Hey! Wait! Ive got a new complaint....

 

August 4th 2010

 

Its not really a rant as such but ....

 

There has been talk of the law changing with regard to the availability of the natural cure for cancer and the savior of this planet and human civilisation in general, Cannabis.

 

Known as the Compassionate Use of Cannabis Act and put together by Gorden McArdle. Gorden spent years living in California as far as I am to gather. He has depended heavily on the UN and European guidlines with regard to safety of drug despensing and health and safety.

 

I must admit I have yet to read the Act but have met with Gorden. In general as I have pointed out to him directly, the Act leaves NOTHING to bargin with. it is a shadow of the recommendation i would make and I dont feel it is very compassionate at all to those who suffer needlessly that are not mentioned in the act.

 

I dont believe that pharmaceuticle doctors have any authority or even the knowledge to know when to prescribe cannabis. I think all they should have to do is diagnose the patient and offer their drugs. If the patient wishes to try alternative measures then so be it. It is impossible to die from cannabis and when used alone without any other forms of drugs, alcohol, anti depressents, downers then negative side effects are difficult to create.

 

This is a plant, a herb, a thing that grows and breaths life into this planet.

 

My compassion extends further than those dying and suffering from cancer today, or MS or Glaucoma or any other illness actually mentioned int he proposed act.

 

My compassion spans further than the doctors waiting rooms, our overcrowded, under staffed hospitals, my compassion shines a light even further than the darkest corners of our prisons where humans rot in cages for having addictions... it even pierces the graveyards where too many of my friends lie and my friends kids also.. My compasssion stretches even to those suffering financial losses from the production industry... most materials can be made from hemp... Tax breaks should be given to farmers, factory owners, pubs and all other industries that rely heavily on enviromently and socially unfriendly activities...

My compassion swells through not just the presently sick and dying among us but also it touches and washes over every person of drinking age, legal or illegal... Alcohol is a pure toxin. No good what so ever will ever come of its consumption. What you do not understand about this drug is horrendous. Alcohol is a solvant. Solvants characteristically remove the DNA from organis material such as the human body, and brain. think about this.

 

Consumption of alcohol is an extremely dangerous, risky, unhealthy, unattractive, rude way of achieving minimum reward whilst inflicting maximum harm on yourself, those around you and society as a whole.

This is a description of the effects of moderate drinking. Binge drinkers (those who only drink once or twice a week for example.) suffer even more harm.

most people are completely unaware of the harm that alcohol does to them physically and mentally, and socially. Alcohol leaves the heaviest social foot print of all drugs available legally and illegally.

 

1 thing alcohol is good for is the economy. Its a great way to create jobs. jobs in the A & E wards, the police, the prison service, probation services, solicitors, doctors, judges, barristors and so on...Alcohol is Irelands greatest industry. Americas greatest industry is private prisons... Ireland has presently only 1 female prison. Does anybody see any link here?

 

Recently Mephadrone (Coke substitute) became illegal in Ireland. within weeks there was large bags (over an ounce) going for pretty much free. This drug is as close to cocaine as you will get... we now have some serious cocaine addicts in this country... Just in time for the influx of crack cocaine and crystal meth (snow, ice) to hit the market also... more nice drugs to feed prisons and the above orders of control...

 

All Im asking you to do is promise me... If we can get cannabis legalised in this country then please consider making the switch. whether you are a publican with a failing alcohol trade, or a weekend binge drinker, or a daily drinker or even someopne only thinking about trying drugs... Cannabis has been seen in studies to actually protect the binge drinker from getting cancers of the head, throat, lungs and mouth... so at least try it!... once its legal of course :)

 

Switch to GREEN!!!

I recommend you take a glance over the proposed act as I intend to do and familiarise yourself with cannabis and its MANY uses.

 

The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act  2010

All feedback is a bonus.

 

---

 

 

LEGALISE cannabis in Ireland

 

The group is dedicated to all the people I have known who have suffered because of our drugs laws up til now including those who have destroyed lives because of alcohol...  their own... their families... society in general...

It is because of the definate Mixed message our government sends us by not even classifying the lethal alcohol or ethenol yet making cannabis... a relatively harmless herb illegal..

Does John Curren TD support prohibition? Acting on behalf of the national drugs task force... he should not in my opinion. With the evidence we have against the method of control. Take the 1930's in America when alcohol was prohibted. Al Capone made an extremely lucrative career out of the lack market.

More importantly Portugal having relaxed their laws in  2001 to allow for possesion of ay drug including heroin and cocaine have seen a dramatic drop in the number of younger and newer users of hard drugs. Petty crime and muggings have dropped dramatical, prisons are emptying and therefore harmless drug possessors are not NOT costing the state up to 70000 a year in their keep. This money can then be spent on education and rehab treatments. There are serious gaps in the method that Portugal use but it has shown in the 10 years of existance that drug use HAS NOT INCREASED!!! this is amazing. Our government and those globally NEED to examine this strategy and improve on it making cannabis completely legal like parsley or mint as there is NO EVIDENCE that it is harmful in NY way to even minors!!! It even seems to PROTECT us from cancers when we choose to binge drink or excesively smoke tobacco!!! according to probably the highest paid cannabis researcher in the world - DONALD TASHKIN. he wasnt paid to say that by the way. He was  paid to prove that cannabis CAUSED cancer not CURED it... DO you know that this SELDOM if EVER happens in science!?

Live Mic DOES NOT support Prohibition. Prohibition is a ploy... it is the key in the rusty lock of slavery... we are all slaves to the machine... to the banks, the pharma companies, the alcohol companies, the oil giants and our governments are simply the out stretched arm or the MOUTH of these HUGE companies.... and the non classification of alcohol and the prohibition of all other drugs keeps the cogs of the machines operating... it feeds the machine...  that along with the close relationship with between church  and state oppression.

History is in the making .. the times when FEAR and GUILT were the ruling emotions... Religion can not be the centre of our society and law anymore. we need to let go of old oppressive patterns of behavior and embrace evolution. The world is an amazing enough place wherever you are. Your happiness is a state of mind and you are in control of that. We need to start taking responsibility for our own actions and reactions and behaviors. Stop allowing our state and government to treat us like slaves.

Seperate state laws from the morals of catholisism...  or any other religion for that matter... it needs to be taken out of our schools completely.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH.. isnt that a nice concept!.. well as long as it doesnt offend anyone that is....

 

---

 

Crash Course in recreational drugs.... addiction reduction/ prevention advise

We need to educate ourselves about drugs so that we can guide our children in a well informed manner.

Our children are experimenting with hard drugs. They will continue to do so no matter what we teach them. No matter how much we punish them for stepping out of line, so we need to first take an honest look at what drugs are available, what ones will be available, and the effects of each drug. We need to openly and honestly examine our own behavior. What drugs do we abuse? What do we deem as respectable behavior?

 

Below are a list of drugs openly available in my town. If they are available in my town they are either in yours.
My advice to my children must be Stay away from all drugs until your brain has finished developing. The closer we get to 21 years of age, the more chance we have of not becoming dependent long term on any drug/habit. However presently I don't really blame young kids who experiment because if you are not into sports in Arklow for example...there isnt much else to do. Particularly if you have left school early or are from a lower social class.

 

For me growing up in Arklow as someone who was born an artist and a thinker and an innovator, life was dull and frustrating. Nothing stimulated me positively. Until recently I actually believed I was lazy!  I never felt like I belonged here and because I came from a lower class I never really got exposed to any other way of thinking. My artistic ability saw me through the last few years of my emotional development as a teenager and although I did try drugs at age 16 or so and liked it, I also liked art and had ambition enough to get a degree before I started drinking on a regular basis. It was the fact that I wanted to return to Arklow after college and the fact that I saw no place for me as an artists in Arklow which fed my alcohol dependency. From alcohol I moved onto cannabis, xtc speed and cocaine. I never moved onto heroin and gave cocaine up soon after trying it because I was old enough before starting to know that addiction was likely. I was informed.

My general rule of thumb when asked for advice by parents of teenagers who have either found their kids intoxicated or suspect that their kids are experimenting is to be open and honest with themselves and their kids. To re-examine their actual knowledge of the 3 main recreational drugs available to their children. To accept that for now they must expect the possibility that their children will experiment with at least 1 of the 3 most popular drugs available. My advise to these kids is to stay away from the ones that can kill you. Its as simple as that.
Every year the junior cert exams finish and results come out. Both of these occasions are cause for celebrations. Lots of our kids choose these times to experiment for the first time.

Cigarettes have been around for years and we all know how the tobacco companies covered up the dangers of smoking for years. I don't think I need to explain to anyone what the bad side effects of this past time are but I will anyway.
The smoking of cigarettes has been linked to cancers and these cancers cause DEATH. If you decide to experiment with smoking products... USE HERBAL CIGS... you can get them at health shops.

Next Alcohol.
Alcohol when used on a regular basis by people under the age of 21 and by kids as young as 8 years of age surveyed recently, will stunt the emotional growth of the individual. In lay terms basically those...including ourselves.... who have relied on the consumption of alcohol to dispel shyness and social awkwardness, and to boost self esteem have stopped emotionally developing since the age we started using alcohol. So there are lots of 30, 40 and 50 year olds out there that basically have the emotional age of an adolescent! So when times get tough in our lives and things go wrong which is inevitable...we don't know how to cope, we don't have the tools, the emotional tools, to cope with our problems, so we turn to alcohol. Alcohol is the perfect anesthetic but it never solves our problems, it actually exasperates them.... adds depression to the mix. After a session on the drink we have less money, possibly a tense home life, and have often insulted at least 1 person along the way.
Alcohol causes violent behavior towards ourselves, other citizens, our families and quite often those we love the most. Driving while drunk causes Death. Overdose on alcohol is possible and DEATH has often resulted.

If you drink 10 times more than it takes to feel effect within 20 minutes... it is likely you will overdose and die. If you drink at a young age... below 21 your body isnt physically developed enough to feel the effects until you reach the intoxicated stage, thats why you feel fine until you stand up... so you could easily overdose before you feel any effect... VERY DANGEROUS. We do things we regret, and we change our life path when we are drunk. In my opinion alcohol is the worst drug to experiment with although it is the most socially accepted.... im not sure what that says about our society but its not a good thing and needs attention.

CANNABIS
Can you estimate how many people die every year from using this drug?
Nobody. Not 1. Ever. That's right, nobody has ever been recorded to have died from cannabis overdose. Thats not to say they havent tried to find stats to prove that it is lethal.
Available in many forms such as hash, marihuana herb (grass) and cannabinoid (chemical replica) sprayed herbs available from Head shops nationwide. Ill go through each 1.

Hash.
Hash is solid in form and varies in colour from yellowish to brown to very dark brown, almost black. The mainstream hash obtainable on Irish streets and in Arklow is called 'soap'. It is an extremely low grade hash. Some common ingredients added to this soap are

• Ketamine (horse tranquilizer)
• shoe polish
• faeces (shit)
• aspirin
• benzine
• bichumen (tar)
• barbiturates

Obviously doesnt sound too healthy. Many carcinogens in that list and thats not including the nicotine that is generally mixed to make the joint.

Cannabis herb (grass or skunk)
This can be home grown in secret. The owner knows exactly what was used to grow the plant. It is safe health wise but totally illegal and penalties can be high particularly if the grower is supplying. You would be surprised and shocked at the range of people who grow and smoke 'weed' without supplying others. This is the most natural type of cannabis available in Ireland, but there isnt a huge quantity on our streets for sale.

There is grass for sale on the streets quite often  It is an expensive and very risky process for the grower and therefore often to make it more worth while when the product is finished, it can often be sprayed with the following substances to create extra weight and therefore earn more money,

• led
• fibre glass
• silica gel
• sand

People who do this should be ashamed of themselves. One way you will know if your weed has been sprayed with something is by examining the ash on the tip of the joint or in the pipe or bong. The ash of contaminated weed will be hard and still in whatever shape it was before you lit it. Don't smoke this cannabis. it will harm your lungs. Give it back, joint and all. eventually dealers will learn not to buy from robbers.

So it is obvious that the only harmful aspects about cannabis is the illegality of the drug which if you use it could end you up in prison and ...the criminal aspect itself which makes the business more dangerous and makes it more tempting to spray the cannabis with weight altering substances which are harmful when inhaled.

 

Head Shop drugs such as Mephadrone and synthetic cannabinoids have been prohibited in Ireland as our government decided in between selling our great grand childrens souls to the european central bank... to incerease prohibition... probably as a NAMA smoke screen... thenpreceeded to creat a storm of propaganda the size of 'Reefer Madness' on the apathetic public... but I suppose their underlying tactic is to allow the Irish black market to increase over night... which ultimately of course is all money into the same old hands as before... pharma alcohol and oil companies... its just tax free and europe wont get its hands on it...

 

the unfortunate thing is... the people in the trenches continue to suffer.

<the following text is no longer applicable>

 

Lastly the smoking products available in Head Shops.
These products are manufactured by spraying assorted herbs like mint, sage, cloves and loads of others with the chemical copy of the parts in the cannabis which cause the 'high' except THC which is a contrlled substance.
There are hundreds of psycho active agents in cannabis. The one most people know is THC. This agent and its chemical copy is illegal but there are hundreds of others that work equally as well on the thousands of receptors in the human body. The stuff in the head shop is sprayed with different compounds of these psycho active agent copies. And has the same effect as the real stuff. Often better more controllable highs can be attained depending on the quantity used or the strength of the product and the effects are the same every time unlike the effects of lower grade highs available illegally which usually loose potency after a couple of days use.

These active agents have different effects on the body and mind. They have a generally bad reputation but again nobody has ever died from using this drug. There is no legislation controlling this product which worries me. Some head shops sell brands produced by firms in countries where there is control and where levels of psycho active ingredients are monitored and tested. Some head shops buy in the compound and use there own herbs.  Be very careful if you are trying a new brand of this drug. Some can be extremely potent and can even cause halucintaitions. Never drive after trying a new brand as you simply dont know what effect it will have and can take 20 minutes or so for the full effect to hit.

<end of inapplicable text>

There is a system of analyzing how potent a drug is. Its very interesting and is called the LD50. http://web.cgu.edu/faculty/gabler/drug_toxicity.htm
its the lethal dose of 50% of test subjects (usually animals)

If an average non-addicted 70 kg (154 lb) person drinks 10 times as much alcohol (330 grams) within a 15 or 20 minute period as is needed to get a "buzz' (33 grams--the amount roughly equivalent to two glasses of wine, shots of whiskey, or cans of beer), then there a substantial risk of death.
 
So basically if a person drinks 10 times more than it takes for them to feel the effects of alcohol in 20 minutes they can die and have died...think about those taquilla rounds....

Where as a person would have to smoke 1000 times more cannabis than it takes to feel the effect of the drug in 20 minutes but even then this is only an estimate as it has NEVER actually happened. The rats they tested STILL DIDNT DIE!

Now lets look at any benefits these drugs potentially have.

 

Alcohol when used occasionally and moderately starting after the age of 21 when the brain of the average human model has finished developing and they have learned enough tools to see them through tough periods of their lives can have great effects. It relaxes the body and mind making conversation and interaction easier and more enjoyable. But thats basically it. If the person drinks too much or hasnt eaten enough they become repetitive and lets face it annoying to say the least.

Cannabis on the other hand has shown to improve the symptoms of over 200 illnesses

https://sites.google.com/site/archiveinfo2010/documents-assignments Great site for medical cannabis treatments

 

. These include to name but a few arthritis, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, any muscle wasting diseases, it can completely eliminate nausea and vomiting after chemo and radio therapy. Contrary to popular belief that it causes schizophrenia cannabis is made up of agents, some that can aggravate schizophrenia and and equal amount of others that have the opposite effect, relieving schizophrenia. The same is true of depression. But in no circumstance has anybody died. Ever.

I think the safest drug to experiment with is home grown weed. Grown by your own hands but this is illegal.

Gateway?

The main reason why cannabis is often a gate way drug is because its the first drug on the normal progression of experimentation that isnt always available. Our kids or some of you reading this will decide to try cannabis at the age of 15 or younger. Because it is illegal they obtain it from dealers. The type of dealer you may encounter selling hash for example in such small quantities aimed at these younger clients are usually older guys that have left school early, usually due to intellectual difficulties not picked up in time who fall in with 'the wrong crowd'. Because of their disadvantaged learning they can be easily swayed into doing the dirty work in turn for enough smoke for themselves. But the problem is that the cannabis isnt always available due to crack downs and raids and when it isnt available these guys offer tablets such as zanex or sleeping pills or opiate based pharmaceuticals. You must remember that at some stage in the process of their own progression someone offered them these pills too.

These prescription drugs are often opiates and yes they do get you high but they are super addictive and before you know it you have a heroin addiction...before you even know what heroin is. We need to take the prescribed drugs off the streets, not by forces as this wont work but by reducing the demand. By reducing the demand for all these things we take our power back. We need to support the dealers as well as the buyers into an alternative lifestyle. We need to give them something to fill the void that their drugs of choice filled with something creative and therapeutic.

 

THE ARTS.

Our government so far has concentrated far too much on reducing supply. I believe we need ro re-address this and start pumping the funds left into reducing demand instead. There will always be suppliers if their is demand.

Stay away from the drugs that can kill you and leave the experimentation to as close as you can to 21 years of age. Give yourself a chance in life and there will be plenty of time to experiment when you are physically, emotionally and psychologically in a better place to make possible life changing decisions.

 

Activities proposed for Live Mic – Live Arts Centre

Live Mic Amateur Visual Artists
 

• Open to anyone in education including youth reach, fas, community colleges, secondary school and 6th class of primary school, and third level including mature students.
• A passionate interest in any form of art including drawing, painting, cartoons, photography, literature, writing, song writing, acting, graffiti, media and so on is necessary.
• Spaces will be available to those successful candidates who show adequate potential/ability. -Opportunity to see real visual artists at work.
• Exposure to multi-disciplinary arts

Live Mic Amateur Band
 

• open to people with musical ability/potential in education.
• intended to provide free promotion and guidance for young artists who are interested in producing original work. With the promise of support gigs for more acclaimed artists when they are ready for such exposure.

Live Mic Amateur Crew
 

• open to anyone with an interest in events production and in full time/part time education

Numbers of places on these programmes will depend on funding.

The Live Arts Venue will be for everyone and I can promise a host of internationally acclaimed artists will perform for and visit the project. It will liven up our town, it will create a safe environment for our citizens to question social behavior and trends, re-examine their own thought processes, be exposed to high quality arts events in a community style centre and meet other like minded people. It will bring sustainable trade and tourism to our town and will alleviate some of the biggest threats to our society today – the introduction of the drug CRACK to our streets.
Action needs to be taken NOW.

So you are welcome to attend any events I am putting on.. you can learn drawing, painting, computers, music, come to gigs,  talk, hang out ....... for now take my advice when you think about experimenting... STAY AWAY FROM THE DRUGS THAT CAN KILL YOU... LEGAL AND ILLEGAL