Daily observations of my simple life.

Jimson Weed, Oleander and ----------:

Monday started out beautiful and busy. Early morning and I'm out feeding the critters. Take a brief break and have my cup of coffee/cocoa/milk drink. Then I head over to see Cheriki. We spent about an hour together. It is a slow process but I do believe she trusts me. Then I headed out to get a load of water. Along the roadside there are many Jimson Weed. To this most unromantic name belong a plant with a most beautiful white trumpet flower. I love the flowering plants. I'm trying to grow some in my garden as they make great ground cover, bloom all summer and are perenial. Jimson Weed is a halucinogin. Youngsters or others sometimes use it to get high and can have very bad reactions, along with brain damage. Perhaps there are some medicinal properties if used wisely. As a flower it is beautiful.

Oleander too blooms continuously throughout the summer. Many people plant them in their yards because of their bushy nature and lovely flowers. They create shelter from wind and dust along with beauty. They are deadly poisonous.

Hemp is another plant that is very useful. I have never smoked it as some people do but I do understand that it is very useful for fiber and could easily be a great lumber substitute. Hemp is illegal to grow because some use it for pleasure. I am amazed that a plant can be made illegal. At the local dollar store there is a cold remedy that teens and adults use indescriminately to get high, it can cause brain damage and even death yet it is sold over the counter. In the same dollar store there is glue. Ah but some will sniff glue and hurt themselves. Then there is wine, alcohol , cigarettes and other known harmful substances, that are very addictive, yet they are permitted.  I have to say it must be a serious case of prejudice that makes hemp illegal because it can't be common sense.

This is what I'm musing about this morning after looking at the beautiful but dangerous Jimson Weed. Yes, there are dangers in the world and those dangers are up to us to manage in a non distructive way. Our lives should be developed around purposeful, useful events not wasting it on harmful events. If a plant is beautiful or useful let it be for that purpose as a gift .

Posted by: cactusandquail at 17:22 | link | comments (2)

Comments:

#1  27 September 2004 - 17:44

 

The thing that makes hemp really dangerous is how useful it is to make rope and its capability of being used to create industrial fibers. This is a troublesome threat to the folks at Dow Corning, Monsanto, and other chemical firms that want to synthesize said fibers from petroleum products, where the remnants will stay un-degraded in landfills until well after we have evolved into different creatures. Clearly, if you could just GROW such fibers, you wouldn't have need for nylon...

The US utilized hemp rope for the war effort in WWII; when the war ended, the farmers who had been directed to plant hemp had to plow it into the ground and plant "legal" crops. Corporate influences?

I don't know why hemp is illegal to grow, as you'd have to smoke like 5 pounds of it to get enough THC to make you high; it is a cousin to Marijuana. I suspect that it is some foolish law left over from the influences of the liquor lobby after the Volstead Act was repealed.

underwhelmed

#2  27 September 2004 - 22:44

 

Yes, I agree that big companys are involved. I also believe it is a major predjudice. The calvary is out and they aren't going to retreat no matter if they are wrong.
When I was working some of my co-workers would party on the weekend and "Use" I saw far more after affects when they drank too much than when they got high on marjuana. I'm not an expert for sure but I can't see where the balance is when compared to other dangerous substances.

cactusandquail

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