By Gayle Quin
I’m celebrating this issue more than I do most. I’ve just had my 11 month check-up and I’m all clear of cancer. I can’t thank everyone enough for all your love and concern. My heart swells with joy as I feel all the good wishes pouring in. Once again, I humbly thank you.
I’ve been inspired to finally write a book, and seeing as how I don’t have time to write a book—let alone three or four of them—I’m going to start a blog. Maybe I’ll call it “What’s in Gayle’s Head?” Any ideas?
Did you come to 4/20 this year? What a day! Centennial Square was packed from Douglas St. to the McPherson Playhouse, with clouds of sweet smoke billowing between (look for pics on Hempology’s web page if you couldn’t attend). The costume contest was lots of fun, and a big thanks to Sacred Herb for the prize bong.
Before I forget, Hempology is going legit! (remember too legit to quit? that’s us!). We are proud to announce the opening of the Hempology 101 online store. You can find all our t-shirts, postcards, stickers, buttons, and soon Ted’s book—the Hempology 101 Textbook. You can find the store at the top right hand corner on the Hempology 101 web page, or at <www.hempology101store.ca> Hempology’s Team 420 gear is now available there too, with a new edition of the CBC t-shirt at the print shop as I write.
Team 420 keeps thumping along. We meet three times a week now: Tuesdays for dodgeball at Hillside and Quadra, Thursdays for dodgeball on the lawn behind the law courts on Quadra st., and Saturdays for soccer on Hillside between Quadra and Blanshard. Meeting time: 4:20! And remember, every Thurs. after welfare day is a drop in bring-something-to-throw-on-the-BBQ day. Also, July 14 is the annual dodgeball tournament, and this year it’s being held outside for the first time ever at Royal Athletic Park. It’s great fun playing, and almost as much fun (and free) to come and watch. And if you want to participate half way through, I’ll have cheerleading costumes available for four cheerers.
Reach For the Pot is in the semi-finals now, with games running close. It’s been very entertaining. Remember, if you can’t make it out Wednesdays to the band shell in Beacon Hill Park, we put it all on Hempology’s YouTube channel. Winners of the coveted trophy bongs will be announced in the next Cannabis Digest issue. Keep a lookout as the summer goes on, as Reach For the Pot is going to be hosted in several cities across Canada as we go on a tour to promote Ted’s book, and these shows will also be posted to the web. It’s always fun watching activists butt heads. There are always lots of laughs. Next week is our annual joint rolling, poetry reading, t-shirt, pipe, and bong contests. I’ll announce the winners in the next issue of Cannabis Digest.
We live life everyday, it’s never too late or too soon to start training for the TC 10k, which may be walked as well as run. Herb (aka Ted) crossed the finish line this year in 59 minutes and 18 seconds, with a bong-hit station that just about took him out half way through the race. Technical difficulties ensued once again, so no photos of that, just lots of coughs. You can watch a video of the race on Hempology’s YouTube channel. Special mention to Karli “Go Team Go” for being there to participate—you rock girl!
Hempology will be celebrating 17 years on Sept. 5. As always, we will meet at Centennial Square and march to the Leg. building for a postcard photo. It’s a great and fun night. Also Hempology 101 starts at UVic during the first week of Sept., with university clubs days usually running Tues. to Thurs. of the following week (not always though, so watch out for dates to come online or on the board at the club).
With that, I’d like to give James a huge thank you for his help with the reeferendum that passed on campus last year, stating that we should be allowed to smoke inside the circle. But our work there is not done yet. In Sept. we should receive a letter from University Admin with an official OK to return to our traditional meeting place.
Another confusing issue still underway is our bakery trial. Justice Johnston agreed with us on our constitutional challenge and granted that we should be able to put our tea and butter through a strainer, but he is still proceeding with Owen’s possession charges. We’re looking at a 20 day jury trial, commencing Feb. 4. We got into trouble for only bringing four witnesses to our constitutional challenge, so we are hoping for between 10 and 15 witnesses for the next round. If you want to help change Canadian law, come join us and help defend Owen and all the other wonderful bakers. You can read more about the court case in the past year’s worth of Cannabis Digest issues, and on the Hempology 101 website.
On that note, our newest product, Eccles squares, were inspired by the fact that we ran out of leaf and were tired of turning still-good medicine into compost, as well by the crown prosecutor—Peter Eccles—who saw no reason to not ingesting the whole plant. If you need extra fibre in your diet, these squares are for you. If you have a touchy digestive system, try them in small bites, one at a time, and wait 1-2 hours for testing sensitivities. If you go overboard though, no matter who you are, expect explosive results! Eccles squares are made of dates, oats, currants, hemp-hearts, granulated lecithin, and Budda Ball or Ryanol tailings. Yum!
The next newest product is Stalkenal—once again born of not wanting to waste—and what a success it is! As we sell the raw herb, we de-stalk it to the customer’s satisfaction, and collect it all day in the stalk bucket. We also make another stalk product, kamut puffs, where the stalk is cold-infused for one month, from full moon to full moon. It is not decarboxylated (see our recipe book online) as the Stalkenal is. It is easy for you to do at home, too! Just keep a small jar on the table to put your stalk in. Once it’s full, fill the jar with oil and leave it for a month, or decarboxylate it first and then cook it into the oil. The decarboxylation process converts the two-thirds part inactive THC acid into active Δ9-THC, thus creating a superior analgesic. Anyone taking three or four Ryanols at a time should try substituting one or two of them with a Stalkenal—depending on how much muscle relaxant vs. pain management you need. Also, if you find that you’re having to smoke more than you’d like to, try eating one Ryanol and one Stalkenal upon rising (or more depending on your condition). I usually take two to three of each at a time on a bad pain day, two or three times throughout the day. If I need more than that I just switch to Cannoil (and the lozenges, made with an oil similar to Cannoil, just saved me from another abscessed tooth).
The biggest news for now in some ways is that Revenue Canada wants us to start paying taxes like we are a real store. We all pay our personal taxes, and have always been willing to pay other taxes if only we could get a business license or an Exemption 56. The BC Compassion Club has been working on this same issue for the past year, and we have hired a tax lawyer to help us. Ted will be writing expanded articles as things progress. So far it looks like we will have to raise our prices a little, they will be going back to where they were before we lowered them a couple of years ago. My apologies.
To finish, If you want to help with the coming changes, or just keep up to date with all that’s happening, please come to the Hempology 101 board meetings (first Tues. of every month at 7:30 pm at the Club) or the Thurs. afternoon meetings at 1 and 2 pm to see if there is a committee you might want to join. But for sure put the AGM on your calendar, on the first Tues. in Oct. at the usual time and place.
All that being said, and seeing as how I’m writing this in the tub (and luckily haven’t dropped it all in the water yet) I’m going to hedge my bets and sign-off here, wishing you all a happy, hempy summer.