In early Feb. the weather is really the best of the entire year if you ask the right person. Maybe everyone will not agree to that but I certainly agree with that.
February-
Every now and then I like to sit back and light up, bring out the latest marijuana edible treats and just chill. It use to be that the only way you could nibble a brownie infused with marijuana was making them yourself. Consistency of potency was not easy to attain, and sometimes a half a brownie would do you just fine while other times you had to eat 3 before getting a buzz. Today, the marijuana edible is packaged and sold in displays that look like what you would find in the supermarket. And it’s not just brownies. There are all sorts of candies, lollipops, savory sauces, and soda pops. There are a number of edible marijuana products that state that their ingredients are all organic and for those who are gluten intolerant, you can even find gluten-free cannabis infused products. Now that just blows my mind.
I used to think that by getting my uncle to switch from alcohol to marijuana edible treats or just vaping would satisfy his cravings for drink. But it never seemed to work. He had tried AA and rehab but his resolve to abstain always failed. His excuse was that he had a disease and nothing could make him well. And if you listened to AA or the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) which defines Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) as a “chronic relapsing brain disease”, yo could understand where he was coming from….until recently with the realization that a drug called baclofen that was originally developed to help relieve painful spasms, automatism, as well as clonus from a number of neurological diseases associated with spasm of the skeletal muscles actually could help alcoholics stop their craving for alcohol. Doctors in Europe have been prescribing baclofen as the primary treatment for people who drink excessively. Unlike 12 step programs in the US that require abstinence such as AA , doctors in Europe are trying a new approach. They say that alcoholism is not a disease, but a symptom of a larger psychological issue. Baclofen has a 65% success rate for treatment-resistant alcoholics , allowing them to return to low- or medium-risk drinking. That’s right, this treatment doesn’t require abstinence although many people do stop all drinking. Suffice to say that programs that combine medication (baclofen) to remove cravings along with behavior changes via psychotherapy to rewire one’s habits are more successful than those old standard methods. Aha! Finally a drug to treat alcohol substance abuse. My uncle certainly had the right to be dubious about a positive outcome. But I have to say, a year later and the man is really chill about his drinking. A bottle of beer or two watching a baseball game and that’s it. Nothing excessive, even eating out at fancy restaurants. A glass of wine, maybe two and bam, no more thank you mam! I’m stun, we’re all stunned, but best of all my uncle no longer is labeled an alcoholic. Now, going back to those marijuana edible treats…..
Been listening to Flavio’s music these past couple of days – very cool and poignant. It’s inspired by his daughter’s fantasies as she swirls around in her little girls princess dresses. Children are so unselfconscious in their make believe worlds. His daughter’s favorite princess dress is made from an attached two – tone magenta tulle over organza skirt with glitter dot mesh pink trim. She likes to wears glittery tiaras, white gloves, and satin slippers with little bow ties. I’ve been told that when her wand flutters in her tiny hand, she imagines creating rainbows and magical animals. The music Flavio creates for his little princess is far different from his typical experimental trumpet arrangements.
So now that the nights are cooler, quieter, with the flash of the occasional shooting star, if I am lucky, and the moon, I sit on the porch and chill. Just this week I was on the porch in the evening waiting for the good old moon to show up and nibbling a brownie. The whole moon cycle is amazing to observe night after night. First none, then the sliver grows larger until you can see its face, then slowly disappearing till one night it is gone and the darkness is greater.
Then sometimes I can not wait till the sun is shining and the birds are singing. I imagine a lawn sprinkler just went off, chugging out that infectious summertime rhythm (though it is still really spring) and somewhere in the distance a cat yowls and a delivery truck slams on its brakes. Whoa, that brownie is really hitting me now and I am just rambling.