By Gayle Quin
I am going to start this issue with a heartfelt thanks to Minneh Kamau-Bushby. She has been a shining light, our Rock of Gibraltar, a never-ending supply of love and light, and captain of the guard around the front desk post for 11 years at VCBC. Sadly, she has left the club to happily go to school and continue teaching about AIDS.
Minneh taught me more than just the front desk work. It was her that inspired me to consider part of my job to be getting every fellow member laughing, or at least smiling, before they passed on into distribution. It is not always easy to help someone choose their appropriate medicine if they are not in a good mood and only concentrating on their pain.
I miss your laughter Minneh, and hope you come to dance with me in the lobby soon. Thanks again, Minneh, and keep on shining.
We have some good news to report. Dieter got a phone call from the B.C. government and it seems that medical cannabis is exempt from PST, so by the time you read this we will only be charging GST. Sorry, but we will not be getting back what we already paid.
I am very happy to report that we have several new products now available. The first to mention is the new high CBD strain of raw cannabis we are being supplied with. Nordle is a very specific medicine as it has been bred to have a very high CBD content and a lower THC content. CBD is a strong anti-inflammatory, making it an exceptional analgesic, and is also anti-carcinogenic. The low THC level gives a very mild to non-existent buzz, which is perfect for a lot of folks, especially during the day.
The next is Dreg Magic. It is simply the left-over leaf after making the butter for cookies. Just stir one to two tablespoons into you stew, chili, cookies, bread, or whatever you are having for supper. If you do not want the extra fiber you may re-cook it in more butter, which will be about 30 percent less potent than our normal cookie butter but is still good to use.
The cannoil is now going to be sold as indica or sativa. The same will be done with the ginger cannoil. The day-time cookies will be sativa dominant from now on, as well.
With Apr. just around the corner, and winter finally passed, it is time for some outdoor fun. First, of course, is 420—Apr, 20, at 4:20 pm—in Centennial Square for the biggest smoke-out on the island all year. With around 1,700 folks attending last year, we are expecting around the 2,000 mark this year. It is going to be festive!
It is also the marker for the beginning of Reach For The Pot. Starting the first Wed. after 4/20, we meet at 7 pm by the bandshell in Beacon Hill Park every week until early July. If you are not in for the long haul of the tournament, there are a couple of weeks of drop-in games if you want to give it a try. Get there early those days, as it is first come first in—and space fills quickly.
For the more ambitious, you can join Herb in the TC10K in Victoria, walk or run, on Sun. Apr. 28. Enjoy the great outdoors and show off your team 420 t-shirt, or just come out to cheer everyone on. It is a fun morning either way.
On July 10, the fun in the park moves from the tournament to competitions. The most esteemed title is the best joint roller, with best t-shirt, best bong, best pipe, and best written word winners who also get a Hempology 101 textbook. You simply cannot find better, cheaper, or more fun entertainment. Remember, if you cannot make it out we film most events and post them on the Hempology 101 youtube channel.
July 1 we meet at 4:20 at the law courts to celebrate Cannabis Day. You have to be there to believe it!
We are very proud to be working with Dana Larsen and the Sensible BC Campaign to decriminalize cannabis in B.C. You can sign up now to be a volunteer to collect signatures this fall, and get this to referendum. He has brought together some amazing speaker panels, so check out <SensibleBC.ca>
I am also pleased to announce that Hempology 101 has been given a bus to fix up so Dana can use it in his campaign. I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Johnny “50” Marcell who has given us the bus for this campaign and future Hempology 101 activities. Also deserving thanks is Bob Erb who has generously offered to match any Sensible BC contributions, after already giving a good chunk of money to get it going. It seems to be the start of a legal carer for Ted, as he plans to get his license to be a bus driver.
The Conservative government has not removed its head from its…oops..from the sand long enough to know the War on Drugs is being lost around the world. So we here in Canada are going backwards, losing our right to grow our own medicine, as well as having a government willing to ignore the courts by saying we cannot eat cannabis either. Does anyone know of a prescribed pharmaceutical that is recommended or forced to be smoked only? I would love to hear about it, if you do.
In Feb. we organized rallies across Canada, trying to protest the MMPR. These new regulations take away a patient’s right to grow their own or get a caregiver to help. There were some good rallies in Courtenay, White Rock, and Gibsons, in BC; with others in Winnipeg, where it was -22 C; and all over Nova Scotia. Generally, though, the turnout was disappointing, with very few people out protesting in the larger cities. However, we will be back out on the streets again on Oct. 1 protesting the next phase of the regulations.
At our rally in Victoria, our new MP, Murray Rankin, asked to meet with us. After a short discussion he was eager to help us and recommended getting a petition together that he could enter into the House of Commons, giving him a chance to speak. The petition simply declares that patients should have a right to grow their own medicine. This should happen just before the paper goes to print, so hopefully you heard about it in the news already.
With textbook and newspaper in hand, Ted and I are going to the Treating Yourself Expo in Toronto at the end of May. It will be the first time Hempology 101 has attended the Expo and we are getting excited about the trip. Hope to see many of you there.
I would also like to remind you about all of the things Hempology 101 does online. We have all of our lectures, conventions, games etc., on our youtube channel. Are you also aware VCBC has its entire recipe book on-line? Now VCBC also has a monthly newsletter. If you are a member and want to receive it, send an email request to <hempo101@gmail.com>
Thnx for coming out!
