…get my money buy my medicine.

Snoop with a little Willie

“My Medicine”

Give this recipe for French Vanilla Custard Nice Cream a try:
ingredients:
1/2 gallon 1/2 and 1/2
1 dz egg yolks
3 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
either 1/4 pound of trim or 1/4 ounce of bud

notes on ingredients:
-don’t try using milk here, for a rich ice cream you need 16% butter fat; the 1/2 & 1/2 you use for your coffee is the best thing.
-while vanilla extract is fine, never use vanilla flavoring. It’s made by toasting oak wood and then soaking it in alcohol, it really is awful. So please splurge here and use a real vanilla bean, you will notice the difference.
-while either the trim or the bud will equally make a very stoney nice cream, I have found that trim is actualy better because it give the nice cream an almost grean tea like flavor. don’t use hash, much to harsh a flavor for a frozen dessert.

Method:
-put 1/2 & 1/2 in a pot and bring to a simmer, crumble in your weed and let the stuff steep on the lowest heat setting for 1 hour. remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature (you may omit this step but I find I get much more thc extraction this way), pass trough a fine mesh strainer. -put 1/2 & 1/2 in a clean pot, split the vanilla bean length wise and add to the pot, put the pot on the stove and bring to a simmer.
-remove vanilla bean and with the tip of a knife scrape out the beans and add to mixture.
-mix egg yolks and sugar in a bowl.
-take 2 cups of 1/2 & 1/2 mixture and add to egg mixture, mix. (this is called “tempering the egg”; you raise the tempurature of the eggs closer to that of the 1/2 & 1/2 so that when you add them to the pot they will not scramble)
-set 1/2 & 1/2 mixture on lowest possible heat setting and add the egg mixture. THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT: with a rubber spatula you must be constantly stirring the pot to keep the eggs from scrambling. If the heat is low enough and you are diligent, in 10-15 minutes the mixture will begin to thicken and you will get a Creme Anglaise. This is the base for vanilla custard ice cream.
-remove from heat, pass through a strainer, and cool down to room temperature.
-put the mixture in an ice cream freezer, you remember the type that you pack with salt and ice.

-Fire up a joint while you crank up the freezer and enjoy.

(from the forums at Cannibis.com)

It should be this way.

Georgie would do a much better job if he were as stoned as this photoshopping makes him look.

Tip o the space helmet to Winston.

I thought I knew what Pain was. I have experienced some severe pain at different times of my life. I live in a world of constant pain and have fooled myself into believing I knew the worst. I was wrong.

Being the anti narcotic freak I am I chose not to have pain medicine during the post surgery part of the treatment procedure I went through Tuesday and Wednesday. The surgeon inserted a catheter into my back so I could have injections directly to the damaged area in and around my lower spine. The injections had enzymes that break up scar tissue but don’t affect the nerves. The doctor had told me that they would cause “extreme discomfort” so I translated that to mean they would hurt really bad. I didn’t know the agony they would bring. I was brought to tears yesterday morning. I have never experienced pain so extreme.

Doctor Alexander is kind, helpful and very understanding. Even though she knows my adamant stand against my narcotic intake she still recommended the pain meds. Since they wouldn’t let me smoke my weed up there I told her I wasn’t going to have anything. She tried, so the pain I went through was all my fault. When the first post surgery injection hit I felt like my legs had been dipped into boiling water. The severe screaming pain lasted about 5 minutes.
I considered the meds seriously after that injection. When the pain subsided my stubbornness kicked back in and I opted to go through it with the next injections without drugs. I am not sure if I did the right thing but I paid for it.

I felt great between injections and walked around the hospital freely. Feeling kinda grungy I asked the nurse about a razor and a comb. She disappeared into a closet for a moment and returned with both a comb and an old fashioned safety razor. I combed my long hair and prepped my face for shaving. Having scraped my face with disposable shavers with angled blades for so many years I forgot the old style razors were different. Whacked my cheeks and chin up quite severly. I have many cuts to show for it.

Even though the food was bad….not good doesn’t describe it….it was bad, I had a quite pleasant stay in the hospital. I met an old guy that was in extreme pain. He was waiting for a procedure when I met him and he was just down the hall from me the next morning. When I dropped by his room yesterday he smiled and said, “There’s that nice young man from yesterday”. I haven’t been called “young man” for years but when an 84 year old brother calls me that I know 50 seems quite young to him. I visited with a sweet dietician and some kind student nurses. I had a nice physical therapist stop by with instructions on the exercises I need to do to keep better. The nurses aides were all very nice and the lady who cleaned my room was so wonderful. I was so happy to have so many wonderful folks around to help I feel blessed. They were all great and then there was Valerie.

Early Wednesday morning I went out front to have a smoke. The parking lot was empty so I didn’t have to go far to be isolated and not worry about getting caught. They did tell me to bring any regular pain meds with me so the joints I had were following directions…or so I tell myself. I got a nice little buzz on and wandered back into the hospital to await my next scheduled injection. (turned out that was a couple hours away so I shoulda waited to have the weed) I walked back into the wing my room was in and saw a stunning woman walking down the hall towards me.

“Rocky, I presume.” she said. “I’m Valerie and I’ll be your nurse today. Doctor Alexander will be up shortly but for now is there anything I can do for you?”

Her sincere smile made her even more beautiful. Her friendly attitude and the obvious care for her patients made me feel comfortable and I knew that I would be cared for well. I wasn’t disappointed. Her kindness lasted all day. I’m sure I bugged her but she treated me as if she had nothing else to do except care for me. We all know that nurses do all of the work and the doctors couldn’t even find their own prescription pad without them so we know she was busy but she never let on that I wasn’t the most important patient in her day.

Her smile was unwavering. Her sweetness never faded, even for a frustrated moment. She jumped to help and even took time to chat for a minute here and there. Cheery and happy she made my ordeal much easier. The pain faded quickly because of her presence. I thought when I left…”Damn. If I were only 20 years younger”.
Yeah….she was that special.

All in all it wasn’t a bad experience. The pain was intense but brief. The care was good and even though I had to go to the cafeteria to get Rice Krispies (no way the hospital cooks can screw up cereal) I feel rewarded by the people that came into my life. Even if it was during a short stay in the hospital.

But I am back and I feel ok.

Ted got on his Soapbox 2.0 to talk about drugs and our soldiers. No…not that fine Afghani hash or the deadly opium and heroin available in the middle east, but about the prescription anti-depressants they are giving the troops. Maybe if they were smoking the hash they would be in a better mental state…naw…your mental health is gonna be horrible when death and suffering surrounds you. Especially when you are part of the cause of the suffering and your best buddy from The World just died in your arms.

As a former user of anti depressants I know that they “help” you cope with horrible life events by giving you an “I just don’t give a fuck” attitude about life…or death. What a handy tool for the government to keep problems down when the soldiers are told they are being flopped into another tour as part of the stop-loss backdoor draft. What a great stride to keeping the troops who invade homes filled with children and old folks in an I don’t care place of mind.

The article he links also talks about the numbers of antidepressant patients deployed in the middle east who are committing suicide. I like the pill’s depiction in the graphic in this Time article.

I was sitting at my desk a while ago and was wondering why Elvis (my medical supplier) wasn’t calling me back right away. I moved my bare foot a little and stepped on something hard that stuck to my foot. I figured it was one of those nasty New Mexico “goat head” thorns the dogs are always tracking in because it hurt a bit. When I picked the stem out of my foot it turned out to be a dried up kinda hard little bud of some meds I musta dropped a while back.

YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!. Now to find the bowl I had misplaced this morning.

Dropped the bud into the glassware, cranked up the stereo, leaned back and sparked that bitch up.

Kinda rough on my throat what with it being all dry and hard.
When I quit coughing another Joe Bonnamassa song came up. Yeah I know I already posted one of his songs earlier today but since accidentally discovering him a few months ago I have become a real fan and now I am rambling (turns out the bud was pretty good).

This song jammed on the stereo and I got the urge to share it with somebody. I guess you are the lucky one.

I’d be the richest fool alive “If Heartaches Were Nickels”.

A few days ago I posted an article about H.B.5843. The bill Rep. Barney Frank presented along with Ron Paul to the U.S.House Of Representatives.

Here is a link to another bloggers article about this very important bill. The bill would free the states to ok medical marijuana without federal interference.

Read this one too, then get off your butts and contact your congresspersons and representatives and demand this bill pass.

A Left Independant

Representatives Barny Frank of Massachusetts and Ron Paul of Texas introduced House Bill 5843 back in April. The bill would allow users of marijuana to possess and smoke the herb without federal penalties. This would surely cover medical marijuana patients in the states where it is legal now. While the bill allows for states to make their own laws concerning possession many states already have decriminalized small amounts and some have laws legalizing it for medicinal purposes.

While this bill is still in front of 2 committees I urge you to write your representatives in support of this bill. I will provide you with two links that have an article as well as easy links to write to your congress persons. WashingtonWatch.com

and the NORML site.

Senator Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma tumor in his brain. This is a fairly rare, always fatal tumor that has been studied all over. Many studies have shown how marijuana used as a treatment can slow or stop the growth of these very tumors. Too bad the government wont allow these studies to influence medicine here in the senators own country.

This video is almost 10 minutes long but is full of good info about treating glioma paitents with the natural herb.

Thanks Senator Kennedy for all the good work you have done for our country. I wish you and your family the best for the future.

Tip of the space helmet to Michael at cannablog.

Things have been a bit goofy for me in the last few weeks. The days leading up to my 50th birthday were kinda a stressful time. Yes, I have heard all of the jokes. Yes I know that this is a milestone time in everyones life and all of us start facing our own mortality. But despite all of this I refuse to take the over the hill attitude. I don’t fit into the “Not getting older, just better” catergory either. Because I seem to be getting worse….physically at least. My psychological forecast is good. I am trying to deal with a bunch and seem to be dealing ok.

My posts will probably seem erratic and sometimes strange in the coming weeks and I will explain that to y’all before you start wondering what happened to me. A little recent history will explain how I got to the place I am now. After the injury and resulting surgery in November 2000 things started being different in this drivers life. Now all of the uncertainity is back…with a vengance.

Last October I started falling down a lot. My legs seemed not to want to support me. The pain which had radiated into my left leg had begun to work its way into the left side. My feet began to feel like they were frostbitten. The slight breezes we get here in Roswell (sometimes 50 mph or more) challenged me going outside. The pain and imbalance caused me to seek the answers. Test after test, MRI after X-Ray, office visit after hospital visithave led the doctors to believe the scar tissue from that old operation was forming around the nerves in my lower spine. Not much they can do about that just yet.

They prescribed a nerve medicine and are working with the insurance company to do a treatment that is fairly new in the spine tech area. A treatment that is supposed to be very painful but will give me 3 to 5 months of relief between the horrors of the treatments. But my legs will support me again. My feet will quit hurting and the pain will return to just my right leg again. I hope.

The treatment sounds strange but has been widely recognized by spine proffesionals. It consists of 2 days in the hospital with a catheter in my spine where they can inject enzymes that eat scar tissue without affecting the nerves thamselves every 3 hours. The doc was straight with me when she told me the pain of the treatment was high. I hope she was right about the wonders of the results that come from a couple of days of more pain.

I have started taking pain meds again for a short while. Along with the weed I smoke they provide a bit of extra relief than my increasing marijuana intake was giving.  If the treatment works half as good as they say it will I will wean myself from the drugs once again and be back to just the pot.

So…I said all of that to say this. I hope I don’t seem too silly or disjointed over the next few weeks. If I do get a little strange you will know why. I really don’t like the pain meds and they are a drug I can just say no to most of the time. Just give me my weed and a little time and I am usually ok.

Aww hell. Now I’m just rambling.

Never mind.

Greggris sent this to me. Have a smoke for freedom.

The American College Of Physicians, with 124,000 members, are calling on the government to end the arrests of patients who use medical marijuana. They are asking Michigan voters to pass a bill in November barring the persecution of people in pain from disease or treatment of disease.

This and more on the story, complete with links, can be found at Cannibisnews.com.

With legal weed on my mind I delved into this cool blog after coming across it Stumbling Upon it. I like it and added it to my blogroll and hope you check it out.

Although it is not all about the wonderful plant, it is definitely the cannablog.

After showing his ass before the Iowa and New Hampshire votes were cast President Bill Clinton quietened down for a bit. He has been appearing in public more lately after a brief hiatus. It seems he is becoming visible again in a much more subdued form. The dutiful husband form. The under the thumb form. The FORMER president form.

But the real Bill story is coming from Santa Fe it seems. The democratic front runners are courting the man who dropped from the race January 10. The man who can help them win. The one person who has the right experience in foreign relations. New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson.

Bill Richardson’s record on a local, national and international level is tremendous. He worked in the Bill Clinton administration as an Ambassador to the U.N. as well as 14 years as congressman. He was our Secretary of Energy under Clinton. While serving our country he visited many countries around the world promoting good relations with “troublesome” leaders. He did such a good job in the old days with leaders like Saddam Hussein that George W Bush sent him to North Korea last year to deal with Kim Jong il and the nuclear crisis. He came away with success. N. Korea agreed to stop producing weapons and invited the U N to send in inspectors.

In New Mexico he pushed for a medical marijuana law that was shot down 6 times before it passed on the 7th try. Although the Feds are giving growers and patients grief he is pushing for less federal involvement on the laws of our nation. Maybe if he had a position high in the federal government the D.E.A. and other cops would start leaving individuals alone. When asked how the MMJ laws would affect his presidential campaign he said it didn’t matter as “it was the right thing to do”.
He has made law here that gives incentives to homeowners and businesses that go with alternative energy to power their electrical needs. Passed bills requiring the big power companies to use solar or wind for a growing percentage of their output.

He has demanded an end to the US occupation of Iraq. The return of our troops from the face of danger is a high priority in his political opinion. With 3970 American soldiers killed there so far he strongly supports the troops by calling for their rapid return.

President Clinton watched the Super Bowl with the Governor a few weeks ago. Mrs. Clinton stays in close touch with him. Barack Obama calls him often, on the average of every 3 days. They both have told him that they need him. His endorsement would swing so many votes their way and they both know his support would make the candidacy, and the election, theirs.

Richardson has said he is not going to put the offer of possibly being a Vice Presidential running mate or a Secretary of State appointment aside. He is staying in touch with both Obama and Clinton during their campaigns and is remaining friendly and non-controversial. No endorsements yet and thats probably a good thing.

If he were to become the VP nominee for either he would bring a lot to their campaign. Obama’s campaign would benefit from the experience and maturity he would bring. Clinton’s organization would be better off with his diplomatic attitude diverting the publics attention from the silly stuff her husband spews. The nation would be much better off with him as our Vice President what with his “progressive” ideas and policies. As Secretary of State he would be an asset to help heal the broken and bruised image of America the rest of the world has.

So with these thoughts, and others, in mind I am now going to make the Alien Trucker’s endorsement in this presidential race. I am saying, on the record, I am endorsing whoever Bill Richardson endorses. Especially if he is chosen as their running mate.

Does it really matter who I support? I don’t guess so but at least you know how I feel.

I felt like hell yesterday. I actually wished I had a pain pill. Oh yeah, I had a couple of bowls of weed, but thats not enough sometimes. But I’m honest about it. Unlike Nancy Reagan I have never even tried to say no to drugs.

I have my limits and don’t take the opiates anymore as I don’t want to become a “junkie” again. Withdrawals from Oxycodone and morphine were hell and I choose not to poison my body with liver damaging drugs. But pain can make you long for relief and sometimes a knockout drug can bring just that. Knocked out relief.

I am hoping, in the darkest recesses of my soul, that the evil bitch who promoted the “Just Say No” campaign from the White House in the ’80’s is suffering greatly from her fall on Sunday. At 86 Nancy may not even remember the hate campaign that our taxpayers over-funded and she yammered on about. In doing so, she set the re-legalization or decriminalization of marijuana back many years. Stopped progress of medical marijuana education, legalization and acceptance by our society. She also helped her senile husband, the Bush puppet Ronnie, declare war on his own people and say the war was on drugs.

The “War On Drugs” has cost the American taxpayer billions over the years. Many lives have been messed up after arrests of marijuana. In some places possession of even a small amount of the plant can catch someone a long prison sentence so the lives of their family, friends along with their own are messed up for a long time. Seizure of property is making the cops richer. Extra money has been put into drug task forces for local and state law enforcement agencies, special “drug court” in some states and the massive expansions of our penal system are results of this womans horrible anti-drug high horse she shouted hate from.

But now she is in a place where the drugs are necessary. Drugs from Big Pharm of course. The people who lobby and help fund anti-marijuana propaganda. The corporations who backed her “Just Say No” bullshit when she lived in Washington, D.C.. To relieve the pain she relied on her old money buddies.

I hope the medication makes her sick.