Neil
Friends:
It is my sad duty to tell you that Vince Martin just called to say that Freddie passed away Saturday on Summerland Key. It is 3:00 a.m. and I have just returned from California. I will keep you all posted. I can be reached at xxx
"Try to remember the good times
And just a little bit of rain"
Love to all of you,
Bob and Gay Ingram
Cocoanut Grove Florida
BOB DYLAN:
"I used to play in a place called Cafe Wha?, and it always used to open at noon, and closed at six in the morning. It was just a non-stop flow of people, usually they were tourists who were looking for beatniks in the Village. There'd be maybe five groups that played there. I used to play with a guy called Fred Neil, who wrote the song "Everybody's Talking" that was in the film "Midnight Cowboy."
Fred was from Florida I think, from Coconut Grove, Florida, and he used to make that scene, from Coconut Grove to Nashville to New York. And he had a strong powerful voice, almost a bass voice. And a powerful sense of rhythm ... And he used to play mostly these types of songs that Josh White might sing. I would play harmonica for him, and then once in a while get to sing a song. You know, when he was taking a break or something. And you'd get fed there, which was actually the best thing about the place..."
Bert Kleinman Interview, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, NYC, NY, Jul 30, 1984.
Bob Dylan, Karen Dalton, Fred Neil - Cafe Wha? - Greenwich Village, 1961
Fred is dead? That's what I said.
Here's the really sad part: everybody who ever knew Freddie or even just met him in passing, will want a little piece of him now; some kind of memento to prove that they were in the in-crowd. I can hear them: "Well, I knew where he was, all the time, but I couldn't say."
Fred Neil always refused to pay the price of fame. In fact, he hid from it. Yes, he got a little crazy at the end. Yes, there were quarrels with dearly beloveds that never got patched up. Yes, there were personal demons that never got completely exorcised. Yes, Freddie was brilliant. Yes, he was unknown to the vast majority of people, which was the way he wanted it.
But some few knew him. Many more knew OF him. All were in awe of something that Fred had, some elusive quality that made him a god to songwriters and singers. He hated this idea, but his own compulsive, chronic reclusiveness actually created it. The fact of the matter was, Fred Neil knew himself so well that he refused to be adored. The perfect formula to insure that you never got to meet Freddie, was to adore him.
Donny is close with many of Freddie's closest, but for personal reasons involving other people, we were never "friends." We did a little tippy-toe dance in the immediate range of each other's auras once or twice, but mostly we stayed away from each other...when our auras touched, mine turned red and sparks flew. To be perfectly honest, it was jealousy on my part, involving a woman that we both loved, and who loved both of us. Just a pissing contest, really.
If you're wondering "Who the hell WAS this guy?" that's the way he wanted it. Freddie's shadow will now cavort with the dolphins, the way he always wished he could. Fred's best line to the dolphins, was "Do you ever think of me?"
Freddie liked to play his 12-string guitar for dolphins. In Open-D tuning. They would come to him when he did that, or when he ran his thumbnail over a plastic comb.
Here are the lines that humans remember him best for:
"I'm goin' where the sun keeps shinin', through the pouring rain.I'm goin' where the weather suits my clothes.
Bankin' off of the northeast wind, sailin' on a summer breeze.
Skippin' over the ocean like a stone."
So long, Fred. I always liked you a little bit.
ECOLOGY
An Ecosystem is an ecological community functioning as a unit. In the 60's and 70's we might have described an ecosystem as being "totally together." Today, one might hear young students say that ecosystems are "down" with their environments. Of course, that was last year's slang. Send me the latest update.
Allow me to speak a short piece here about the inadvisability of introducing foreign flora and fauna into delicate ecosystems. The Eucalyptus and Brazilian Wild Pepper trees in Florida come first to mind; ask any South Florida resident about those two, now marching relentlessly about, wherever they please.
The Brazilian Wild Pepper Tree, with its profusion of bright red berries, was first thought to be "ornamental." Now it is on a rampage, choking out anything in its path. Additionally, it has insinuated itself as a border to many agricultural fields. Farmers spray the fields with toxic chemicals, which also get onto the berries of this shrub or tree. Birds, especially gorgeous cardinals, eat the poisoned berries and drop dead by the hundreds, every year.
The Eucalyptus, a native of Australia, is famed world-wide for its ability to
"dry up" boggy areas. Enterprising fools with property near the Everglades have planted the rapidly-spreading Eucalyptus everywhere. Eucalyptus! In the Everglades! There oughtta be a law, but there isn't. What about that, Mr. Bush? Governor Bush and President Bush: a little "compassionate conservation," please! See Eucalyptus.
The Earth is not anybody's petri dish! Nobody should be allowed to take something away from an ecosystem, or to add an organism to it, just to see what might happen!
Believe it or don't, when I was a little boy we had no fire ants in Mississippi. I can't blame anybody for the fire ants, or for the armadillos that we also didn't have when I was a kid, because they just sort-of hitched rides and/or walked in. But kudzu, coyotes and beavers running rampant throughout our state? And now, otters? These "pests" are the result of SNOT-NOSE RICH KIDS AND BUREAUCRATS FOOLING AROUND WITH MOTHER NATURE! They were brought here on purpose!
Kudzu was brought to Mississippi from Japan over 100 years ago, to control erosion. Mississippi's ancient, rich topsoils were just sort-of thrown together in the long ago, by floods and wind. Early planters quickly discovered that cultivation made the topsoil simply blow away, dust in the wind. Now we have kudzu covering and killing anything it can reach, and erosion is still a problem. See Kudzu.
Coyotes ranged east of the Mississippi River, but many were also BROUGHT here because certain rich-kid "hunters" thought it would be fun to hear their dogs run them at night. Now, the coyotes have taken over the woods. They have eaten all the rabbits and are now bringing down calves and other livestock. Our native red and grey foxes have all but disappeared, because there are no rabbits for them to control. Our few remaining wildcats (bobcats) are now venturing into cities and towns, because there are no rabbits. I see about one a month, now, dead on a street or highway. Coyotes have interbred with wild dogs, and packs of these curs range freely everywhere, all night, every night.
I am not certain about beaver immigration to the Magnolia State, but I have been told they were introduced here by our own Fish and Game Commission. Ask anyone who owns a stock pond or fishing pond, about beavers. They have ruined hundreds and hundreds of ponds and creeks, burrowing into pond levees and collapsing them, and damming the creeks. They have cut down scores of thousands of young trees, many of them in areas that had already been clearcut by ignorant, uncaring land-owners who were anxious to make a killing in the burgeoning timber market.
I don't know where the otters came from. The most believable explanation is quite radical. Otters are fish-eaters, and Mississippi is the Catfish Capital of the World, with Catfish Farms all over the place. The catfish farms attracted thousands of native cranes and herons to their rich and unprecedented banquet, including the beautiful and endangered Great Blue Heron. Not satisfied simply employing bloodthirsty young men with guns to shoot all the birds on sight, certain catfish farm owners also hired crop-dusting airplanes to fly over the adjoining wildlife refuges and spray toxic chemicals, either killing the birds or making them unable to reproduce. The State of Mississippi, utterly disinterested, gave the perpetrators a slap on the wrist. It is said that radical environmentalists brought the otters here, in retaliation.
That's a great ending to this sad story, whether it's true or not. However, I feel really sorry for the otters. Catfish farm owners, ever-enterprising, are now hiring trappers to come here and "clean out" the otters, with bone-breaking, flesh-tearing steel traps. Otter pelts are "worth money," you see. Aren't we just a pitiful species, altogether?
When contacted about this story, state officials did not respond. They are currently very busy stealing property from family land-owners in Madison County, land that has been in many of those families for over 150 years. Some of the original land patents were signed by President Andrew Jackson and mention the word "forever," but the Mississippi Economic Development Authority is very anxious to establish a Nissan Factory over in Canton MS.
Trent Lott, the former favorite Bush Family lap dog, says "It will create over 4,000 jobs! And that's what we want in Mississippi...JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!" He got that line from a Bush.
That's what WHO wants, Trent? What a silly, shortsighted fool this man is, and always was...a puffed-up little toad. Donny did not ever vote for him. Trent used to think he was really a Very Important Guy...now he has found out what he was set up by the Republicans to become: a Fall Guy; Only A Pawn In Their Game (Bob Dylan). It's a trick the Republicans learned from southern aristocrats, which is what Trent always wanted to be and thought he was. Sorry, Trent; it's in the blood, like racehorses. You're no Socrates, but have a sip of Hemlock anyway, you treacherous little toady.
I could gather stories for you from all over the world wherein foreign plants, animals, insects and Nissan factories were brought in for economic development or to control or eliminate certain domestic pests, only to become much worse pests, themselves. In some extreme cases, entire ecosystems have been damaged profoundly, some irreparably. And often it is discovered, too late, that the original organisms considered to be pests were a delicate, critical link in that system.
If any of our philosophically dyslexic politicians decide to bring any other exotic creature into this state, I hope it's put to a vote, because my favorite nephew, Bubba, and all the other Bubbas who know better, wouldn't allow it.
By the way, Bubba has no brothers or sisters, so go figure the name. This is a great kid, incidentally, who plays the guitar, just got married, and just graduated from Mississippi State University!;-)
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HYDRANGEA
- It's "just for looks."
The root of Hydrangea aborescens is touted as having nutrients for the kidneys. I don't know about that specific claim, but it is, in fact, a very old remedy for bladder problems of all sorts. My guess is that it must be high in magnesium, as it helps dissolve kidney stones.
The buds, leaves and branches of Hydrangea are poisonous; ingestion could cause severe digestive problems, convulsions, even death.
Hydrangea grows to be a rather large plant, with enormous blue or pink flower heads (the color depends on the pH of your soil). It likes to live on the North side of your house, under the eaves, just back from the drip line.
H. paniculata grandiflora is a species of Hydrangea that is featured in Adam Gottlieb's book Legal Highs. According to Mr. Gottlieb, the dried leaves can be smoked, to get high. This is a bonehead idea, as Hydrangea leaves contain hydrangin, saponins, and cyanogenic substances. The price you pay for this mild, "legal" inebriation, is cyanide poisoning.
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INFLAMMATION / ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
- Inflammation is not a disease!
Inflammation is your body's response to an infection or an injury. It is your tissue's PROTECTIVE REACTION to infection, injury or irritation. Directly caused by your infection-fighting immune cells as they combat germs and as they repair tissue, Inflammation can be recognized by the onset of heat, pain, redness, swelling, and sometimes loss of function.
Don't let medical professionals mislead you. Inflammation is not a disease; it is, rather, a primary step in the healing process. Of course, extreme inflammation can be very uncomfortable, and it can even cause tissue damage. For Chronic Inflammation, you definitely should see a physician.
Herbs that soothe and decrease inflammation are called "Anti-Inflammatory." They are frequently used in combination with other herbs or medications. Donny urges you to beware of powerful pharmaceuticals that fight the inflammation as if it were the disease.
Following is a list of SOME of the best-known anti-inflammatory herbs, all of which have been or will be featured in the pages of OpinionSoup: Arnica, Bilberry, Black Cohosh, Butcher's Broom, Calendula, Cat's Claw, Cayenne, Chamomile, Comfrey, Dong Quai, Echinacea, Garlic, Gentian, Ginger, Ginkgo biloba, Grape Seed, Irish Moss, Juniper, Licorice, Ma-huang, Marshmallow, Passion Flower, Pine Bark, Saw Palmetto, Shepherd's Purse, St. John's Wort, Turmeric, Valerian, White Willow, Wild Yam. There are MANY more.
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JASMINE (JESSAMINE)
- smells great, fights disease, and cranks your tractor
image courtesy Logee's Greenhouses
In both Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine, the very fragrant flowers of Jasmine, an Asian and Middle Eastern native, are used for making nervine tonics that also treat water-retention problems.
The Asian variety, Jasminum officinale, is said to be aphrodisiac. Essential Oil of Jasmine, as well as its roots and flowers, has been used in the East to treat cancer.
Arabian Jasmine, J. sambac, is used to flavor Green Tea. In fact, Jasmine Tea is simply a mixture of Green Tea and Jasmine blossoms.
My sister loves her Carolina Jasmine, which is Gelsemium sempervirens, also known as Yellow Jessamine. This is a vining, poisonous plant; it is unrelated to Asian or Arabian Jasmine.
Another wonderfully fragrant "Jasmine" with which I am familiar is Night-Blooming Jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), a West Indian native much-beloved of the residents of Coconut Grove, Florida. This plant also is unrelated to Asian and Arabian Jasmine.
"If the Jasmine don't get you, you know the bay breeze will." ~Vince Martin
"Jasmine" evolved from French Jasmin, taken from Arabic and Persian Yasmin or Yasman.
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NETTLE (STINGING NETTLE)
- Good Weed, but you can't smoke it.
image courtesy Weed Science Society of America
Nettles (Urtica dioica) are perennial plants native to Europe, now naturalized throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada. They contain Vitamin C, Iron and other nutrients that strengthen the prostate. Germany's Commission E reports that Nettle Root Extract gives effective relief for BPH (prostate enlargement), urinary tract inflammation, and kidney stones.
Also in Germany, fresh Nettle leaves are commonly used as counter-irritants for arthritis patients.
This common roadside plant has been used for centuries to treat sprains, inflammation and pain of the muscles and joints; it is used widely throughout Europe for footbaths (fill a gallon jar or bucket loosely with dried Nettles, add cold water, let soak for twelve hours, heat, strain, pour into pan, add two tired feet).
In re-reading the preceding, it occurs to me that you should have some of this stuff made up in advance of your tired feet event; waiting twelve house can really eat into your day.
Recent studies suggest that Nettles contain a lectin that is a "potent and selective inhibitor of HIV and cytomegalovirus."
Traditionally used as a diuretic and a tonic for skin and hair (especially thinning hair), Nettle Tea has also been used for gout, high blood pressure, heart problems, hay fever, PMS and scurvy (whom do you know who has EVER had scurvy?). Nettle is used for bronchitis and asthma; the seeds have been used by Native Americans for insect bites and stings. Old-time herbalists recommended Nettle for snakebite, but I think I'd just go to the ER for that.
A poultice of astringent Nettle leaves is said to relieve eczema and other skin disorders.
Dr. Andrew Weil says that Stinging Nettle for hay fever, "is the best natural remedy that I know...spectacularly effective."
The young shoots are nutritious and can be used in salads. They contain Iron and Silica.
Nettle is commonly used to dye wool and silk. Famed herbalist Jethro Kloss said it will "bring back the natural color" of your hair.
Is there anything this herb won't do? If it could talk, I'd ask it who killed Kennedy.
We all know that herbalists en toto, especially in days past, have made some wide-ranging claims, but if all the above is to be believed, I think everybody needs a couple of bales of this stuff. If you do gather your own, wear strong gloves (Stinging Nettles, Stinging); alternately available as pills, tea, tincture, snuff or wash.
Nettle is approved as an over-the-counter drug in Canada, France, Germany and the UK.
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QUASSIA (Amargo, Bitterwood)
- Once again, Japanese scientists are leading the world in patenting compounds of this ancient folk remedy, thanks to the disinterest of the FDA and the American pharmaceutical industry, who want to sell you expensive synthetic chemicals that make you sicker.
image from Kohler's Medicinal Plants
Quassia amara is a Tropical American shrub or small tree native to Surinam and northern Brazil...it grows from six to eighteen feet tall. Its bark and leaves yield an extremely bitter substance of the same name, used commercially in insect repellents and insecticides. At one time it was the prime ingredient of flypaper, a disgusting product. Quassinoids are also used medicinally as digestive bitters and to kill pinworm infestations in humans.
Picrasma excelsa, native to Jamaica, is also known as Quassia. Constituent agents of these two trees are almost identical, and are used interchangeably. Even though you may never have heard of it, Quassia is used by herbalists worldwide for fevers, malaria, hepatitis and digestive problems. Unlike quinine, this anti-malaria treatment does not cause hearing loss.
Quassia is antineoplastic...with well-known anti-tumor properties.
Native Brazilians use Quassia Leaf Tea as an external wash for measles, I am told, although I would have thought measles to be an uncommon and devastating disease amongst South American Indians. In Surinam, Quassia Bark Tea, taken internally, is the #1 remedy for fevers and parasites. Gardeners report that it is the the world's greatest killer of aphids.
American herbalists have more often administered Quassia Tea by enema, for internal parasites. Dr. James Duke, the USDA Plant Wizard, has reported on the use of Quassia to treat carcinoma. The most exciting research on this herbal medicine was performed by scientists at Texas Christian University in 1996, who reported in vitro destruction of leukemic cells and HIV.
Doesn't it make you even the least bit angry that the AMA, the FDA and the American pharmaceutical industry are actively suppressing interest and research with Quassia?
The FDA is currently FILING LAWSUITS against several companies who are making medicinal claims for Quassia. The American media, notoriously ignorant on these topics, are reporting this action as a good thing, quoting only the FDA (most of whose members have financial ties to pharmaceutical companies).
Meanwhile, the Japanese are working like Japanese to corner the market on Quassia, as they did with Co-Enzyme Q-10 (whose benefits to heart patients are known worldwide but are still denied by the American medical community and the FDA).
Why doesn't our country wake up to the criminal actions of the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies? Don't you people realize that this is just a huge money game?
"Donny, you're gettin' real far-out, now," says my nephew.
Yes, Donny is real far-out. And someday, after I'm dead, people will say "Why didn't anybody listen to this guy?"
Jethro Kloss lists Quassia as Simarouba excelsa, good for "a run-down system." Kloss also recommended Quassia for worms, fevers, and "destroying the appetite for strong drink." For worms and fevers he was right on, but Donny doesn't believe that "appetite for strong drink" has any long-term efficacious botanical remedy (strong claims are made for Kudzu). Of course, the taste of strong Quassia terpenoids in one's mouth would definitely screw up a good scotch-and-soda.
Quassia is a distant relative, a "kissin' cousin," you might say, of the southern Magnolia.
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ROYAL JELLY
- "I'm yo' Queen Bee, baby." ~Anonymous
A nutritious substance secreted by worker bees, Royal Jelly is food for all very young larvae and the only food for larvae that will be Queen Bees.
"Fresh Royal Jelly is a high-energy food that is thought to aid mental alertness, provide energy, and increase sperm count. Royal Jelly is rich in Amino Acids and contains many anti-bacterial properties. In human nutrition, Royal Jelly has the capacity to normalize body chemistry, and thus help achieve the balance necessary for overall good health."
The italicized information above was gleaned from manufacturers of this food supplement, who want to sell it to you. Donny has found little significant scientific data on Royal Jelly, and reminds you that this substance is DIGESTED. Nutritionists and herbalists are not buzzing about Royal Jelly. Many doctors and scientists who really do know what they are talking about, regard Royal Jelly claims as quackery.
Substances contained in Royal Jelly are available in other foods, at far less expense. Donny recommends Honey. The rest is for the bees.
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TURMERIC
- Not just for coloring butter and ceramics, anymore!
images courtesy varunimpex.com
Native to India and also obtained these days from Haiti, Jamaica and Peru, Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is first mentioned in writings of the Greek physician Dioscorides in the 1st Century CE, who perhaps used it to dye his boyfriend's hair; I don't know.
Turmeric is antibacterial, powerfully anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. It reduces cholesterol and helps protect your stomach lining and liver. It inhibits platelet aggregation (clumping), which protects you from heart attacks and strokes. It may also prevent ulcers. There is no richer source of beta carotene than Turmeric. For cold sores or chancre sores, mix a little Turmeric powder with water and apply the paste.
In Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, Turmeric is combined with other plant medicines to fight arthritis, toothaches, liver conditions and gas. It is also valued as a cardiovascular tonic. TURMERIC IS BEING RESEARCHED AS AN ANTI-CANCER SPICE BECAUSE OF ITS CURCUMIN, A COX-2 INHIBITOR OF TUMOR CELL GROWTH FACTORS. It is also being researched as a treatment for HIV and AIDS.
The powdered rhizome of Turmeric is an ingredient of various condiments
and is still used to color such foods as butter and cheese; it is a major ingredient of curry powder and prepared mustard, and it is used extensively in East Indian and Arabic cuisine.
Turmeric is a member of the Ginger Family, along with Gilligan and The Skipper. It is approved as an over-the-counter drug in Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. The FDA, of course, thinks it's something you cook with.
NOTE: TO UTILIZE TURMERIC MEDICINALLY, YOU NEED TO BUY CAPSULES (STANDARDIZED FOR CURCUMIN) FROM YOUR NATURAL HEALTH STORE. Turmeric in the spice section of your grocery store will be "processed" and possibly old, but it will still be good for you, even when cooked into your food...just not as potent.
CAUTION: CONSULT WITH YOUR HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE USING THERAPEUTIC DOSAGES OF TURMERIC IF YOU ARE TAKING AN ANTICOAGULANT MEDICATION.
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USNEA (Old Man's Beard, Sun-Lo)
- "I never heard of it." ~My Entire Family
"Well, Dear Hearts," says Donny, "what HAVE you heard of, besides doctors and penicillin?"
This photo was taken by somebody in Sweden.
Usnea barbata, U. longissima, U. hirta, U. florida, U. dasypoga. These tree lichens contain strongly antibacterial and antifungal Usnic Acid. Usnea is applied topically for bacterial skin conditions, jock itch, athlete's foot, vaginal infections, candida, and ringworm. Internally, it treats infections of the urinary and upper respiratory tracts (including strep throat), as well as common colds, flu and bronchitis.
Herbalists and Naturopaths have recommended Usnea for pleurisy, pneumonia, and (in combination with other medicines) tuberculosis. Because it is very bitter, it has traditionally been used for digestive disorders. Usnea is available in tinctures and extracts.
Ranging throughout North American, Asia and Europe, Usnea hangs in long strands from trees...it is a hybrid combination of algae and fungus. Medicinal use of Usnea dates back to ancient China, Egypt and Greece. It is known to be effective against staphylococcus, streptococcus, and mycobacteria. These organisms are known to scientists as "gram-positive" bacteria. Against "gram-negative" bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella, Usnea has not been effective.
You will find Usnea sold most commonly as a tincture, but it has also been used as a powder, dusted directly onto open or infected wounds. During "colds and flu season," Usnea is a good alternative for anyone who is allergic to Echinacea.
Germany's Commission E reports that use of Usnea has no known side effects.
CAUTION: CONSULT YOUR PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PERSON IF YOU ARE BEING TREATED FOR ANY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE (LUPUS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS). USNEA INCREASES IMMUNE SYSTEM "ACTION."
WARNING: KNOW YOUR SUPPLIER; KNOW THE GROWTH ENVIRONMENT OF THE USNEA YOU PURCHASE. USNEA CONCENTRATES HEAVY METALS FROM AIR POLLUTION.
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YERBA SANTA (Mountain Balm, Holy Herb)
- Yerba Santa can be purchased at MountainRoseHerbs.com, to whom OpinionSoup is not connected in any way.
image courtesy Purdue University
Eriodyctyon glutinosum (also listed in some herbals as Eriodictyon californicum) is an evergreen, shrubby plant of western North America. It can be found growing along the Pacific Coast, from northern Mexico through California to Oregon. An expectorant herb, it is used for sore throats, laryngitis and bronchitis.
This aromatic plant can be recognized easily by its resinous stem and glossy, varnished-looking leaves.
Many California herbalists recommend Yerba Santa for all bronchial troubles. It is often used in combination with Grindelia robusta to treat asthma and hay fever. For asthma, the leaves are sometimes smoked.
OpinionSoup is published by Don Harthcock. OS#24 ©July, 2001, Don Harthcock, OpinionSoup.com.Portions of OpinionSoup may be reproduced on your site with proper credit and a link. This instruction supercedes all previous prohibitions. Taping RP to refrigerators, posting on bulletin boards & emailing to friends is waycool, highly-recommended, and much appreciated.
Hempfest 2001 is August 10, 11, 12. Click above image for more info. Donny will not be attending, as I prefer to be stuck here with my darling Jonnie, who has Alzheimer's. Neither of us has been a pot-smoker for many, many years, but we do support both medical use of this herb, and its complete decriminalization. Unlike Bill Clinton, Donny freely admits that he did inhale. Jonnie, who only smoked it once that I know of, said "This stuff doesn't do anything to me," as she poured milk on her third bowl of cereal.
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