Aaaaahhhh ... Sweet Memories

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

NEW STUDY ... Pot Might Ease Stress

I.
so.
needed.
this.
one!
In grounding research, Dr. Irit AKirav has discovered that marijuana helps relieve POSD in lab rats.

FRIDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Marijuana may help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study.

PTSD affects 10 to 30 percent of people who experience a traumatic event, such as a car accident or terror attack. These people continue to suffer stress symptoms for months and even years after the incident.

Israeli researchers conducted a series of experiments in which rats were subjected to stressful experiences, such as receiving electric shocks. The study found that the rats' stress levels could be reduced by giving them a synthetic form of marijuana that has properties similar to that of the natural plant.

Further investigation revealed that the synthetic marijuana prevents increased release of a stress hormone the body releases in response to traumatic situations.

"The results of our research should encourage psychiatric investigation into the use of cannabinoids in post-traumatic stress patients," wrote study author Dr. Irit Akirav of the department of psychology at the University of Haifa.

The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

I've got news for them ... they didn't need a new study. Some people have known this for years. And for the record, it works well for everyday stress as well. Of course, Prozac is much safer, right?

Spiders on Drugs

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Could Legal Marijuana Save California's Economy

Probably not, but there were a few interesting points made in this article.

Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?

Marijuana is California's largest cash crop. It's valued at $14 billion annually, or nearly twice the value of the state's grape and vegetable crops combined, according to government statistics. Indeed, a recent report pegged marijuana as two-thirds of the economy of Mendocino County, a ganja hotbed north of San Francisco. That's not surprising—it costs $400 to grow a pound of pot that can sell for $6,000 on the street.

But the state doesn't receive any revenue from its cash cow. Instead, it spends billions of dollars enforcing laws pegged at shutting down the industry and inhibiting marijuana's adherents. Of course, there's a reason for that. Marijuana's social costs may include addiction and rehabilitation treatment and lost productivity. Yet these are minute compared with the extensive social costs of alcohol or tobacco.

Of course, just legalizing pot wouldn't automatically harvest revenues for the state. An organized system of regulating sales and collecting taxes would need implementing. And it's possible that general drug use could rise, though the debate that pot is a gateway drug to harder substances is inconclusive.

So what are the numbers? A national legalization effort would save nearly $13 billion annually in enforcement costs and bring in $7 billion in yearly tax revenues, according to a study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron. Since California represents 13 percent of the U.S. economy, those numbers suggest the state could save $1.7 billion in enforcement costs and nab up to $1 billion in revenues. That doesn't include any indirect revenues as, for example, rural farming communities grow or marijuana tourism, which has been lucrative for the Netherlands, takes off.



Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Who Knew?

Official Stoner Holiday

And so I've been told...

that if I'm caught with rolling papers on my person without cigarette tobaco also on my person that I can be arrested and charged with a mistameaner for possession of drug paraphanalia.

And if that ever happens I will challenge it to the U.S. Supreme Court. I use rolling papers for the following LEGAL purposes:

lip blotter
make-up blotter (for oily skin)
nail wraps for broken nails

Now why rolling papers? Because in some places (not around here) there are beauty supply stores that sell thin linen papers for the above purposes. They charge 2-3 times as much for a package with the same amount of papers. I do not feel that I should (a) have to drive 45 minutes away to find a beauty store (b) pay more for the same exact product in a pretty pink package (c) be treated like a friggin' criminal because SOME people choose to use legal items for illegal purposes.

And for the record, I have bleach, amonia, Sudafed and lye at my house. Does this mean I'm making meth? NO! It means that I keep a clean house, had a cold a few months back, and make homemade soap.

I love my country. I am as red-blooded American as you can get. I think this is the best country in the world (despite the humorous Presidential bids that are going on between some the absolute biggest worthless idiots the country has to offer).

But I am tired of seeing my freedoms slowing eroding away. We are INNOCENT in this country until PROVEN guilty. Slowly but surely laws are being written, slyly, which would served to make us guilty until proven innocent, take our freedom away, and put us under the authoritative rule of those elected officials whose job it is to make sure this doesn't happen in the first place. Like a frog in water that is slowing heated, too many people let these laws be. In this case they sit back and say, "Well, it's to combat the drug problem, so I'll give up a little bit of freedom."

Ben Franklin once said, "A man who is willing to give up a bit of freedom for a bit of security deserves neither."

And in case you're wondering, the frog will stay in that water until he is quite litterally boiled to death, even though the lid is off.

Now, onto OTHER equally important business...

I've been TAGGED, by Pobble

I am to give three reasons why I blog, and then tag three other people. I've given this some serious consideration, so here goes:

(1) Anonymity. I say a lot of things up here that I wouldn't say otherwise. I let my hair down (and sometimes my clothes too...OH NO!). I don't care what people think (as long as they leave a comment as I am a whore about the comment section). Around people I don't know super well I have a tendency to give nervous and babble on (I babble on about certain subjects anyway in front of people I know really well, but they love me anyway). So I loose my inhibitions behind my "pen name" and can let the inner me hang on out.

(2) I am a writer. I have been since I were a wee li'l one. I write essays for fun. I have a small series called "Fairy Tales for Gun Loving Conservatives". I just don't believe I'll ever be published, so I "publish" my thoughts at my blog. The more comments I get, the better I feel (that's why I'm a comments whore). I may never see my writings at Amazon.com (Pobble, I am sooooo foaming with jealousy...but the good kind), but when I see y'all's (I live in the South, that IS gramatically correct) comments, well that's good enough for me. See, this blog is all about ME and my need to be noticed!!!

(3) I started my first blog ("What is Birth Control") when a fried emailed me hers. I started a blog to keep up with a hand-full from school. But now I've met some really amazing people through my blog. Who knows, one day I may contact a few of you and go on a road trip to meet ya...

Random Thoughts That Made Me Laugh

I was watching Hannity and the Lizard Man discuss last night's debate. They had some guests and were asking a bunch of questions. Listen, I realize that national security and immigration and health care are ALL important issues. But when will SOMEONE finally get around to asking THE most pressing question...

Who's most likely to legalize Happy Grass?

Because that person has my vote.

Since no one at Fox seemed interested in the same burning issue, I decided to change the channel and watch something about UFO's. So there's this old guy with a doctorate in astronomy. Wanna know what his job has been for the last forty+ years?

Seriously...

This guy points a radio telescope at stars to send those stars signals of our existence so we might find other life forms somewhere in creation. They once got all excited because they did receive an unusual signal a few decades ago. Turned out it was an airplane. Oh hey.

I want this guy's job. I could do that job. All it requires is a little legalized Happy Grass. Call me "DR. Krystal." I shall now aim my hairdryer at the brightest star...Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are...and turn it on HIGH. Maybe the vibrations will reach some green being with antennae.

I am SO convinced that the Almighty must looked down on the idiots people He created and just laugh at the absurd and bizarre things that we do. No irreverence meant. But come ON!

...And I just mentioned to Bear that I'd really like to see New Mexico...

Law Requires State to Grow It's Own Pot

Now this is just one more step forward in the right direction. I'd like to see it legalized altogether within ten years. It's stupid to waste all those funds to arrest people for using a drug that is the exact same class as alcohol and nicoteine. And both alcohol and nicotine are worse than THC. With all the anger and aggression in this country, think of how better off we would be if people smoked pot instead of drinking beer. People who drink lots of beer get into bar fights. They yell, they scream, they become totally obnoxious asses. People who smoke a lot of pot sit around staring at each other saying, "Dude, things are so much clearer now...Dude..." Then they pass the roach on and maybe wave their hand slowly in the air just because it feels "...cool...Dude..." They laugh, we laugh at them because they look funny. Everyone relaxes.

Not only that, but there is a definate health benefit to it. People's blood pressure goes UP when they are angry. It goes DOWN when they relax. People with HBP don't need presriptions, they need pot. It has also been proven that THC helps reduce the plaque in the brain that is the cause of Alzheimers. Now y'all may be laughing at me, but when we are all old and decrepit it will have been proven that I'm right. But I'll be the only who actual remembers what it is I'm right about.

Keeping marijuana illegal is as stupid as keeping postitution illegal. If they're both over 18, that's their own business who they sleep with and why. There is not difference between picking up a stranger at a bar and buying them a few drinks for sex or just handing them $50. Either way, they're getting paid and laid. Talk about your win-win situation.

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

And it's good-bye to the Copa! GASP!!