Up In Smoke*

*I couldn't think of a better title that describes cannabis and the state of artist discovery and development in 2016

I had a blast the other night appearing on the Elevate the Conversation podcast/show with @IAmDoctor420.

I'm a huge advocate for the use of cannabis as a medicinal alternative. I always have been. I think the amount of prescribed and over the counter medications that exist that are part of the pharmaceutical is such a huge business and so dangerous in long terms and in addiction, that to ignore the benefits of naturally grown cannabis to deal with the ailments a lot of the patients go to use cannabis is absolutely criminal. Cannabis is considered a class 1 drug by the DEA. That puts it in the category with Heroin, crystal Method and other drugs that are chemically created and have a dangerous effect in long term use. This alone is absurd.

Of course, the social and recreational use is a huge part of medicinal cannabis, but let's look at what we are talking about. It's not heroin. Seriously.

I have always heard the term "gateway" drug when referring to cannabis and that in itself is ridiculous. That's like saying beer is a gateway to alcoholism. These are both social and recreational substances that when enjoyed are normal. When abused, sure they can be dangerous. The only difference is you don't get in fights when medicated. You go to sleep. You don't hear about medicated driving as much as you hear about drunk driving. Shit, more people drive high on Xanax daily (pharmaceutical approved) and that's dangerous as fuck. Combine that with alcohol and you have people blacking out. You don't black out in cannabis.

The "gateway" factor comes from something deeper in someone's subconscious and issues that elevate the opportunity of addiction. But, you can't blame that path in cannabis. If you do, blame Zoloft, Paxil, klonopin, Xanax, oxycontin and every other prescribed medication. Abuse is going to happen as long as people are prescribed them and don't deal with other issues that drive them to addiction.

I grew up with a mother who had rheumatoid arthritis. I think she was on (at least) 6 different meds a day to treat various things. She didn't want to live on those. Who does? In the mid 80's I remember she was prescribed medicinal cannabis to help with certain parts of her daily pains and ailments. I don't think she stuck with it as long as someone would, but in 1985, medicinal cannabis was not understood or agreed on socially and medically. So, in the long run, she stuck with prescribed meds and drank socially. Socially of course leads to drinking daily. She wasn't an alcoholic, but defiantly drank to close out the night. Again, I don't blame her. I can't imagine what it was like to be in her body, looking at the world through limited opportunities, mostly physically. Not being about to walk, do things independently, like cook dinner for us. But she was my queen in teaching me how to do it through her. I'm grateful. I can't imagine how life would have been if the stigma of cannabis use was not so frowned upon. I think she would have had an easier time than resorting to drinking. Plus, for a frail woman, her appetite would have increased rather than not being able to eat well because of all the pills that I'm sure mixed would make you nauseous and unable to actually eat.

I've known many addicts and alcoholics in my life. I must say, it's a rare thing when you get to know one who doesn't have a story of some sort of traumatic experience that has been buried or silenced for decades that comes out eventually and they turn to substance abuse, but never has it been from smoking a joint.

I'm a casual user. If I was Cheech and Chong, I'd be Cheech. The guy that looks the part, acts the part, but when it comes down to it, is a huge lightweight. When I'm with friends, they can blaze up and I just look in amazement on what they can take down and function. I know my limits. My best friend is my Chong. She could match Snoop Dogg dab for dab. But what's amazing to me is, she's 100% aware, functional and responsible. Sure a pothead, but not the stereotypical, living in her parent garage not working and not doing anything. I admire the dedication and love she has for her job, being reliable and aware. That's today's real cannabis users. Of course the basement living stereotypes exist, but it's not all of them.

There people that I always have had a problem with that criticized and looked down upon cannabis use. I think I'm pretty safe to say that 80% of them were wine drinkers. Very judgmental while having no problem posting photos of them at a winery enjoying a Merlot or at a "classy" gathering of cheese and wine.

Well, let's compare the two.

Both come and are cultivated by the earth. Makers of wine are artists. They blend, they are scientific about it, where they grow it, weather conditions. The same can be said about cannabis growers. What they do with earth, blending and cultivating grows these plants into beautiful works of nature.

The time to harvest, the time it takes to actually get it ready, pick at the right time and prepare. Both growers are very organic and try not to grow with pesticides and harmful products to compromise their grows.

In wine, you have a Sommeliers who is an expert in wine to help you find exactly what you are looking in taste and mood as well for pairing with food. In cannabis, dispensaries have experts who go the same. What are you looking for in flavor, mood, feel and ailment.

When you open a bottle of wine, you smell, taste and have a process to judge the quality. With cannabis, the dispensary will have jars of flower that you can smell, look at under a magnifying glass to see the bud up close and see the beauty, colors and texture of the strain.

Even to the point of the enjoyment, the crafting of glass. In wine, beautiful glass is made to drink from, decanters all for presentation and use. Same is done with cannabis. Glass is blown for pipes, dab rigs and bongs. They are works of art that are useful.

So, in the end the similarities are there, but the stigma of cannibus makes these wine appreciating people superior culturally over cannibus users.

My thing about this is that is I feel like these people that frown upon cannabis users while drinking their wine is they maybe should put themselves in the place of these people that use it for medicinal purposes to aid them with an illness that include nausea, loss of appetite, migraines, fatigue, anxiety and so many other ailments people go to cannabis for... Ironically, the same side effects you have from drinking too much... Wine.

You go to a dispensary in Los Angeles and it never fails who you run into. People of all races, religions, age and socioeconomic backgrounds. It's a legitimate alternative for people. They don't judge each other while in there, the people who run these places look happy to be able to offer this service that makes people feel better. Dr. 420 was a very successful spinal surgeon prior to becoming a doctor who can give recommendation letters to grant these patients the opportunities of cannabis. He will be the first to say that it's the most gratifying thing he's ever done, because these people who come to him have been in hell for years and this is their final chance. His service is great, because in our world, the continuing stigma attached to cannabis is still frowned upon and the way he does it is not by going to Venice Beach and walking into some weird house that makes you feel like you are doing something wrong. It's over his site, he gets online with you talks to you about your issues and supports your decision. If I wasn't a patient already and wasn't sure of the decision, after talking to him, I'd be sold from feeling good about it.



The show was informative, funny and I got to talk about the music business. A few people I know watched it and thought the insight I had with regard to today's music industry and musical artistry was good. I'm far from an expert. I'm a dummy who used to be in it and has a passion for music, trends (music, technology, etc) and just wants to figure it out.

If any of this sounds of interest to you and you are tired of the olympics, the 24 hour news cycle, Donald Trump and all the other bullshit we get stuck with, watch this Interview and the others he's posted from his show. There are video versions on youtube and podcast versions.



Itunes Podcast version

He's a funny motherfucker.

Stand Up Chicken

This is one of the easiest things to make.  It's healthy, delicious and everyone loves it... other than vegetarians,  Sorry.

I will say, this is the one meal (as easy as it is) makes me squirm a little in the prep process.  I like to pretend that food I eat was never alive once.   So, the seasoning of this chicken, you can't escape the reality of what you are cooking.

As a chicken eater, I can't do bones.  I don't like eating anything with bones.  But, after this meal is cooked, for some reason (maybe it's how long I cook it), I don't mind.

This meal is a two step process and takes about an hour and a half. 

Ingredients:

                                                                    One Full Chicken

                          Any Season All - I use McCormick- (Now Morton) Season All Seasoned Salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Prepare the Cookie Sheet and Stand Up Chicken holder by covering with aluminum foil.  This isn't necessary, but it takes no time and will save you so much time at the end (clean up). 

3. Wash the chicken thoroughly and pat it dry.

4. Cover the chicken generously with the Season All to coat the entire chicken.  This includes under the wing and under the drumsticks

5. Place the chicken on the standard place in oven for 90 minutes.  It should be cooked through by this point.  I personally like it very crispy, so leave it in for an addition 10-15 minutes.  Remove from oven.

6. When cutting the chicken, make sure to leave it on the stand.  Your first cut will release a lot of juice.  That's good.  From there, Slice as desired and serve.

7. For a side, I live to just make some rice and corn.  The kids really dig that.  You can make anything really.  It's chicken.

Whatever you don't use, you can just slice up and use later in a salad or as another meal later.  Enjoy.

And almost everything you'll see is eatable, edible. I mean, you can eat almost everything.

When you have two kids and are in charge of all things homemaking.  After you put on your dress and apron and really feel manly, you spend a lot of time doing laundry.  Lots of dirty clothes, dirty sheets and dirty towels, these are 3 things I can assure you if you don;t take care of, the boss will stick it to you when she gets home.

I was raised by a mom who wouldn't stand for any of these things, so I've already been trained to take care of these issues, even if I was working full time.  Laundry is a nuisance but the reality is that it really takes no time.  Other than the folding, the time to put it ion the washing machine and transfer it tot he dryer is about 90 seconds.  The washing is automatic.  Sure, folding and putting away could take a whole 5 minutes, but I'll sacrifice 5 minutes out of my very busy day to do it.

I recently discovered the Tide Pod.  This colorful pod is a miracle.  It really makes washing clothes real easy.  No measuring, so mess.  Just throw it in and that's it.  You are done.

Tide Pods

Of course... and there is always a catch, this pod is very dangerous around kids.  It really looks like an Everlasting Gobstopper candy made by Wonka.  I experienced the danger first hand.  I was sitting in my kitchen goofing off, I mean folding laundry, when I heard a "pop".  This "pop" was my 9 year old holding a pod and squeezing it.  Luckily, It just shot across the kitchen (just missing his eye by an inch).  I wanted to yell at him for playing with it, but when you see it, it looks like a balloon of some sort.  It cleaned my floors real nice, but made me realize that these babies need to be hidden.  I'm just glad he popped it and didn't try to eat it.  Like I said, It looks like something Wonka would make.

Wonka Everlasting Gobstopper

A few days later, my cousin Cindy came over and saw them.  She asked me if I had read about the dangers of the pods.  i hadn't.  Well, I'm just glad I'm not the only idiot parent not thinking.

Take this as my warning to you, so you don't have a bad experience.  Put these suckers up high and away from kids.  But enjoy their adult convenience.

Drips and Rolls

Age is a hell of a thing.

I'll never forget 5-6 years ago, I was talking to my friend Bob.  Bob is older than me and when I turned 38 or so, we were talking about getting older.  He told me this thing that stuck with me.

He said "Man, you have no idea what's coming.  When you are in your 40's, you are going to go to the bathroom and when you think you are done and pull your pants up, you'll realize you weren't really done."

It really stuck with me, because I thought:

A. It was hilarious
B. He's just sloppy.

When I turned 40, it was like a switch was tuned on and all of the sudden I was Bob.  I called him immediately and cursed him out.  He laughed at me.

The other thing after 40 is the slowing of ones metabolism.  It ain't easy (or possible) to get rid of that little roll in your middle...

Now, you can either go one way or the other.  The beauty of being an adult is you can make that choice and be happy either way. 

I love food.  But I also like feeling healthy all the time.  Chasing 2 kids around can wear you down, so I have to keep myself in good enough shape so I don't pass out.  Also, with family issues that are hereditary, I figure it's up to me to do what I can to prevent anything or at least delay it.

It's a struggle, but I found a few things that help.

1. My Green Juice in the am
2. Exercise.  I run every weekday, surf every weekend
3. The App on the iPhone called Lose It
4. Brush my teeth and floss every night at 9pm to prevent from eating (you gotta try something!)

This Lose It app is great.  It can either help you lose weight of just maintain a daily count of intake so you are aware of what you are actually eating.  Also, if you keep an eye on what you are taking in and exercising, you can work it to eat whatever you want! 

Truth is, weight is on you and you alone.  You aren't forced to eat, you chose to eat what you eat and how much.  So this app keeps me alert to what's going in and how it's going to effect me.

Age is a motherfucker.

Pineapple

This is something that I never thought I would need to know, probably don't, but was very proud of myself when I figured it out.

Growing up in the 70's and 80's in New York, I can remember a lot of fruit in the house, but I can also remember a lot of tin fruit too.  Some of the fruit included, canned peaches, canned pineapple, frozen Birdseye vegetables and frozen orange juice that you would mix with water...

So, when I first bought a pineapple, i realized that I had no idea what to do with it.  It seems easy and obvious, but that's assuming I had the brains to figure it out.

So for those who never bothered to buy a pineapple because it just looked easier to buy the already sliced ones, here's what to do... It take under 5 minutes and is way cheaper than the convenience factor of overpriced pre-cut slices.

Step 1 - Remove the top.  Just hold the body of the pineapple, and twist clockwise.  That's it.

Step 2 - Cut both ends

 

Step 3 - Stand it up and slice the sides

 

Step 4 - All 4 sides.  Make sure there isn't any skin on it.

Step 5 - Turn on it's side and cut slices 

 

Step 6 - Cut out the hard circular piece in the center of each slice

Step 7 - Cut your pieces after the sliced pieces and there you have it

 You may think this was stupid, but one day you will thank me.

 

 

Green Juice

About 6 months ago, I went to visit my friend Will.  Will is always positive, energetic and just the best person you want to see when feeling like you need to just hang with a friend.

Will is a single and a great stay at home Dad. 

When I got to his house, the first thing I noticed was how he looked young and had extra energy.   I complemented him on this and he excitedly said "it's this juice"... Now, in my world a good "juice" would be a great strain of weed.  But, this was real juice.  He then said "you want one"?

Well, since that day, I drink 2 large glasses of this a day.  I must say, I feel great all the time and when I don't drink it, I feel shitty.

I thank Will for introducing me to this concoction that keeps me going.   Whether you are a dad or a single guy, this is a great way to start the day.  It takes a total of maybe 5 minutes.

I go organic.  If you are going to do it, might as well avoid the shit they spray on stuff these days.

The Ingredients:

1 cup Fresh Strawberries
1/2 cup of fresh Blueberries
1/2 cup of Pineapple (this could be melon, watermelon, mango or whatever you desire)

1 cup fresh Spinach
6 springs of fresh parsley

1 cup Coconut Water
1/2 cup Orange Juice

1 Tablespoon Flax seed Oil
1 Tablespoon Chia Seed

Make sure you wash everything.  Place it all into a blender that can liquefy all these ingredients.  I bought the Chefscape PBL1000.  It was a little pricey, but I can say, I use it enough to where that's OK with me.

Put them all the ingredients in the blender and hit the button!

 

  Mix it up

And there you have it.   

                  It makes about 2 large glasses.  I drink the m both back to back.  If they sit too long, 

                 it will get think and kind of gross.  You will be pretty full for the entire morning.  

My 2 year old loves it too.