A Tribute to The Hempress of Hogsback

 

After a six and half hour drive, on a cold and rainy Friday the 13^th October we arrived in the beautiful and majestic Hogsback for the purpose of catching the last weekend of the annual Open Gardens to view the immaculately landscaped gardens in the village.

For me personally, the honour and privilege was to present a talk to the community and visitors about the most medicinal flower on Earth.

Usually I would only speak about one specific topic but my amazing hostess Joanne Campbell who runs her CBD shop called Cannacopia, in Hogsback, asked me to speak on 4 topics over the 2 days and I felt moved to record my talk for the benefit of those who could not attend to listen to how Cannabis can heal cancer, fybromyalgia, pain and depression.

I had the privilege of meeting Joanne Campbell, owner of Cannacopia, “the quaint little shop in Hogsback” in 2021 and since then she has been asking me to do a book-signing in Hogsback and finally thanks to the amazing support of my beautiful friends at The Canna Club in Plettenberg Bay this occasion became a reality. Without the kindness of Heidi and Herman and Esther this trip would not have been possible.

I was completely overjoyed to witness the amazing healing work that Joanne is achieving from her quaint shop in her small community by bringing the plant closer to the people and I wish her every success in expanding her business in Hogsback and beyond.

Come to Hogsback and meet Joanne “The Hempress of Hogsback”

When I speak about Cannabis Medicine I always like to inform people that the Endocannabinoid System is not a new therapeutic target. Today we have archaeological evidence going back 350 million years where Endocannabinoid receptors were identified in sea squirts. Some search engines and even ChatGPT indicate that the evidence is more likely 500 million years!

Before 1937 CBD was always in the food chain because it was known that human beings have a set of receptors that require to be supplemented with components found in the Cannabis plant.

So today we are on our 8^th/9^th generation of Endocannabinoid deficiency and statistics reveal that 1 in 4 people worldwide are now ill

The Endocannabinoid System is the body’s “Super-Computer” because it controls all of our physiological systems

Everyone has an Endocannabinoid System and everyone’s brain produces Endocannabinoids, and when you become ill, your system needs to be supplemented with the Cannabis plant. Endocannabinoids are known by scientists to be the most abundant neurotransmitters in the body because of the fact that this system controls all of our other physiological systems.

Cannabis is now implicated in 678 medical conditions including corona, yet this information is still not taught in medical schools.

At least once a week, I am asked by a medical doctor how it is possible that they studied the body for seven years but they have never heard of this system. I suspect that the reason for this is that there are 8 billion different Endocannabinoid systems and this means that this medicine is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ type of treatment. In my own practice I tailor make each patient’s medicine to suit their specific needs.

My hostess Joanne has asked me to speak about cancer, pain, fibromyalgia and depression. I am happy to speak on each of these as I have personal and clinical experience in these conditions.

Let us start with cancer because I am also a cancer-survivor, all praises to the plant! In my opinion cancer is a condition of failed immunity because once your body starts manifesting tumours then you realise that you have very little immunity left.

In my book, Cannabis is the human companion plant, I make a statement saying that Cannabis is the plant whisperer of human DNA and the reason why I say this is because as human beings we do share over 40% of our genome with Cannabis sativa L. And I believe that this is the very reason why Cannabis has to date been able to cure every type of cancer that it has been tested against.

When I think about cancer I am reminded of the words of one of my mentors Dr Henry Ealy of the Energetic Health Institute. This is the only medical school to be banned from YouTube because of Dr Ealy’s stance on the corona vaccine.

Dr Henry says that we should give thanks for cancer because if there was no cancer then people would be dying from their tumours. So with cancer we are given a period of grace where we can take action and reverse our condition through self-healing. Modern history has revealed that this is very achievable with plant medicine.

Cannabis destroys cancer through more than one mechanism

The very first thing that the plant does is to reduce inflammation and from there the anti-tumour properties kick in.

In my book in chapter 3 I explain the process of Apoptosis and Autophagy. Apoptosis is the process whereby the mutant cancer cells are forced into a “cellular suicide”. You can also take a look at the videos by Dr Christina Sanchez who explains this process very nicely.

Autophagy is the process of cleaning up these damaged cells, membranes and organelles and ridding the body of these. Autophagy happens at the moment you start to experience “the munchies” this is when we need to not eat and let the hunger pangs pursue as this is the exact moment when the body is preparing to clean out damaged cells. Cannabis is the only botanical that can induce autophagy but you can also achieve this state through intermittent fasting which is why fasting is so effective in healing cancer patients.

Cannabis and the Endocannabinoid System are able to literally cut of the blood supply to tumours through the process of Anti-angiogenesis which means that the blood vessels supplying tumours are destroyed. Cannabis is also able to destroy Triple-negative breast cancer cells.

"I found Sista Vee's medicine to be profoundly effective in reducing the bleeding of active and aggressive tumors and keeping wounds relatively clean where most certainly it would be much worse without THC on board." ~ Dr John Wulz, Groote Schuur Hospital, South Africa 

And it is not only the cannabinoids of the plant that can assist with cancer healing. The terpenes also have the same healing properties as the cannabinoids and are also able to induce apoptosis and autophagy. Terpenes like Humulene and Limonene are part of the cancer-fighting artillery of the Cannabis plant.

The leaves contain a substance called Cannaprene and this molecule is also able to induce apoptosis and autophagy

In the roots you will find a substance called Friedlin that specifically targets liver disease and liver cancer. This is why it is known that the very best Cannabis medicine is only really possible through using the entire plant, roots and all.

Other benefits include relief for pain, insomnia, appetite, nausea, depression, hormone regulation, homeostasis, gene repair and nutrient absorption.

It is during chemo-care that I really see the plant shining as you can clearly see in the chemo room which patients are taking CBD. The plant literally changes nausea to the munchies and sadness to gladness. I often receive messages like this 

Today smoking is the probably the least popular form of getting cannabinoids into your system. You can try tinctures, oils, edibles, suppositories as well as topical treatment.

I would really like to urge people to not consider Cannabis only as a last resort, when in fact it should be the first port of call. Cancer is pretty easy to prevent and now that we know exactly how Cannabis cures cancer, we must surely realise that supplementation of the Endocannabinoid System is essential.

Next up is the condition of Fybromyalgia, one of the most misunderstood syndrome of symptoms of the hyper-pain conditions

Previously known as Fibrositis, meaning inflammation of the connective tissues but today we know that this inflammation extends to the nerve fibres as well.

I always like to look for the root causes of each patient’s condition and I have now learnt through decades of research that stress is a 95% catalyst of this condition. And this is precisely where fibromyalgia becomes ‘misunderstood’. Many people cannot sympathise with people who are in severe pain unless they can see the hole that you are bleeding out of! So a lot of people including doctors do not really believe that patients can have so much pain without any physical evidence of this pain being possible. Patients suffering from fibromyalgia are too often labelled as hypochondriacs, lazy people, attention seeking and so many other negative connotations for people simply suffering with an unseen pain

There is a perfectly explainable reason why some people’s bodies simply cannot endure any stress and in these cases this stress manifests as severe and ‘unexplained’ pain

The common denominator in patients with this condition is a Hypothalamus dysfunction. The Hypothalamus is the part of the brain concerned with the stress response, anxiety, emotions, and memory and also controls the Pituitary gland that is the main centre of hormone production in the body. When there is a dysfunction of the hypothalamus the patient has very low serotonin and when serotonin is low this does not only manifest as depression. Low serotonin amplifies stress and magnifies pain and this is why people suffering from fibromyalgia have super low stress thresholds and there is nothing that conventional medicine can do about it without severe side effects of their medicines. .

Some other root causes include the Epstein-Barr virus that many patients also present with. It is generally very difficult to get rid of, but you can also try Essiac tea and colloidal silver. Cannabis is also a powerful antiviral medicine.

Other pathogens include bacterial infections, parasites and also heavy metal toxicity is a big one in people suffering with hyper-pain conditions like fibromyalgia and even rheumatoid arthritis.

Dehydration is a common problem in most of the population, but the reason why it is a root cause in this condition is because dehydration drastically depletes our Tryptophan that is the building block for our serotonin and melatonin, and this bears repetition, that when serotonin is low, stress is amplified and pain is magnified. The correct amount of water to consume per day is 35ml per kg body weight.

Photo courtesy of Legacy Grower, Zungu Xolile,

How can Cannabis help with fibromyalgia?

1.    Pain and Inflammation

Cannabis works via the opioids and vanilloid receptors that is the pathway to pain healing in the body.

2.    Nervous system calming

CBD calms the entire nervous system and here you can treat spasms, spasticity, seizures, cramps and Restless Legs Syndrome

3.    Neurogenesis and Neuro-protection

Cannabis assists the body to generate new brain cells while CBD offers protection against damage to brain cells. With this healing property we can treat brain fog, chronic fatigue syndrome, memory loss and neuropathy. Cannabis also offers neuro protection specifically for the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

4.    Hormone regulation

It is amazing how often this is overlooked by doctors. Since the Endocannabinoid system regulates the endocrine system, Cannabis is extremely helpful in regulating our hormones in times of illness. Cannabis can increase serotonin and melatonin and increase our ability to absorb Vitamin D. Cannabis can reduce the harmful effects of the stress hormones and also regulates our thyroid hormones. Just to remind you what I mentioned earlier that when the body is low on serotonin then stress is amplified and pain is magnified.

5.    Gut brain repair

Everyone suffering with fibromyalgia is also suffering from dysbiosis and most often these patients also have a leaky gut. We must remember that 80% of our serotonin is found in our gut and that 80% of our nervous and immune system is also found in our gut. Cannabis is able to heal the delicate gut lining and stimulate the correct bacterial growth required for optimal health.

I would also go so far as to say that everyone with fybromyalgia also has unbalanced vagus nerves and you look at my previous paper on how Cannabis helps to offer vagal nerve stimulation.

https://xhosastyles.blogspot.com/2023/02/how-does-cannabis-stimulate-vagus-nerves.html

6.    Hemp Seed Oil

It is a scientific fact that stress not only blocks the Endocannabinoid receptors but also vampirically feasts on our Vitamin B supplies. Many people are walking around with pins and needles in their hands and feet, suffering from terrible neuropathic pain in their feet, this is a sure sign of Vitamin B deficiency and you need to take action.

Vitamin B is responsible for the production of our red blood cells and this is why people who have fibromyalgia also suffer with chronic fatigue syndrome, brain fog and loss of memory. This is because there is a lack of oxygen in circulation due to the lack of the vital vitamin B.

It is known that hemp seed oil is the perfect form of nutrition for human beings as it is packed with all the vitamin B’s and other essential nutrients that we require and that are pretty hard to get from the modern diet that has no nutrient-density.

Hemp seed is also the perfect formulation of Omega fats 3, 6, and 9. Many people falsely believe that because our body produces omega 9 that it is not necessary to supplement. Well, I am here to tell you that this is not true because the body does not produce enough omega 9 to protect us from illness and environmental toxins. Omega 3, 6, and 9 protects us against oxidative stress that leads to cancer by increasing the reactive oxygen species that in turn increases anti-oxidant activity to destroy free-radicals.

In combination, omega 3, 6 and 9 also offer brain protection in particular for the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. This is an excellent alternative for brain health for people who are allergic to fish oil.

I highly recommend that everyone who is suffering with any chronic illness add hemp seed oil to their daily regimen. I also recommend the teachings of Dr Roger Murphree author of The Murphree Method as I consider him a specialist in the condition of fibromyalgia. The only aspect we differ on is that Dr Murphree says that we have to tackle the insomnia first where I am more geared to go straight to the gut.

Every illness is also accompanied by severe depression

In my opinion clinical depression is when the patient no longer feels hopeful about their future, and most people feel like this at least once a day, so you can imagine that a person who can find no relief for chronic round-the-clock excruciating pain might easily become as depressed as the patient facing cancer.

We must remember that serotonin is not only about our mood and feeling happy. This hormone is also responsible for our memory, hunger signals, body temperature, sexual behaviour, sleep as well as our pain response.

It is interesting to note that the name given to our main Endocannabinoid produced by everyone’s brain is Anandamide that is a Sanskrit word meaning “Internal Bliss” in other words “happiness”.

When a patient becomes ill and depressed their Anandamide is also severely depleted and this again not only affects the mood but also all of our vital bodily functions. There is only one plant that can give us any form of Anandamide supplement and that is the Cannabis plant because Anandamide is the human version of THC.

Anandamide controls our hormone production and release by balancing our serotonin, melatonin, sex hormones as well as the stress hormones, adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. Anandamide also assists the body to take up more Vitamin D which is essential for so many functions but in particular for inflammation.

Anandamide is the most abundant neurotransmitter in the human body and when we are ill it is essential to supplement with Cannabis medicine

Cannabis calms the entire nervous system and interacts with our GABA receptors, the limbic and para-limbic systems as well as the vital HPA axis.

One of the main functions of the Endocannabinoid System is Neurogenesis and Neuro-Protection, but it also offers “Neuro-Diversity” that means that the Endocannabinoid System and the plant, takes into account that every human being has a completely unique constitution and that each system is beyond comparison  just like the fingerprints and iris of the eyes.

And ask yourself why does Cannabis make people laugh? In my book I end off with this question since scientists claim that they still do not know why humans laugh, so I thought to help them out!

Anandamide tickles the brain in a way that produces amusement, and just by virtue of the fact that Cannabis always makes you feel better, people would be then be far more inclined to enjoy a laugh. Cannabis eases any form of suffering and makes any illness easier to bear.

Be sure to visit Joanne at Cannacopia when you next visit Hogsback to discover how Cannabis can make a difference in your life. Good bye beautiful Hogsback...until next time!

Photo by Esther Nel, The Canna Club, Plettenberg Bay

 

How to get a grip on Anxiety and Stress

 

If you are like me and suffer from severe anxiety then please know that this means that you have a super sensitive nervous system.

Some psychiatrists and even psychologists will tell you that anxiety happens when we think negative thoughts that stem from fear. Yes this is true, anxiety affects our thoughts and our thoughts affect our anxiety. Both feed upon each other in ways that make it really hard to control negative thought patterns, over thinking, OCD, triggers, panic attacks and manic behaviour.

Be that as it may, I always like to look at the root causes in each patient dependent on their symptoms and I have found that genetics only accounts for about 5% of mental and physical medical conditions.

Let’s take a look at the some of the root causes of anxiety and how the human companion plant can help us to overcome this new pandemic of modern society.

1.1.   TRAUMA AND ADDICTIONS

     So many people have suffered such tremendous childhood trauma that has followed most of us into adulthood. Loss of loved ones and the entire grieving process is utterly traumatic for humans and many never recover.

I believe that everyone has the right to be happy and I’v always been super passionate about human health and happiness. Truly I’v said this many times but somewhere in the sinister prohibition parade I have always believed that it is illegal to be happy in this manic matrix we all live in.

Regardless of my opinion, the truth is that good health cannot live in an unhappy body and this is not my truth because I learnt this from a very young age from my Bible and later found a similar teaching in the Holy Quran.

In the book of Proverbs chapter 17 we learn that “A broken Spirit dries the bones” and I have always understood this based on my teachings to mean that in order to be healthy one has to be happy. When a human being’s Spirit becomes so broken that their bones begin to dry then we know that they no longer have healthy bone-marrow. And bone-marrow is the epicenter of our immune system. In my opinion a “broken Spirit” is the root cause of so-called autoimmune conditions.

In the Holy Quran the Scripture speaks of “a piece of flesh that when not well, the whole body is not well and when well, the whole body is well, and this piece of flesh is the heart”. 

And we must remember that trauma is not only stored in our memories but in every single living cell in our bodies

2.   LIFE STRESSES

In my opinion at the heart of disease management today is the way that we can handle our life-stresses. Please don’t get me wrong a little bit of stress is good for us but today we have two types of stress, good and bad. Good stress is the type of stress you put on yourself, like setting targets and goals etc and bad stress is what the government and corporations give away for free every day, illegal taxes, cost of living, inflation and some seriously dark agendas (excuse the pun South Africa). These things are slowly killing our people as stress manifests into dis-ease in the human body.

All of our stress hormones, Cortisol, Norepinephrine, Adrenaline and others all are known to cause an up-regulation in tumor formation. Even young people are struggling with their hearts and cardiac arrest is still the number one killer.

Stress vampirically feeds off our Vitamin B and if not supplemented this is very dangerous resulting in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, impaired cognition and neuropathic pain. It can get so bad that your body stops producing red blood cells that need Vitamin B and then oxygen supply becomes crucial. All of this from stress! Cannabis seeds are known to be one of the highest sources of Vitamin B in the world.

The human Endocannabinoid System is incredibly sensitive to stress because truly we were not designed to deal with these levels of “new age” stresses that are designed to keep us in fight-or-flight mode. 

This is when our hormones become so unbalanced and triggers a release of our stress hormones. Remember that the Endocannabinoid System controls the Endocrine or hormone system and this is how Cannabis is able to help calm and balance our hormones at all the different stages of human life. 

Stress not only blocks the Endocannabinoid receptors but also halts the production of our main Endocannabinoid named Anandamide by the scientists. Anandamide is the human version of THC (Delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol) and it is the Sanskrit word meaning “Bliss”.

This is why I always tell my patients to double their CBD dose when they know that they are going to be facing heavy stress. We absolutely have to supplement the Endocannabinoid System in order to survive stress and anxiety and this is why millions of people use Cannabis for depression, pain, insomnia and mood elevation.

And ask yourself why does Cannabis make us laugh?

In my book Cannabis is The Human Companion Plant I end off with this question because apparently scientists still do not know why humans laugh! Cannabis eases any form of suffering and makes any disease easier to bear, mentally and physically and spiritually.

It is because of the way that Cannabinoids interact with not only the Endocannabinoid receptors but also the whole human receptor system

Binding affinity to the Serotonin receptors is a tried and tested therapeutic target for anxiety so this is a big reason for the mood elevation properties of the plant. And it’s not only the Cannabinoids but also the terpenes that offer healing through our receptors.

The plant also interacts with the Limbic and Para Limbic systems and GABA receptor binding by Cannabinoids is now well established. Basically all of this means that the components found in the Cannabis plant interact with our entire nervous system and it is CBD that completely calms our nervous system down.

There is a reason why I refer to CBD as the “King of Cannabinoids” !

People sometimes think of CBD as the weaker sibling of THC because scientists write that it is “inactive” meaning in their language that CBD will not make you feel “high”. Well I always ask my patients whether they are high or if they just feel better? 99.99% they tell me that they can admit that they simply feel better.

We have to accept that even though only THC has the deep binding affinity with the CB1 and 2 receptors, it is by no means the “be-all-an- end-all” of Cannabis medicine.

In my opinion and when I consider overall medical benefits of CBD I truly believe in this molecules healing powers especially in the way it can completely calm the nervous system down. I suffer with tachycardia often during the day it goes up to 140 and I simply puff on a CBD joint 3 puffs and it’s coming down already. That is a 19% CBD strain that belongs to South African Breeder Dean Malan and is called Canna Health Genetics #16 (CHG#16) and I highly recommend this strain for helping prevent anxiety from becoming all encompassing.

We must never underestimate the power of CBD and CBDA (the acid version within the growing plant) is 1000 times stronger than CBD in nausea and migraine studies!

Why are seeing such an increase in anxiety among high THC consumers?

In the 1970’s a 6% THC level was considered high and today we have “over 30’s” clubs with the average percentage testing around 25. In my judging work over the past 4 years I can tell you that for sure the THC is getting stronger and stronger.

The biggest problem with super high THC plants is that there is hardly any CBD in there so the medicine becomes super potent and the body lacks the natural plant protection that is CBD.

And then you also have to think about synthetics as well like Delta 8 and THCP products, even some “CBD isolates” that are super potent. Synthetic THCP is 33 times stronger than plant THC and 60 times stronger than Delta 8 THC.

In general pharmaceutical cannabinoid synthetics are up to 800 times stronger than plant medicine. There is a very good reason why THCP and Delta 8 THC are only found in miniscule amounts in the actual plant!

Synthethic THC products act a full agonists of our receptors where plant THC only acts a partial agonist and this is the reason for super-potency. 

CBD is naturally found in higher amounts in low THC varieties such as Cannabis ruderalis and some so-called hemp strains. So if you are looking for a high CBD plant you must look for a low THC variety. We have to be careful that in our quest for super high THC strains we do not risk out breeding CBD.

What is the Biphasic Effect of Cannabis Medicine and how does this affect anxiety?

Biphasic medicine means that high and low doses can have opposite effects and this is a common effect in many medications for example the contraceptive pill, some insulin drugs, antacids and of course alcohol, you can see it clearly how like the first 2 drinks can appear to calm a person and raise their spirits but after that “1 too many” a certain type of psychosis seems to set in and a lot of people simply pass out.

In Cannabis medicine I call this “dagga psychosis” and I attribute it to the super high THC levels people are now consuming and believe me, I also enjoy these strains especially for the pain but the truth is that it does give me and so many others who have come to speak to me, disturbing anxiety symptoms like tachycardia, depression and so many other symptoms we experience.

We can see the biphasic effect in how the high THC is giving the opposite effect that lower THC strains offer like calmness and euphoria instead of psychosis and paranoia that I am seeing so much of today and this is obviously a huge concern for me for the future of our freedom to access this plant.

At my recent talk at The Canna Club in Plettenberg Bay someone in the audience told a story of how he had lost consciousness and passed out due to loss of oxygen according to the medical team that assisted. He informed me that there is now published scientific research to prove that high THC can alter oxygen absorption and I still need to read these papers.

If you consider that the average rosin press extract is 4 times the THC potency as in the bud then shoo! That is super high, but what is really interesting, I was having a chat with one of our Master Growers Natie Fereirra and he told me that this is not strictly correct because he can take a “4% THC plant and convert it to an 80% dab” Wow that is pure alchemy right there!

The biphasic effect  of Cannabis medicine is not only involved in mental health, I see this a lot in my sleep clinic patients when so often it is the lowest possible dose that ends up stabilizing sleep architecture as opposed to higher THC dosing. In other words when the THC is too strong for a certain patient then the medicine will have the opposite effect and keep them awake.

Another good example is a patient I treat for arthritis, a person who has a well established Endocannabinoid System and I made him a high CBD and very low THC oil extracted with virgin organic coconut oil. Well after checking up on him he explained and sent me photos of how he experienced the complete opposite effect and had to go for a steroid injection! I was horrified as I had never seen the biphasic effect in arthritis and the patient was not allergic to coconut oil.

Well I love a good medical mystery and I asked the patient who truly believes in the benefits of the plant but had never used topically or internally before, to give me a chance and do some more research and make him a new batch of medicine. All my research kept coming back to the biphasic effect I even looked at his blood grouping and consulted with my mentors and still nothing was coming up from the science or from common sense.

Long story short I made him a new batch of medicine using a different plant and I waited a week (serious anxiety) before checking up on him and Give Thanks all was well and the photos revealed the reduction in inflammation and I was so happy for the patient. This is a classic example of one of the ways the biphasic effect can manifest and we must never forget that this plant is a medicine regardless of how you consume it because it causes changes in the body....just like coffee and sugar!

For those who are curious about how I made the new batch of medicine I am happy to share that I decided to use a male plant that is higher in CBD and this turned out to work really well for this patient. All Praises to the Plant!

So I really loved the way Brett Pollack expressed his perspective in the recent Phakisa Interview on The Canna Club channel and I asked Brett if I may use his words that I would like to share with you

“There’s more to this plant than just a 30% THC content, and a plant with less than 20% is jut?...No….it’s not….it means that there’s other things in there potentially taking effect on your body and your mind” ~ Brett Pollack Cannabis Lawyer

Give thanks Brett for these words of wisdom and I can tell you that “these things” Brett is speaking of are things like CBD, CBG, CBC, and the terpenes and the flavinoids present in the plant that botanists refer to as The Entourage Effect.

And this why in my country in the rural lands of Mpondo grows the perfect ratio of CBD to THC, the sought after 1:1 ratio that doctors love and adore for so many reasons but mostly because of the incredibly low risk of side-effects. In my opinion this is the competitive advantage of the medicine that has always been produced in rural Transkei.

It upsets me greatly that our landrace farmers are being excluded and I even heard from one of Simon’s friends that the legacy farmers were told by SAHPRA I think, stand to be corrected, that their medicine ‘has no competitive advantage” this is complete lies but that is another paper. It upsets me because I cannot return to my isi-Xhosa family because they will come for me again because I do not have their permits to cultivate. 

So my message to you about ‘dagga psychosis” is to be conscious of responsible adult consumption and harm reduction methods.

We must always respect the plant as a medicine and as a teacher plant.

Another thing I am very concerned with that we are starting to see a lot of is people with pre-existing mental health conditions consuming high THC levels and many people that have weaned themselves off their pharma meds and are self medicating with THC without consulting with a registered practitioner.

As a society I would like to see all of us looking out for our brothers and sisters and becoming aware of what your friends, family, club members, work colleagues etc are dealing with in their lives so that if the time comes, hopefully never, then you will have a better perspective and point of reference on how to help them.

And the best advice I can give on this topic is to always make sure that you have a high CBD oil and bud available, because truly the only way to calm the nervous system almost instantly as  we know from epilepsy studies is by using CBD.

Cannabis also offers spiritual nurturing to help us deal with anxiety and there is a lot of science that I discuss in the book about how Cannabis helps with aversive memories and even nightmares and terrors so common in people suffering with anxiety and PTSD.

3.   DEHYDRATION AND INFLAMMATION

There is a lot of science that you can research on how these two can cause anxiety. Both of these are fast becoming a chronic health crisis today.

By the time your mouth tells you it is dry…you are already dehydrated and not only your body but your brain also becomes dehydrated.

It is crucial to consume 35 ml of clean structured water per kg of body weight every day. Nothing more and nothing less because we can also over-hydrate but that is another study. 

Dehydration depletes our Tryptophan that is the building block of Serotonin and this is how it causes anxiety.

Today it is becoming a challenge to get clean structured water that isn’t filled with high levels of heavy metals and other chemicals and these days they are also adding sulphites to drinking water, tap and bottled even so-called "spring water" and sulphites are known to cause anxiety even in tolerant people.

There is a very good reason why the plant makes us thirsty! In South Africa we speak about "the droogies"! and I have seen this so often how this plant can force human beings to hydrate with water! Also another study!

Scientists speak about the “Inflammation/Anxiety Connection” that explains how inflammation leads to oxidative stress throughout the body and causes anxiety. Cannabis is a known potent anti-inflammatory and through its binding affinity with the Serotonin receptors offers Human beings relief for anxiety.

4.   IMBALANCED VAGUS NERVES

I can almost guarantee you that every person suffering with severe anxiety also has imbalanced vagus nerves. These are the two longest nerves in the body and they control the “gut brain connection” for mental and physical health. On a spiritual level they have their origin in the Pineal and Pituitary glands. (6th and 7th chakras)

There is a very simple test you can do that Iv mentioned in previous papers but happy to repeat here. Take your torch and look into the back of your throat at the “small tongue” or uvula. This little tongue should be pointing directly down into the throat but if pointing to the left or right this is a sign of imbalance and you need to take steps to rectify this. I use these techniques almost daily and it is incredible how 15 minutes can completely reduce tachycardia.

In my opinion based on my research the secret to stimulating the vagus nerves is to have your head below your heart like doing a head stand. This is why many people find yoga really helpful. Many healers have a flip bed in their rooms where you can be turned upside down to stimulate the vagus nerves.

You can do breathing and even cold showers there are a number of different ways to achieve vagal nerve stimulation and you can find what suits you best but this therapy is really helping a lot of people with anxiety.

Cannabis is the only plant that can induce autophagy and vagal nerve stimulation

Recently I wrote about this topic I will leave the links here below for you and I had my comprehension of how this works in the body confirmed by one of my mentors Dr Henry Ealy, you can see the video on my Rumble channel SistaVee.

https://xhosastyles.blogspot.com/2023/02/how-does-cannabis-stimulate-vagus-nerves.html

https://xhosastyles.blogspot.com/2023/01/autophagy-one-of-secret-weapons-of.html

https://rumble.com/v2zga56-dr-henry-ealy-q-and-a-16-feb-2023.html

(go to 1:55:28 for my question, the last question!) 

5.   PATHOGENS

I would urge anyone with severe anxiety to ask their doctor for a simple heavy metal toxicity test to test for the main 4 culprits, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead. And while you are there ask for a Vitamin B12 test as well. You can also consult with a frequency vibrational healer who might have a frequency vibration machine like a Rife machine that will give you accurate results for both tests often more accurate than blood tests.

Some other pathogenic culprits for causing anxiety are parasites, viruses, bacteria and mold is a very big one. So many people been sick for decades and doctors don’t know the cause and it turns out to be mold and it is very difficult to get rid of but you can Detox from mold, parasites and heavy metals in a standard 90 day program.

All of these cause anxiety because of the severe damage they cause to our nerve endings and they way that they devour our Vitamin B and other nutrients. They can also cause pain, inflammation, tumor formation, hot flushes and cravings.

A lot of women believe that they have been in menopause for many years but I'm here to tell you that the menopause only lasts 12 months after the last menstrual cycle. This is a natural pattern of creation. I have found in many of my patients that there was always another root cause of ongoing hot flushes and I urge women in this situation to go and get tested or simply just do the 90 day detox to reset your system. 

6.   PHARMACEUTICAL SIDE EFFECTS

You would be shocked to learn how many pharmaceutical drugs can cause anxiety as a known side effect, so please do look at the insert inside the packaging because it is there in plain sight. 

Drugs like benzodiazepines, epilepsy meds, anti histamines, sleeping tablets, ADHD meds like Ritalin and even certain nasal inhalers that contain Albuterol. All of these can cause severe anxiety and it is shocking that medications designed to calm the nervous system have such severe and opposite effects by design. We must seriously question this!

For stress and anxiety I highly recommend using high CBD strains and today we are blessed with strong and stable CBD genetics. Some of my favorite strains besides CHG#16 are Blue Shark, Feno Dream and Cherry Wine by Natie Fereirra.

Here is a link to my medical review on CHG#16

https://xhosastyles.blogspot.com/2023/06/smoking-cbd-bud-fighting-anxiety_26.html

With CBD I have seen healing occur at 20 mg right up to 1000 mg and while Cannabis can’t take our problems away it does help to keep our anxiety out of our chest, throat and gut, and stop it from interfering with our days and nights.

In my opinion the only way to get a grip on anxiety is to constantly observe ourselves. We must study ourselves, our behavior, mood, feelings and triggers. We have to know what makes us happy and we must be deliberate about the way we wake up and the way we go to sleep and how we structure the time in between and we must also remember to congratulate ourselves for showing up! No one else can show up and live your life for you only you can do this - and for myself and so many others, self observation is proving to be a valuable tool.

Through Cannabis we can learn to gauge what steps to take to heal ourselves, instead of just being a passenger in our own lives that prevents us from being who we wish to be.

Cannabis can help us to focus on our thoughts and become more aware of who we really are beneath our anxiety and to realize that fear is the real sickness. Cannabis can also help us to achieve greatness, to let our little light shine and to become the best version of ourselves and for this reason alone we should to continue to pursue medical freedom and education by fighting for plant medicine. 

This paper is based off my talk on Anxiety at The Garden Route Cannabis Cup in Plettenberg Bay 5 August 2023 and my recent talk about mental health at The Canna Club in Plett 

Here is the rumble link for the anxiety talk at The Expo last month.

https://rumble.com/v35r2gs-can-cannabis-ease-anxiety.html

Is it illegal to be happy? ~ The importance of Cannabis to ensure happiness in maintaining great health

 

I’v always been super passionate about human health and happiness. My whole life, whenever anyone asked me why Cannabis is illegal ii would always give the same answer. “Because it’s illegal to be happy!”

The truth is that good health cannot dwell in an unhappy body, and this is not only my truth, you can find this truth in the scriptures of the Holy Bible and the Koran. The Bible speaks about “A merry heart is good, like medicine, but a broken spirit will dry the bones”. Proverbs 17 verse 22 clearly explains the cause of disease and the solution. It is known that the centre of the human immune system is in the bone marrow, so imagine then when unhappiness leads to the loss of bone marrow and this is exactly how so-called auto-immune conditions do manifest. And earlier in the Book of Proverbs in chapter 15 verse 13 we already learn that "a happy heart brightens the face but a troubled heart breaks the spirit" and "a broken spirit dries the bones."

In the Holy Koran, the scriptures speak about “a piece of flesh, that when not well, the entire body is not well, and when well, the entire body is well, and this piece of flesh is the heart.”

Millions of people use Cannabis for depression, pain, insomnia and mood elevation, and this is exactly why our main Endocannabinoid is named Anandamide, the Sanskrit meaning of Bliss. Yes!!! We are meant to be living in a state of bliss as intended by our Creator and not to be living in the level of intentionally created stress that humans have to endure today.

In my opinion, at the heart of disease management today is the way in which we handle our daily life-stresses. And please don’t get me wrong, a little bit of stress is also necessary for the body, but again, in my opinion, there is good stress and bad stress. Good stress is the stress that we put onto ourselves, for example setting goals and targets. Bad stress is that which the government and corporations give away for free every single day. Inflation, so-called cost of living, illegal taxes, dark agendas and don’t even let me start on ‘daylight robbery’.

All of these things are literally killing our people as stress manifests into dis-ease in the human body. There is so much scientific evidence to prove the negative biological effects of stress on humans. Today even young people are dropping from heart attacks and it is known that our stress hormone Cortisol causes an upregulation in tumor formation.

Stress completely devours our Vitamin B even to the point where the body can stop producing red blood cells and this then affects the oxygen supply to the brain and nervous system.

In respect of the Endocannabinoid system, stress not only blocks the Endocannabinoid receptors but also halts the production of Anandamide. In times of stress ii always tell my patients to double their dose because stress feeds vampiracally on our Anandamide supplies.

Human beings (and animals) need Cannabis to supplement the Endocannabinoid system and to be happy!

And why does Cannabis make us laugh? Is laughter not still the ‘best medicine’?

Cannabis eases any form of suffering and makes any dis-ease easier to bear. Denying people access to this plant has up until today only caused pain and suffering for so many people whose body’s were simply crying out for Cannabinoid treatment.

Smoking CBD Bud ~ Fighting Anxiety, Depression and Addiction with Hemp Flowers : A medical review of a South African CBD Strain CHG#16

 

CANNA HEALTH GENETICS #16

Photo compliments of Breeder Dean Malan

After decades of smoking high THC I’m so enjoying the gentle buzz that hemp flowers give me and they are so tasty as well and calm my entire day down.

And this strain, Canna Health Genetics (CHG) #16 laughs in the face of anxiety!

Hemp flowers can help anyone to finally quit tobacco in ways you won’t believe possible. Many of my patients report that they will have 3 puffs maybe 4 and put the CBD joint down and carry on with their day and hours later will notice the left over joint I in the ashtray and become incredibly surprised at themselves that so many hours went by without even thinking about smoking. This is the power of CBD!

It was an honor for me to do an assessment on a South African bred strain, let alone high grade CBD flowers and even though I have tested quite a few CBD strains there is something very special about this strain that ii wish to share with you, compared to the others and I firmly believe that sunshine plays a huge role in my perception of the healing powers of this local strain. 

APPEARANCE                  

Immaculately cured seedless buds that were grown outdoors the Northern Cape, and you can tell how well-fed this plant was and the dry bud represents well that she had very pink colas as she flowered. Respect to Master Grower Richard! 

AROMA

Before and after crushing there is a distinct nutty, like avocado pear pip nutty, hinting a large percentage of Pinene and Humulene terpenes. However this strain is not as ‘nutty’ in aroma as most hemp flowers like Feno Dream and Blue Shark, and even Cherry Wine. After crushing, ii can detect a hint of linalool and limonene which allows this strain to offer a unique bouquet of ultra subtle scents to delight the nostrils and the tongue. 

TASTE         

Earthy sweet overtones with musky and spicy undertones with a hint of citrus presented with a suspected array of the terpenes Myrcene, Pinene, Humulene and a dash of Limonene. The after taste lingers of a subtle sweetness with a hint of BCP and Terpenol which might make me wonder if there is some ‘Diesel’ in her lineage?  

POTENCY                        

Originally ii guessed this plant to be between 12 and 16% CBD and maybe around 1% THC. I’m told by the breeder that this strain tested at 14.6% CBD and 1.10% THC, this was for indoor plants, where the bud ii reviewed was outdoor grown by the Master Grower Richard who has a gift for making it almost impossible to tell the difference between indoor and outdoor when consuming his buds.

EFFECTS                         

In my Cannabis Cup judging work ii really appreciate CBD flowers because of the instant physical and mental calmness, within 20 seconds, there was instant THC-calming (approximately 42% THC) which was very impressive. This was followed by full body relaxation and a peaceful and uninterrupted night of sleep. The fact that this strain lends itself so nicely to chronic pain is like a welcomed visit from an old friend and leads me to believe that inflammation will not be a problem for CHG #16.

I also tested this strain for day time use and was pleasantly surprised at how clearheaded my attention span was and there were no interruptions to my day because of my smoke. This is a fully functional strain that can be puffed all day long and will be a great companion in times of nicotine withdrawal.

Scientists say that CBD is not active but I’m not so sure about this and in my book ii ask the question Can CBD make you high? It concerns me when brain doctors start speaking about CBD by saying “It has no effect on the brain!” CBD most definitely offers a gentle mood enhancement or upliftment, and sometimes ii wonder if ii am feeling high or if ii am just feeling better. This is certainly a strain that you can unwind with after a long day.

PHENOTYPICAL NOVELTY

In the future this will be an award winning new sativa with high CBD strain that performs well in and outdoors.  For smoking it is like the opposite of puffing an ‘Indica’ with high THC, very impressive and very interesting! You can tell how well fed this plant was by observing her color palate. Under the loupe she demonstrates a rich trichome population and a sight like this convinces one of the powerful terpene profile. 

MEDICINAL APPLICATIONS

Many people underestimate the power of CBD believing that it is weaker than THC in some way, but in my experience this is a very powerful CBD strain testing at 14% CBD and grown in the hot South African sun.

I highly recommend CHG #16 for the treatment of epilepsy and convulsions especially in children. In fact, this strain is the perfect strain for so many childhood diseases because she is so gentle and caring, just the type of motherly qualities that a sick child will need. In terms of seizure conditions this strain completely calms the nervous system down.

This strain will also be highly effective in treating fevers that are so common in small children because CBD can control the temperature function just by putting a little oil on the back of the child’s neck. (This will also work for women suffering with hot flushes simply by making a tea). Adult fevers will also respond well to CBD treatment.

Because of the high presence of the Pinene terpene in this plant it will serve so well for lung conditions like cough congestion, asthma and other respiratory conditions and again, especially for small children.

The presence of Linalool is a sign of this plants ability to help people overcome metabolic conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and even lack of appetite. Together with another famous Cannabis terpene Limonene, this strain will be highly effective in treating most cancers and especially the toughest one of them all….pancreatic cancer.

Having tested a few different plants of this strain, grown by the same grower, I was struck by the neurological effects of the medicine produced from these plants. The up-regulation in neuro-protection is unmistakable and ii have so much respect for the power of whole-plant CBD medicine and this is why it is so effective in calming even the toughest seizures. This is when one realizes that natural CBD has the power to stimulate the process of Neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells, in the presence of only tiny amounts of THC.

So I will most definitely recommend #16 for neurological conditions and mental health issues including autism, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, early onset dementia, as well as PTSD and trauma patients.

Based on my personal healing ii received from the plant, it will not surprise me if the CBD in this plant is capable of doing the same brain cell resetting work as psilocybin can except without the psychedelic journey. I will also recommend this strain for addiction and childhood trauma treatment including nicotine withdrawal as mentioned above.

Other conditions this strain will work perfectly for are chronic and acute pain, inflammation, migraines, asthma, stress, anxiety, muscle spasms, tremors, tachycardia and seizures. So conditions like Parkinson’s Disease, ALS, Schizophrenia, Muscular Sclerosis, any twitching/spasm conditions, and definitely in the treatment of people suffering from strokes.

Patients suffering with any form of cancer, insomnia, hormonal balancing, in particular (thyroid and adrenal relief) will find healing. All of these conditions and most illnesses even headaches can offer nausea as a ‘side-dish’ but this plant will take all of that away from you for a full day at least.

An absolute must-have strain in the Cannabis medicine cabinet of anyone wanting to reap the benefits of this plant, that is functional and enjoyable at almost any dose but without the high. This plant also has a decent amount of CBG and ii will highly recommend for the development of medicines relating to eye care and especially glaucoma.

In my opinion this strain really needs to be developed not only as a highly effective medicine but also for an extraordinary recreational experience as a good conversationalist smoke for socializing as well as a great coffee companion. There is no doubt that there is something very special about the genetics of this strain and I would personally love to grow her for a season and also to consume her as a Live-Rosin extract, my ultimate smoke experience. 

This is the response ii received from the Breeder Dean Malan to my review

Hi Vee 

I was surprised by your essay and review of strain and experience, in a really good positive energy filled way. Love the way you express yourself and describe what you sensing – love raw honesty in humans.

My heart feels warm and blessed with gratitude. Your assessment of her qualities and her medicinal properties, is rather spot on  … Many years of work went into her and my other CBD dominant strains, so to hear from others that she help them, is confirmation of good energy exchange. Feeling absolute gratitude

 If you smoke this girl from an indoor grow – she is all Berries and sweet fruit flavours that drip off your tongue for a few minutes after the smoke session. 

Oh yes, she is CHG No.16 but is also known as…. Nostalgic Intoxication  

Thank you for those kind words, my heart feels blessed Vee."

The images below were taken by dissecting a tiny piece of the dry bud, only enough to fit into the 7 mm space under the microscope. Some of the crystals measured between 0.18 mm to 0.28 mm and the little leaf measured at 1.2 mm full of trichomes…give thanks to Grant of Image Nation Independent for these impressive shots! 

Look at these trichomes!!!

All Cannabis use is Medicinal

I would like to share a paradigm shifting perspective on the topic of medicinal versus recreational Cannabis consumption in the market place today.

I really feel that as a society we are ready to acknowledge that ALL Cannabis use is medicinal whether the person realizes it or not.

This is a lesson that my teachers drummed into my head from a young age because every single time we consume Cannabis we are activating our Endocannabinoid system and healing is taking place. 

Let me give you a simple analogy - In 2004 social media was introduced to society, and people were for many years banned from using Facebook and even Mxit during work hours. It was purely for adult recreation. Fast forward 20 years and now you can barely see what your Fam is up to for all the business adverts we have to now endure on social media. So what happened?

Well, corporations realized that there is big money to be made by merging social and recreational arenas with corporate business, and in this same way ii would like to see the fundamental fusion of so-called recreational Cannabis with medical use of the plant. 

By separating the two, governments automatically create opportunities to impose separate taxes, and of course recreational must be taxed higher.

In the USA today medical patients are being left behind as so-called recreational 'sales' open and recreational 'clients' are being limited to make sure there is enough for the medical patients. But, it's all the exact same bud, same strains and same THC levels, the only difference is the price and the taxes!

I've always been super passionate about human health and happiness and whenever I've been asked in my life why is Ganjah illegal ii always give the same answer "Because it's illegal to be happy!". The truth is that good health cannot dwell in an unhealthy body. 

Millions of people use Cannabis for depression, pain, insomnia and mood elevation. This is precisely why our main Endocannabinoid is named Anandamide, meaning "Bliss". Anandamide is the human version of THC and people need THC to supplement the Endocannabinoid system and to be happy and healthy because at the heart of disease-management today is the way in which we handle our life-stresses.

There are 2 types of stress, good stress and bad stress. Good stress is the pressure we put on ourselves, like setting goals and targets. Bad stress is what governments hand out for free every single day.

Inflation, so-called 'cost of living', illegal taxes, and dark agenda's, not to mention 'daylight robbery'. All of these things are literally killing our people as stress manifests into dis-ease in the human body.

There is so much scientific evidence to prove the negative impact of stress on the human body and it is well known that our stress hormone Cortisol causes an upregulation of tumor formation in the body. People are dropping dead daily from stress related heart attacks and sacrificing their lives because of severe trauma and depression. Stress also vampirically eats your Vitamin B supply and this can lead to your body losing the ability to produce red blood cells and this means less oxygen flow to the brain and blood. These are all things that Cannabis can help humans to overcome.

Stress also blocks our Endocannabinoid system and not only blocks the receptors but also blocks Endocannabinoid production in the human brain. People need Cannabis to protect themselves against the health dangers of stress.

And why does Cannabis make us laugh? Is laughter not still the best medicine?

Cannabis eases any form of suffering and makes any disease easier to bear and this is why ii believe that all Cannabis use is medicinal regardless of how it is consumed. Denying people access to this plant has until now only caused immense pain and suffering for so many people whose bodies are simply crying out for THC. 

The Stoned Olympics Home Growers Cup Cape Town 3 June 2023

It was such a blessing as a returning judge to witness the Greatness that has now become the essence of Home Grown Medicine in South Africa.  

Over the past 3 years ii have noticed a massive elevation in the cultivation standards, so much so that it was often hard to tell the difference between indoor and outdoor! So there is no doubt that the Ganjah is just getting better and better. 

I also noticed a huge improvement in feeding and nurturing programs, as this evidence comes through in the judging process.  

And despite the incredibly harsh season we all just endured, Home Growers still managed to present us with "Boutique Blomme" of the highest grade.

Impeccably manicured buds and powerful terpene profiles offering some of the best medicine ii have tested in years. 

And on the edibles side, one of my super powers is to identify sulphur and sulphites and ii can confirm that only the finest ingredients were used by the bakers and ii was also impressed with the precise dosing of the samples entered. I have always said that edibles is the future of this medicine because of precise dosing so very well done to all the bakers and all of these products must be vigorously marketed as they are screaming to be on the shelves already!

In my opinion all of the samples that have passed my desk are worthy of competing at International Cup Level and ii would really like to see these type of opportunities being created for our growers.

Congratulations to all the winners and ii give thanks for the privilige of being affiliated with Stoners Olympics and Home Growers Cup and may this event go from strength to strength to bring the plant closer to all communities until there is a 'dispensary' on every corner in this country.

And the Winners Are: 

Heart of love to all the winners I am so super proud of your achievements of Greatness keep up the good work Home Growers you are the literal rock of everything the Plant wishes to achieve in our communities. One Love ForeIver xxx