Dear Dr. Grinspoon,

I just came back from Amsterdam, where I went for negotiations with Sensi Seeds. On my last day there I went on a mission to obtain some Dr. Grinspoon seeds – what followed was a three hour long Odyssey with partial success. I asked in several stores and couldn’t get anything, then went to the original store of Barney’s Farm only to hear that they do not sell those seeds anymore – it seems that they had problems to keep the strain stable or something like that. An employee said I should try to write to Derry himself, he would surely have something left and could maybe send me something. I wrote him, no reply so far, but I am still hoping. But, also, the employee send me to Barney’s coffee shop „Amnesia“ in Amsterdam, where I was able to buy some Dr. Grinspoon grass (official price 18EUR/gram, maybe the most expensive strain of them all).

My friend Michael I vaporized a little sample of „Dr. Grinspoon“ at a low temperature in a Storz & Bickel Plenty vaporizer. Let me tell you, the high is supreme. Unbelievable. I gave you a report on smoking this strain a while ago, but I now believe that this was not the real Dr. Grinspoon (even though it was great). I know it was the real deal yesterday because I got it from Barney’s and the little buds looked exactly like on the photo of the plant. The smell: pine tree (dominant), hay, not sweet, very herbal, no citrus notes, maybe a bit earthy. Very unusual, fine. So, probably, given the smell, it contains a lot of the terpene alpha-pinene.

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/what-is-pinene-and-what-are-the-benefits-of-this-cannabis-terpene

Michael first experienced a significant change in mood: it made him happy, but calmly so. I felt the same mood swing a few minutes later. We were still completely clear, cognitively speaking, when the mood effect kicked in. A very interesting type of euphoria, a state of pure bliss, warm and energetic. What a Sativa queen! No “laughies” (that’s how I call the phase where you laugh a lot during a high), no confusion, no silly mishaps, just happiness. Then, the high came, slowly, gently, crystal clear. We both felt strongly focused – not focused as “in a tunnel,” perception wise, just very sharp, calm, on top of things, aware, functional. No disruptions of short-term memory. Our episodic and semantic memory worked great – it gives you an amazing flow in thinking. Not too much speed. You don’t fall off from the back end of a speeding train of thought (I am pretty sure you know what I mean here). Almost no effect on the body. When I was alone for a few minutes, I felt an amazing stillness. Majestic. Like champaign, a whole new level!

Lester, I’m not exaggerating … greetings from Michael, too, he confirms: this was one of our best highs ever, if not the best. We talked for hours, generated great ideas, we had such an amazing evening! Later when walking home I came up with some more great ideas for my new book.

This grass is well worth bearing your name!

Best wishes,
Sebastián

I was quite tense when I smoked my first joint; I was seventeen years old back then. I initially felt the same until it suddenly kicked me smoothly, and I started feeling my hands and feet becoming lighter than usual. I was flabbergasted. Then, what occurred to me next was the unbelievable magic of this plant, a tranquil sense of sight, hearing, taste and well-being. Experiencing this new state of consciousness quickly eradicated the prejudices that I formerly carried with me back on those slumbering days. A part of the matrix eventually unfolded in front of my eyes, and for the first time, I told myself that my eyes are now finally open to the naked truth. This plant is one of the sacred gifts of God.

If we will enumerate some of the plant’s benefit to mankind, I would say one is its ability in redefining music. If you are a music lover, I say you should definitely smoke marijuana. During those earlier days of my experimentation, I explored few of the many genres of music under the influence, and the results are purely astonishing. For the first time in my life, I could hear every instrumentation and vocalization with utter vividness. Ranging from alternative rock to reggae, pop, jazz, soul, electronic and trance, each passing day filled my soul with amazement. Music was never the same again.

Meanwhile, as the days passed by, visions and ideas suddenly emanated within me. I felt myself evolving with this plant. I started to speak my mind with my family and friends regarding the vast complexity and surprises of life itself. I started to question the veracity of acquiring a religion by the day a child is born; as well the media’s actual relevance to people. I consciously detached myself away from the imposed dogmas and entertained calmly varied ideas as a free-thinker. Certain roads in my life that were once blemished with trivial inhibitions were traversed curiously while at the same time being aware of its consequence and the essential needs of my mind and soul was fed satisfyingly with the present clarity that now engulfed me.

The cosmic love that sleeps within me was triggered by this plant, I suddenly became aware that deeper from our flesh and bones lies our very existence that was undoubtedly created by love itself. Love, which is usually being misunderstood at certain stages in our lives, embraces my heart and soul whenever I smoke marijuana. And as I grow older, I now bravely welcome life’s uncertainties, as long as I always follow the utmost desires of my heart.

Written by a 65-year-old retired schoolteacher from Northern California…

I don’t drink coffee.  I love the taste and I like the energy.  But I don’t like the edge.  When I got older, it gave me heart palpitations, made me nervous.  So I quit.

I don’t smoke cigarettes.  My dad did.  My parents both died of cancer.  Today, I worry about the residual effects of second-hand smoke.  No, I never started smoking.

I don’t drink alcohol.  I drank it in college.  It made me say and do stupid things. The hangover ruined my weekends. And, I’ve seen alcohol ruin lives and families, firsthand.  So, I stopped after college.

I don’t do prescription pain meds unless it’s absolutely necessary.  I did pain pills after two operations because pain hurts.  But quitting is a nightmare.  Messes up my mind.  Showed me true depression, even desperation.  Hard drugs?  Never.

But, fresh, organic, pulverized, marijuana bud is a great addition to a ginger-molasses cookie.  It puts me in a good mood.  Helps me forget my cares.  Makes me concentrate on the task at hand.  It can get me out there gardening and landscaping, or help me enjoy exercise.  It moves me to clean house while listening to music or a book.  It helps me to enjoy my life.

Rheumatoid arthritis slowly cripples my joints.  What would I do without weed?

Retired Teacher, 65, Northern California

Dr. Grinspoon,

Thank you sir, for your efforts at righting our society’s current wrong. You and I know a benign plant that provides humans with relief in whatever form they find it, should not be demonized, nor illegal.

I’m a 58 year old white male, born and raised in southern California , married father of two college grads, living in the hills above the Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz County . In January of 06 I had my second grand mal seizure, discovery and resection of my Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumor, and a prognosis for a median life expectancy of 16 months. A clinical trial “IL-13”, standard care chemo and radiation, and here I am.

I was 15 yrs. old when a friend presented me with my first opportunity to smoke pot. He and I are still friends, 43 years later, despite living more than 200 miles apart. I attended his 30th wedding anniversary party last year, and have played golf with both he and his sons a couple of times in the last three years. I ‘m mentioning this because I want people to understand that lifelong cannabis users are also well adjusted, responsible, loved, loving, happy people.

I wasn’t a lifelong user until I developed a medical use, and strangely enough, there are times I’m grateful for my brain tumor, without which I wouldn’t be enjoying my daily ritual of getting high. That’s right. I am surviving brain cancer. It wasn’t until about 30 months after my tumor surgery that I had my first post-diagnosis seizure. I was prescribed Keppra as an anti-seizure medication, with its known side effect of irritability and nickname of Kepprage. I made those discoveries within a couple of weeks of starting the drug. About this same time I learned that cannabis was being used to treat seizures. I’ve been a daily user ever since, grateful for the compassion existing in enough people to make it legal through Prop.215. I thought it was legal. What do you think? No wonder a side effect of using the plant, for some people some of the time, is self doubt.

With the brain tumor and treatment, etc., I’m now disabled. What a beautiful country. I’d created a comfortable life for myself and family, but clearly am beyond my working life. That kind of mental energy doesn’t exist for me anymore. So my life has become that of a gardener/golfer. My gardening provides my medicine, my country provides my financial needs, and my golf provides my exercise, both physical and mental. I shot a 9 over par 80 ten days ago and can still hit the ball pretty well. Being an athletic 6’4” and 240 toned lbs., people don’t recognize my disability at first glance. I was very lucky with the brain I was issued at birth. Granted, it did develop a nasty tumor, but for what it’s been through, I’m extremely grateful for what I have and can do. I use it to celebrate life, finding the energy it provides me with allows me to get up and out and involved with my surroundings

I use cannabis to “get back to normal”. It makes me feel “right”. I’ve mentioned to some of my older golfing friends that it’s the closest thing there is to the Fountain of Youth. It really does make me feel younger and stronger, and I use it when I have a task to perform, or just want to get a good stretching session in. I truly pity those people that have been victimized by the fear mongering “drug war” rhetoric. They are missing out on something the planet provides for our brains. I now consider cannabis, with it’s chemical parallel also being produced by the human brain, a healthy choice.

I wake and bake every day. I walk 18 holes of golf several days a week. I announce the action at basketball games for my local high school, the only place where I don’t proudly advocate for ending Prohibition. I think it’s time we start using the capital P, and get a bit more offense minded. Those of us with the intelligence and experience to know should be fighting harder to end this Prohibition. It is criminal. Only ignorant, not necessarily stupid, people are against the people who’ve expanded their horizons and learned through personal experience that a little mind altering can be a good thing. Feeling better than you did before you took your medicine is certainly a good thing.

A very important consideration for those of us that know the plant well, is to recognize that some people don’t have the kind of brain that can relax and enjoy the effects. Something in these poor people’s brains causes them an anxiety that grows until they believe in their cores that there’s something wrong with feeling good. Paranoia happens when you believe that others surely must know that you’re high, and being high is illegal, and you’re going to wind up in a van down by the river. Those of us that have control over our brains don’t have such problems. Is it envy that causes people to prefer Prohibition?

I hope this meets with your expectations for a written contribution. Once again, I’m thanking you for lending your voice, face, name and efforts toward ending Prohibition. We’re on the right side.

Best regards,
Jim Geesman

Dear Dr. Grinspoon,

I am an 18 year old with Asperger’s syndrome. Throughout High School I had flirted with Cannabis, trying it a couple of times, but I had never really gotten much out of it. I was unable to feel emotionally connected to people, unable to realize that other people had emotions, unable to show my emotions, and completely unable to escape my own head. I was an extremely unlikeable person, who because of the Asperger’s, was just always looking down on and insulting anyone, simply because I could not grasp that other people were capable of having emotions and being insecure. I was unlikeable, and I was too stuck in my head to even understand that. I was miserable in high school because I did not understand why I was unlikeable, I didn’t understand that my actions had consequences; I couldn’t put my behavior into context.

Over the course of the last semester, I began to very frequently use cannabis, as it helped to alleviate the social anxiety I constantly had to live with. Since I’ve begun to use Cannabis, I have been able to think about my behavior and it’s context for the first time. I’ve been able to learn to read body language and social cues on a scale I’ve never been able to before. I’ve been able to converse with people without constantly thinking and analyzing and worrying about everything I say and do. Most of all, I’ve learned to feel empathy. I’ve learned that being emotional isn’t a weakness. I’ve learned that my behavior has consequences on both me and the people around me. I’ve learned to value relationships, family, and humanity. I’ve learned that I don’t need to be so angry and cruel all the time. I’ve learned that I don’t always need to try to make everyone as miserable as me. Every single emotional breakthrough and behavioral realization has been made while on cannabis. Every single one of them. I’ve cried from happiness more in the past month as I’ve gotten to this point than I have at any point in my life.

Thank you Dr. Grinspoon for all the work you have done. Without you, I’m not sure I would be in the same place today. I cry thinking of how I used to be, and how I may still be that way if it wasn’t for Cannabis. Thank you so much for your service to the world. You have truly saved my life, and the lives of every family member who ever had the tough responsibility of caring for me.

Thank you for clearing up the facts about a plant that has given me a life I wouldn’t have had otherwise,

-Anonymous

PS. If you post this on your website, please remove my name. I hope to one day join you in the Cannabis research field, but until then, I hope that you will keep fighting for what is right.

Joe Niezgodzki is 41 years old, lives in Kapaa, Hawaii where he works in website design and sales. He has degrees in Theology and Philosophy after starting out as a computer science major. His interests include politics as well as physics. “I am a little left of Karl Marx.”

Marijuana! There are many images that this word brings to mind. The most common image is of people sitting around doing “nothing,” people looking as if they are in a trance or just out of it. The image is that of a person spacing out.

What does this spacing out mean, though?

I have found through my personal experiences that what I am thinking about when spacing out is very focused. The focus that is involved is unlike any other I have experienced. Usually when asked what one is doing, a person who is stoned will answer “spacing out,” yet this is not an accurate description. More often than not they are thinking in-depth about something very personal if not down right strange.

Spacing out is the generic term that a marijuana smoker uses to describe deep focus on a thought. What that thought is has little to do with marijuana and much to do with the individual’s beliefs.

When I space out, I gain a deeper insight into what I’m thinking about. The focus that is involved makes me think of the ancient Greek Philosophers, men who sat around and thought about the world without the distractions of our modern society. Did these men space out? I don’t know the answer to that but what I do know is I have had many an insight into the world when spacing out.

I find spacing out is the ability to focus on one idea to the point at which even other people are no longer heard. I have found this type of focus in only one other place, religious meditation. Unlike religious meditation though, spacing out has no preconceived purpose, such as prayer for the sick or reciting a Mantra to find inner peace. The purpose that a person spacing out has is one of a spontaneous nature. I find that what I choose to surround myself with guides me when I space out. The structure of these thoughts is as ordered and complete as the person who is thinking.

Marijuana has allowed me to get a degree in Philosophy. Because of marijuana I was able to space out on questions ranging from the nature of causality to the meaning of the word “is.” This spacing out on such subjects allowed me to follow one line of thinking to a logical conclusion. Spacing out on the premise, and if one has trained one’s mind to be logical, thank you Mr. Spock, the conclusions fall right in place. Spacing out gives me the ability to conclude a line of thinking only given a few underlying facts. With this as my learning tool, I easily passed classes that others called difficult, Metaphysics, 19th century philosophy, Phenomenology, etc… I didn’t even take notes! Now I don’t want you to think marijuana made me smarter than the others in my class but it did make/allow me focus on the subjects.

So the next time you ask someone what he or she is doing and they answer “spacing out,” know that they were engrossed in thought. Know also that the thought was particular to them and you may never understand when you ask them to explain that thought. Know that when spacing out one is still interested in the world but interested in their thought of how what they are spacing out on influences their world, if at all.

I am 46, I work part-time as a baker and live in an east coast city as an intentional neighbor on the margin between two distinct residential areas, one low-income, the other, high-income. My wife, who does not use marijuana, is open-minded about my little adventure. She works as an education professor and brings in the primary household income. I make meals emphasizing seasonal, local and garden fresh ingredients. We have no children. Being “childless” due to infertility was at first a grievous shock. Now, child-free by choice, we feel acceptance. My educational background includes a Masters degree in social work, a Masters in theological studies with a concentration in New Testament, and a certificate in the history of spirituality. Although none of my education has added up to a career path, I work daily in my areas of interest both informally and in writing creative non-fiction.

One-eighth ounce of bud

500-milliliters of olive oil

Chop bud into a fine powder. Mix with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook in microwave in several 20-second intervals until marijuana is browned. Funnel mixture into the bottle with the rest of the oil and shake. Makes 500 milliliters. Serve with a dropper. Serving size may vary according to the quality of the bud and sensitivity of the user. I use about three to six drops. That is all!

After twenty years of abstinence from marijuana, I got stoned at several parties when a pipe was passed around. I found I really liked getting high, but I had limited tolerance for the smoke, the short-term memory loss, and the party atmosphere. So, I bought a little bud from a friend, and in the comfort of my own home, began experimentation with the subtle effects of very low doses.

The onset of a low-dose high is barely perceptible. But at some point I always notice the usual benefits: heightened appreciation of sights and sounds, reduced anxiety, increased attentiveness, more enjoyment of the present moment, and more willingness to do routine chores. I have also noticed, when I take it before bed, my dreams are more colorful, sensual and richly symbolic. The high is strongest after about an hour and lingers for four hours or more.

With such low doses, I have not noticed memory loss. In fact, I was surprised to find that, in at least one setting, my short-term memory was noticeably improved. In the bakery, I struggled with an ongoing tendency to forget the quantities. I had to go back to check the recipe repeatedly. But on a low-dose high, my concentration was right on task. The numbers stuck in my mind the first time with ease.

When high, I tend to like being sociable. But often, after the initial high is over, I have a burst of creative energy and enjoy prolonged periods of intense focused solitude. Some of my best creative writing comes to me during the post-high phase.

My sensitivity to low doses may have to do with regular yoga meditation practice, and except for moderate use of alcohol, avoidance of all other intoxicants. For best results in sensing the subtle effects, I do not use cannabis and alcohol together. This contribution was written while high, and revised post-high.

I have begun to smoke marijuana again after several years of abstinence. I have been fairly careful of when I smoke, especially around my house. However I have noticed that when I am high, I can see life through the eyes of my two children. It seems that smoking allows me to see life in a way that I had forgotten long ago. I can relate to my children in a way that does not belittle them but is accepting of them, and in return, I can revisit my early life as my sons. To listen to them talk allows me to share their enthusiasm about life again.

Happy memories!

I first smoked cannabis when I was 16. I never liked smoking it as a child and only partook in the experience on the rare occasion. I found the effect of the drug at that point overwhelming. It made me paranoid, nervous and fearful of socializing.

Cannabis plays on your fears. Essentially it amplifies your fears, and makes you aware of fears that you didn’t originally know you had.

About two years ago when I was 22, I began harvesting cannabis and became a regular smoker, and my original perception of the drug changed. My life was good at the time, and I was a more positive person than I was when I was 16. Cannabis allowed me to relax, sleep well and cure my problem drinking. I gave away alcohol for a non-addictive alternative that didn’t have all the social, physical and mental negatives that I associated with my drinking problem.

Smoking still bought up my fears, but in a constructive way. As a regular smoker of cannabis, I had to deal with my fears and overcome them to enjoy the drug. I used smoke cannabis before doing something that would make me fearful, and this would allow me to deconstruct my fears. Then, when I was in the same situation again but not under the influence of THC, I found myself full of confidence in situations I would normally feel uncomfortable in.

Spiritually, cannabis has made me a healthier, happier person.

I do believe however that cannabis has and can make me isolated. I feel I risk legal ramifications for smoking in public (especially because I grow cannabis for myself in my own home.) This is not my fear or paranoia, but rather a restriction placed on me by my government. If cannabis were legal, society would view my actions differently, too. People ignorant about cannabis are quick to point out all the harmful things about the drug, and don’t realize there is a positive side to the story.

I’m 24 now and still grow and enjoy cannabis more everyday. I don’t believe that it is a drug for everyone, but for some it can be a very positive experience. I don’t have any friends who smoke cannabis regularly, and don’t smoke it socially, but rather I smoke it as a daily medicine for my mind, body and spirit.

First and foremost, I am a persistent pot smoker of nearly 4 years. It all began one month in my sophomore year of High School. I wasn’t exactly the most popular person in High School, and I was looking for new friends all the time, but little did I know that I would soon stumble across who I was. I began smoking pot one weekend with a new group of friends I had acquired, whom I had known for some time engaged in the occasional use of smoking marijuana. It wasn’t long before I spent ever more time with them.

It’s interesting to note that during this time my studies improved. I found myself more engaged and intrigued during class. I even improved from a B in math class to an A from first semester. Not to say that it’s a direct correlation, but the math that we were doing second semester was harder, of course. So to say that it had no effect on my studies is silly.

I also owe pot the glory of realizing just how stupid the church and religion is. I am now an active Buddhist. This all started one day after I had sat down and passed a hitter around for about 3 hours with my smoking pals. I then had to go to church for my Wednesday night confirmation class. It was that night when I discovered just how little sense the church and religion made. I won’t go into my specifics reasoning to save you the boredom of reading it, and for those of you who know little about Catholicism. Ever since then, I have regarded church as a waste of my time. Instead, I actively engage in meditation because I firmly believe that life is about enjoyment, freedom, and finding of self.

I feel that marijuana has helped me find aspects of myself that I would never have stumbled across without it. I am a more humble sort of person. I enjoy nearly every activity now, and my views on life are greatly geared to the improvement of myself. I never smoke cigarettes, or do any other drugs that have been proven to be severely hazardous. I only drink occasionally, and very moderately. I’m a guy who will have only 1-2 beers at a party. I don’t believe in bringing out your id, as Freud would say, but rather enjoy the flavor, like beer was intended. I know too many families that have been wrecked by alcohol.

My mother knows I am a user of marijuana. She doesn’t encourage it, but she doesn’t condemn it, either. She knows I smoke it occasionally (1-2 times per week), and is very supportive of me and my schooling. I am currently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse for computer science and physics.

I hope that marijuana will someday be legal in the U.S , or I’m afraid I will seek to live else, because I can not stand to live in a society that more or less would rather destroy itself than improve itself.