It Could Be Anything!
Number Three ©August, 2000 ••••••• Don Harthcock, Editor
OpinionSoup may contain language and topics unsuitable for children.

"Be Here Now" - Ram Dass

IN THIS ISSUE:

• WORLD WILDLIFE FUND - Get a free umbrella (for $15).
• ANDREW WEIL - the hippy from Harvard
• BO TREE - What do figs know?
• CANNABIS SATIVA INDICA - Donny talks dope.
• DAMIANA - How's your sex life?
• EGGS - Humpty, or Dumpty?
• FDA (Food & Drug Administration) - almost too disgusting for words
• FELDENKRAIS METHOD® - awareness through movement®
• YELLOW DOG DEMOCRATS - Do they care who's running?
• ZINC - A little zinc keeps you in the pink.

The FDA has not evaluated any of the statements made in this publication, nor is that likely ever to happen. This publication is not meant to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Since this publication is not intended to be diagnostic or prescriptive, the authors assume no responsibility for any adverse reactions resulting from the use of any information contained in it.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Want a free umbrella with the world-famous World Wildlife Fund panda on it? Donate $15 or more (tax-deductible) to the WWF, PO Box 96555, Washington DC 20077-7787. If you wish, you can make a personal visit to their headquarters at 1250 24th St. NW.
Perhaps you are one of the millions of Americans who have recently suffered the brain-numbing effects of Republican Party rhetoric. Maybe, like Donny, you're one of the tens of millions who drop into a dead snooze every time Trent Lott's face appears on TV.
If I'm describing you, then no doubt you've also been having some trouble getting alarmed at the rate of destruction of the world's rain forests. Donny urges you to contact the WWF as soon as possible. They can help cure your disinterest.
I am told that rain forests are being destroyed at the rate of about ten acres a minute, information that is both disturbing and difficult to believe. I'm no math whiz, but that's 600 acres an hour, or 14,400 acres a day. At that rate, it seems to me we could chop down the entire world in about six months. This information comes from bona-fide tree-huggers, not dilettantes like Donny.
Anything CLOSE to that rate of destruction should be of more interest to our government than tracking down the sex and drug habits of politicians. I don't know and couldn't care less whether George W. Bush has ever snorted cocaine. I DO know and DO care, however, that rain forests are home to half the world's species of wildlife, and hundreds of vital medicines are made from the plants that grow there.

It is reasonable and smart to question "charity" letters that we all receive so often. The WWF, you should know, has been named the Top Environmental Charity for two years running by SmartMoney Magazine, in its yearly wrap-up of "Charities You Can Trust." Of every dollar the WWF receives, 9% is spent on fundraising, 4% goes for salaries, and a whopping 87% goes toward conservation programs.
For the good of Mother Earth, the WWF urges you to
Replace your light bulbs, as they burn out, with compact fluorescents. They use one-fourth the energy of regular bulbs and reduce carbon dioxide emission.
Buy only wood products with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label.
Use organic fertilizers (compost, manure) instead of chemical pesticides and weed killers, which contaminate wildlife and ecosystems.
Refrain from throwing trash on the ground as you drive or hike. Trash injures wildlife.
Practice good stewardship of our planet with respect to the fish and seafood you buy.
Avoid over-exploited stocks such as Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic salmon and shark.
Once again, Donny urges you to check out the World Wildlife Fund's web site, http://www.worldwildlife.org.

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ANDREW WEIL
- Andrew Weil, MD, POB 697, Vail AZ 85641

Read all of this man's books; Andrew is the herald of new medicine for the New Age. Although he was trained at Harvard Medical School, he is uncommonly sensitive and compassionate. Dr. Weil describes himself as "a physician with botanical training," and Donny tells you that you are likely to meet few of these. Although Weil was trained in conventional Allopathy, his recommendations often embrace Ayurvedic Medicine, Herbal Medicine, Naturopathy, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
His appearance reminds me of Alan Ginsberg and Ram Dass, but Weil is actually an unflappable interface between orthodox and alternative medicine: an M.D. with a beard and sandals, a modern Hippocrates. Unlike the GPs of my area (except one), he does not discredit people like Donny "...who do not have degrees in any of the major systems of medicine but who have studied on their own or with experienced preceptors."
Where my showbiz personality makes me tend toward ranting and raving, Andrew is a great deal more calm and intellectual. We share many beliefs and attitudes. For information on his frequent lectures, seminars, informational products and a monthly newsletter on health and healing, write Dr. Weil at ANDREW WEIL, M.D., PO BOX 697, VAIL AZ 85641. For any medical, herbal or alternative medicine information, click on the pic.

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BO TREE (PEEPUL, PIPAL)
- impeccable figness

The Bo Tree (Ficus religiosa), a Fig tree native to India and sacred to Buddhists, has all but lost its original name, Peepul, because this is the kind of tree under which Lord Buddha was sitting when he gained his enlightenment.
The name "Peepul" comes from Hindi Pipal, derived from Sanskrit Pippalam.
The name "Bo Tree" is taken from Singhalese Bo-gaha (Tree of Wisdom), which is taken from the Pali Bodhi, derived from Sanskrit Bodhih (Enlightenment).
It is distinctly human to deify, mystify and mythologize that which is beyond apparent ken, as well as nearby objects. Buddha laughs his fat Buddha laugh at the sacredness of the Bo Trees, which, heedless of consecration and knowing only Figness, continue to produce fruit perfectly and to offer shade impeccably.
Neither Buddha nor Jesus wanted to be worshiped. Jesus, a distinctly left-wing, radical reformer, taught us to embrace the Kingdom of God; Buddha, the Enlightened One Formerly Known As Prince (Siddhartha Gautama), taught transcendence of suffering and desire, inherent in humanity.

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CANNABIS (Marijuana)
- Marijuana is NOT a "gateway drug."
photo courtesy ganja.org

Cannabis sativa is an annual, dioecious plant native to central Asia; it is now grown throughout the world. As an intoxicant, a euphoriant, a relaxant or a sacrament (especially as used by adherents of the Jamaican Rastafarian religion), the female leaves and buds of C. s. indica are smoked, infused and drunk, or eaten…as Ganja, Hashish or Marijuana (also Bhang, Dagga, Grass, Herb, Kif, Pot, Weed, and many other names).
A mild to highly-intoxicating euphoriant, depending upon where and how it is grown, Cannabis is sometimes called hallucinogenic (not by Donny, who knows better). Neither is Cannabis a narcotic, although it does have pain-relieving properties.
Cannabis is prescribed in some enlightened areas to relieve the discomforts of AIDS and cancer treatments (extreme nausea and loss of appetite), and as an effective medicine for glaucoma. A great deal of research is presently underway to determine how best to administer the pain-killing cannabinoid compound of marijuana.
"It's known that if you injure a nerve, the morphine receptors in the spinal cord disappear and that's probably why morphine isn't a very effective pain killer for such conditions as shingles, people who have had an amputation or perhaps if cancer has invaded the spinal cord," says Dr. Andrew Rice, a pain researcher at Imperial College in London, UK.
"But what we've shown is that the cannabinoid receptors do not disappear when you injure a nerve. So this could offer a therapeutic advantage over morphine for treating such pain. Other researchers showed that if you inject cannabinoid compounds in small doses in the spinal cord, you get pain relief. In addition, a third group of people showed that nerve cells in the spinal cord that are normally activated by pain are damped down by small doses of cannabinoid in the spinal cord fluid."
These findings were published in a recent issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.
Unlike tobacco, Cannabis is non-addictive; yet it is illegal to possess or use this herb in the United States. Cannabis has been smoked by entire generations of Americans, including at least one President (who claims he did not inhale) and numerous other high officials in our government. It remains highly illegal for highly complex political and economic reasons, not one of which has anything whatsoever to do with your health.
Marijuana is often called a "Gateway Drug" to other, harmful substances by doctors, politicians and law officers, but Donny and many other experts maintain that this is an absurd idea. I assure you that these gateway-drug enthusiasts don't know **** from Shinola® about Marijuana. Seeking approval from like-minded bosses, colleagues or constituents, they are merely repeating what other ignorant people have said.
To be fair, I must say that some of these people believe what they are saying, and there is some logic to their arguments. But really, they don't know what they're talking about! They believe that smoking your first joint opens the door to all taboos, but I tell you ANYTHING can open that door.
Ex-junkies tell these folks, ""Yeah, I 'started out' on Pot," and they are believed. But they also "started out" on a PLETHORA of other taboo-breakers. You could even say they started out on chewing gum, couldn't you, if you wanted to start a war with Wrigley's or if you had been led to believe that chewing gum was evil or dangerous.
In support of my stand on this matter, I tell you this: a report to the U.S. Drug Czar, which was commissioned BY the Drug Czar, concluded that Marijuana is not a gateway drug. THE REPORT WAS TRASHED, because it didn't state what the King wanted to hear. This information, you see, is not compatible with the War on Drugs, another absurdity which amounts to no more than a bureaucratic empire, beloved of politicians and their lap dogs.
I smoked my first joint in Chicago in 1966, with…a member of Spanky &
Our Gang; then I went on-stage at Mother Blues and screwed up in front of George Carlin and was mortified. During the next twenty or so years, I smoked several more.

As a fully recovered former drug-abuser, I don't use controlled substances of any kind anymore, nor have I smoked Cannabis for a very long time. But you must believe me when I tell you that SMOKING MARIJUANA DID NOT LEAD ME INTO HEAVIER DRUG USE. My addictions to barbiturates and cocaine were caused by guilt, lost love, depression, divorce, and insanity. I never really wanted to be a drug addict; what I wanted, was to die.
At that stage of my life I laughed and said "No thanks" whenever I was offered Pot. Junkies who are into serious chemicals are not interested in herbs. Yet police and the courts, in some States, make no such distinction. In Texas (whose governor, everybody knows, is Republican Presidential Hopeful and alleged former coke-snorter George W. Bush) you can go to jail for twenty years for possession of Cannabis.
If I don't smoke Marijuana anymore, why do I defend it? I am not defending Marijuana; I am defending TRUTH. My real concern is, your children will know when you bullshit them about Pot; then, they might not believe what ANY adult says about ANY drug.
NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP YOUNG PEOPLE FROM EXPERIMENTING WITH ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES! Here is another sad fact for you: teenagers care more what their friends think, than what YOU think. I urge you to talk with your youngsters, but be careful what you say; they are much hipper than you imagine them to be. You don't have to tell them Pot is OK or not; it's enough to tell them that it's ILLEGAL, and using it could have serious consequences. If you can, find somebody like me to talk with them, someone WHO KNOWS what those serious consequences are!
Above all, don't give credence to these ridiculous TV ads whose tag line is, "Another missed opportunity to talk with your child about Marijuana," unless you have a serious Bozo complex. Those commercials are very lame, and if you follow their lead your children will think that YOU are lame, believe me.
These arrogant cretins even boast, "We'll tell you what to say." Remember that the people who sponsor these ads are mostly concerned with obtaining Grant Money and maintaining their vast bureaucratic empires. These are the folks who gave us "Just Say No," and "This is your Brain on drugs…any questions?" which, as we all know, were great media winners. Drug use, however, remained unaffected and continues, unabated. Even Harry Anslinger's campaign against the "Killer Weed" was no more ridiculous, sixty years ago.
Did you know that Carl Sagan smoked Pot secretly and thought it was great stuff? I'm sure Mrs. Sagan is not happy about that particular news leak, but I can assure her that my respect for Carl is undiminished.
The renewed, totally unreal national hysteria about Marijuana use is fueled by absurd, ridiculous TV ads from a government agency that needs to spend a certain amount of money by the end of the fiscal year, or they won't get more; that's all there is to that.
The Latin word Cannabis derives from Greek Kannabis.
CAUTION: Cannabis sativa indica, although considered by this author to be practically harmless, burns with more tars than tobacco, so it isn't entirely harmless, is it? Granted, most Pot-smokers don't smoke "a pack" or more of joints per day. Prolonged and excessive use of Cannabis can undermine your initiative and ambition (this from Donny's personal and private archives). Also, getting busted for possession of drugs can be a nightmare (many cops are immature, sadistic

bullies; some are the greatest assholes on Earth). In any case, it doesn't look good on a résumé or job application!
Marijuana Prohibition is ridiculous; therefore, OpinionSoup ridicules it. Donny urges you to read some literature from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

UPDATE TO "CAUTION" NOTE
The following is excerpted verbatim (used by permission):

NORML E-Zine
Volume 4
Issue 2
January 11, 2001
The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news items regarding marijuana policy. Texts of archived stories are available on NORML's website at: http://www.norml.org/news/archives/index2000.shtml
* NORML/MAPS Study Shows Vaporizers Reduce Toxins In Marijuana Smoke
Medical marijuana patients may be able to protect themselves from harmful toxins in marijuana smoke by inhaling their medicine using an electric vaporizer, according to initial results of a study by California NORML and Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
The study showed that it is possible to vaporize medically active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by heating marijuana to a temperature short of the point of combustion, thereby eliminating or substantially reducing potentially harmful smoke toxins that are normally present in marijuana smoke. Vaporizers may therefore substantially reduce what is widely regarded as the leading health concern associated with marijuana, namely respiratory harm due to smoking. NORML and MAPS sponsored the study in the hopes of helping medical marijuana patients and others reduce the health risks of smoking marijuana. A major obstacle to approval of natural cannabis by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its 1999 report, Marijuana and Medicine, was that smoking is an unhealthy delivery method. The IOM report failed to note the possibility of vaporization.
The NORML-MAPS study tested a device called the M1 Volatizer, an aromatherapy vaporizer developed by Alternative Delivery Systems, Inc. It consisted of an electric heating element in a chamber that radiates heat downwards over a sample of marijuana contained in a standard bowl. Output from the vaporizer was analyzed and compared to smoke produced by burning the sample.
The vaporizer produced THC at a temperature of 185 C. (365 F.) while completely eliminating three measured toxins - benzene, a known carcinogen, plus toluene and naphthalene. Carbon monoxide and smoke tars were both qualitatively reduced by the vaporizer, but additional testing is needed to quantify the extent of the decrease.
The vaporizer study was undertaken as a follow-up to a previous NORML-MAPS marijuana smoking device study, which concluded that vaporizers offered the best prospects for smoke harm reduction: http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v06n3/06359mj1.html
Many medical marijuana patients say they prefer vaporizers because they deliver smoother, less irritating medication, said Dale Gieringer, NORML California State Coordinator.
NORML and MAPS are currently seeking support for further research and development of vaporizers. Research is presently underway to explore the optimal temperature and conditions for vaporization. An additional $85,000 is needed to provide accurate measurement of carbon monoxide and other toxins, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Further studies may be needed to explore alternative device designs and the effects of different marijuana sample consistency, potency and preparation.

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DAMIANA
- an authentic aphrodisiac; dump the Viagra®!
Damiana photo courtesy of Steven Foster

Recommended by herbalists as a mild antidepressant, urinary antiseptic and nerve tonic, Damiana (Turnera diffusa aphrodisiaca) also has a "scientifically unproved" reputation for curing frigidity in women and enhancing sexual pleasure in men. Personally, I prefer feathers, applied externally.
Can you imagine the testing that would be undertaken to obtain "scientific proof" of this herb's efficacy as an aphrodisiac? To date, anecdotal evidence has been sufficient recommendation.
Damiana actually was a popular sexual restorative herb of the Aztecs and Mayas, and it is still very popular in Mexico for the same purpose. You will also see it advertised all over the web as an herbal alternative to Viagra®. Donny recommends Damiana INSTEAD, if you are thinking of purchasing Viagra®.
A small shrub, Damiana is used to make a Mexican liqueur of the same name. This beverage could give new meaning to Loretta Lynn's hit song Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' With Lovin' On Your Mind.

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EGGS
- common retail practice: putting "expired" eggs right back into circulation! Caveat emptor!
Here's the latest on Eggs:
Check Egg containers for freshness dates.
Don't buy cracked Eggs.
Leave Eggs in the carton they come in, even if your refrigerator has cute little built-in Egg trays.
Eggs are bad for you.
No, they're not.
Eggs increase your cholesterol.
No, they don't.
Donny says, "Enough, already!"

People and other animals have been eating Eggs for a very long time; they are NOT bad for you (OK, they're kind-of bad for you). They DO contain cholesterol (OK, a LOT of cholesterol). Of course, you should eat a varied diet, and you should not cook your Eggs in bacon grease. The Heart Association now says that it's OK for healthy people to eat four Egg yolks a week.
If you were born on a farm as I was, you know the difference between an actual fresh Egg and the kind that come in cardboard cartons. Commercial Eggs are "forced" from chickens that are not allowed to sleep properly or get their food the way that yard chickens do. Consequently, commercial Eggs have very thin shells, very pale yolks, and fewer nutrients. We eat too many Eggs, actually; it's habit. Natural Man ate Eggs when he was lucky enough to find them. Our ancestors raised their own chickens and did not eat Eggs every day.
You don't have to have meat and Eggs for breakfast every morning; it's just one of the unhealthy things we find difficult to give up. For your good health, limit your Egg and fatty pork consumption. There are many alternatives to bacon and Eggs.
A few people (including the USDA, the FDA and ABC Television) have long been aware of the common practice of juggling "freshness dates" on Eggs, depending upon what supermarkets want. Also common practice: putting "expired" Eggs right back into circulation, mixing them in with fresh Eggs and recycling them to unwary consumers.
The USDA reacted semi-quickly when they learned of this practice; supposedly, Eggs marked "USDA-Approved" are actually fresh, now, and have not been juggled.
The FDA did nothing, and continues to do nothing. For EIGHT YEARS they have done nothing. A certain U.S. Senator remarked that it's a good thing NASA was not turned over to the FDA; it would have taken them eight years to find out which way is UP.

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FDA (Food & Drug Administration)
- "The pharmaceutical industry has the FDA in its back pocket." ~ Don Harthcock
The highest stamp of approval the FDA will give to an herb, short of declaring it an over-the-counter drug (extremely rare), is GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). This "rating" is practically insignificant, meaning no more than "it probably won't kill you."
Even though the governments and scientists of several other countries have declared dozens of herbs to be medicinal in fact, and have approved them as over-the-counter drugs, the American FDA remains intransigent. They say they are protecting us. The FDA doesn't want us gathering herbs, self-medicating and causing ourselves harm, they say (at the urging of pharmaceutical companies and the AMA).
What a laugh! What a LIE! The fact is, major pharmaceutical companies, in direct partnership with the AMA, have ARMIES of lobbyists in Washington. They don't actually give a damn about your health; THEY WANT YOUR MONEY! And they get it, by the BILLIONS.
Ironically, the FDA is actually doing the public GREAT HARM. While actively interfering with the freedom of the American Public (that's you and me) to educate ourselves in the use of Vitamins and Herbs, they are ineffectual at protecting us from hundreds and hundreds of "health" items which do NOTHING for our good health and are marketed shamelessly every day in every way, with almost total impunity. Conversely, herbal and vitamin products, which have tremendous potential for the public good, are specifically prohibited from making medicinal claims or prescribing dosages.
Why is the FDA hawkish only to the Health-Food Store industry? I'll tell you what I think, and with no subtlety. I think the pharmaceutical industry has the FDA in its back pocket. You shouldn't stand for it!
There is more "information" about the FDA sprinkled throughout these pages, and very little of it is good. I invite your comments, and I challenge anyone to find even one good thing about the FDA, other than declared intentions.
You can contact the FDA's Office of Consumer Affairs Inquiry Information Line at 301.827.4420; their web site is www.fda.gov.

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FELDENKRAIS METHOD®
- searching for Balance and Harmony

The Feldenkrais Method® teaches Awareness Through Movement®. Massage, floor exercises and breathing exercises are involved; also touch-healing and psychological dialogue.
The purpose is to re-train and re-route pathways of the central nervous system, exorcising habitual or restrictive physiological and psychological patterns of body/mind behavior and replacing them with balance and harmony.
Feldenkrais® work has been remarkably effective in cases of cerebral palsy, stroke, and with victims of trauma.

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YELLOW DOG DEMOCRAT
- Stop it right now! But do vote for Gore/Lieberman, IF YOU'RE NOT VOTING FOR NADER!

This is the term for a party loyalist who votes Democrat no matter who or what the candidate is or claims to be. It is a concept which is out-of-date, especially here in the South where many White politicians running as Democrats are actually closet Republicans.

If you have always been a Yellow Dog Democrat, stop it right now. Especially, don't vote for any Democrat who is a friend of Trent Lott, the Republican Party Fool, Fall-Guy, Parrot, and Bush Family Lap-Dog.

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ZINC
- a little something for the boys
"A little Zinc keeps you 'in the pink'," my pharmacist used to tell me, with a wink. This was a GREAT pharmacy, by the way, on Flagler Street in Miami, right next to the Miami River.
A component of enzymes and insulin, Zinc (a trace mineral) facilitates carbohydrate digestion, Prostate gland function, memory, growth, maturity, and the synthesis of RNA and DNA. It is an important factor in wound-healing and the development of new cells (especially white blood cells, regulating the immune system), and important for your reproductive organs.
Zinc is a major component of ejaculate and regulates both blood cholesterol and sugar. Zinc helps detoxify the Liver and also helps transport Vitamin A from the Liver to the skin.
Zinc deficiency is very common in America, especially in children and older adults. This lack of Zinc can lead to birth complications, colorblindness, cataracts, learning disabilities, colitis, and may be linked to BPH, prostatitis and other Prostate conditions.
As "nutritional medicine," practitioners have been using Zinc for decades to support a healthy Prostate. Supplementation with Zinc enhances immune function and may assist in preventing bacterial prostatitis from spreading to the kidneys.
Puberty is often delayed in boys whose diet is lacking in Zinc.
Naturopaths have used Zinc for acne, arthritis, boils, enlarged Prostates, infertility, loss of taste and smell, peptic ulcers and skin conditions.
A Zinc lozenge every couple of hours will reduce cold symptoms (less effective for kids), but use them only when you actually have a cold.
Zinc is more effective with Vitamin A, Calcium and Copper. It is plentiful in Beans, Bone Meal, Brewer's Yeast, Eggs, Fish, Liver, Meats, Nuts, Oysters, Peas, Peanuts, Poultry, Seafood, Seeds, Wheat Germ and Whole Grains.
CAUTION: ALTHOUGH ZINC IS AN IMMUNE SYSTEM BOOSTER, EXCESSIVE DOSAGES CAN, CONVERSELY, SUPPRESS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. DO NOT TAKE HIGH DOSAGES OF ZINC IF YOU ARE PREGNANT.
OpinionSoup is published by Don Harthcock. OS#3 ©August, 2000, Don Harthcock & Brian McLeod. Reproduction of any part of this copyrighted publication for commercial purposes is prohibited. Taping to refrigerators, posting on bulletin boards & emailing to friends is cool.

Tags: World Wildlife Fund, Andrew Weil, Bo Tree, Cannabis, Damiana, Eggs, FDA, Feldenkrais, Yellow Dog Democrats, Zinc