katie beam

Something Blue

Heroic Ocean What Would I Have Become If You Had Not Been There

Something Blue Haiku

Oh, Puissant Ocean My Remedial Giant What a Steadfast Friend.

Absence and Appreciation

Is there anything this plant can't do?

As more and more legal restrictions are being lifted from the use of marijuana, it’s as if a flood gate has been opened and doctors and medical researchers are making new discoveries every day about the seemingly endless therapeutic potential that this one amazingly versatile plant can provide. Everything from nervous system diseases like epilepsy and fibromyalgia, to immune mediated conditions such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis, to mental health and addiction pathologies, and so much more, can in some way be alleviated, managed or sometimes even cured by some preparation of cannabis. What’s even more amazing is that the CBD oil, which is the form of marijuana that does not have a psychotropic effect and literally has no negative side effects nor is it contraindicated with any other medications, is effective against almost every single medical affliction for which medical cannabis is indicated, and realistically, despite how much we already do know about the healing properties of cannabis, we probably haven’t even scratched the surface of it’s potential. It is simply infuriating to think about the fact that for all of these years, our legislators chose to allow countless people, countless children, to suffer needlessly or pass away rather than admit that they were wrong. Their pride and ignorance deprived us, ALL of us, of an invaluable contribution to modern medicine, and although I am grateful that such a grievous error on the part of our “powers that be” is finally being corrected, I will not forgive those who are responsible for making and keeping marijuana illegal nor can anything they do now atone for the ignorant and dangerous game they played with our health in years past. However, if I thought I couldn’t be more angry or frustrated by the thought of people being so careless and untrustworthy with decisions that have such enormous potential to have a serious impact on my health, I did some research on the history of why marijuana was ever outlawed in the first place, and I definitely got even angrier. You’ll understand what I mean from the next paragraph.

I couldn't make this up if I tried

If I had not experienced first hand all of the atypical and bizarre events that make up the peculiar story that is my life, I doubt that I would believe much of it to be true, and I would praise the creative mind that would be capable of conjuring such imaginative fiction. I would like to think that I possess the sort of original and inventive talent that the creation of such a story would require, but in reality, I don’t think I could make any of it up if I tried. My story is such that no one, upon listening to any part of it, is able to say that they had an experience that is even remotely similar to mine.

Unsung Heroes

UNSUNG HEROES The impact of grassroots animal rescue groups By: Katherine Beam