Edward R. Cook's Blog: Healing Arthritis

I afraid I’m going to have to take some time away from writing this blog. Please look over the past blogs as I think they can be very helpful to many people.  I’ll be back with updated information as soon as I can. The problem is that I’m frustrated with the my inability in cracking the Google code. I know that my book Arthritis and Marijuana can help so many people. I know that my Bodyrolling routine helps alleviate many musculoskeletal problems. The interaction and response that I get when I go out and speak to groups has been fantastic. I’m getting a 4 star+ average in Amazon reviews, but for whatever reason, I’m not seeing the reasonable amount of book sales that one would reasonably expect giving the many millions afflicted with musculoskeletal disorders. I think that the problem is that while I have a very good and helpful message and product, I’m not sure that many people know of it. It’s not that I haven’t tried to get the message out. Arthritis and Marijuana is available as a paperback, audio book, ebook, across most platforms, and can be special ordered from bookstores and libraries. I have a nice website, and am on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. For awhile I was posting regularly. I’d post intelligent posts. I’d write positive posts on strategic timelines. Still only marginal impact. Just keep writing good content and keep after it people would say, but it takes more than a good product or good content. There is a lot of bad product and bad content that gets mega exposure. It requires somehow cracking the Google code more than providing quality product. Very frustrating. I’d see my Youtube Bodyrolling video getting 200 views while some lesser video was getting 52k views. I don’t get it. Duck Dynasty popular, Honey Boo Boo popular. Are you kidding me? I need an agent, or someone who knows how to crack the Google code for the good of the people.

So for now I must concentrate on obtaining my class A drivers license and getting a decent paying job so that I can better provide for my 17yr old son. I will prove my point as I have in the past about marijuana not being addictive by abstaining from using this misunderstood herb. I won’t be as physically healthy, but sacrifices must be made. My passion is to write and heal people, but sometimes life doesn’t make sense or go as it should so I have to do what I must. Until I can crack this annoying Google code which seems to reward stupidity, I must take a brake. I shall return!

There are many reasons to learn how to self-cultivate your own marijuana.  Within this post, I’ll list 7 of them.

#1 Government or dispensary controlled marijuana has become grossly expensive. I have not had to purchase marijuana in a very long time so I was taken aback a bit when I learned that dispensaries were charging $20 a gram and up in some cases. I understand that there will always be people who like the convenience and will pay for the dispensaries service, but this is a completely unnecessary expense. Do not believe that it’s expensive or unfeasible to self-cultivate.

#2 It’s become politicized. There are a lot of snake oil salesman and non marijuana people jumping on the bandwagon because they see an opportunity to make a lot of money. They have no real interest in your ailments or what it takes to heal anybody. It’s your body, it’s your health, it’s your life. Do not be afraid to take control of your own health.

#3 It’s important that you learn to self-cultivate now before big government, big business, and big pharmaceutical conspire to shut down this practice. As of right now it’s relatively easy to obtain seeds and purchase equipment, but we have already seen evidence of corruption of seeds, and legislation to stop the practice of self-cultivation. It’s a matter of time before they make it difficult on everyone. Now is the time to become self-sufficient. As a patient, you may be grandfathered in.

#4 If you grow your own organic product you can be sure that you have not used any herbicide or pesticide. Commercial growers will test and state the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoid content within their product, but you can bet that as with any commercial food, livestock, or consumer products, there is genetic modification, and the use of herbicides and pesticides to ensure a better yield. This is toxic and it’s much better to grow your own organic product.

#5 The med-marijuana/legalization movement is not a sure permanent thing. For example New York State’s bill has a provision that provides Governor Cuomo the right to pull the plug on the program anytime the he sees fit. Can you imagine your health depending on this program.

#6 The commercial product is being watered down by striping the THC from most medical strains. Marijuana people have known for years that marijuana works best when the whole natural plant is kept intact. The cannabinoids work much better when they work in combination together without modification.

#7 It’s relatively easy to learn and practice the skill of growing your own organic medicine. It’s to any individual’s benefit to learn to become self-sustaining, and self-sufficient. Learn now at http://pubslush.com/project/3266

As a long time marijuana advocate, I have to take some action on behalf of the natural plant. Those of us who have self-cultivated for years do not like what were seeing within the med-marijuana/legalization movement. We see big pharmaceutical, big corporation, and big government taking over the growing operations and forbidding self-cultivation to the detriment of those who choose to use this plant. Too many non-marijuana people are jumping on the bandwagon because they see money to be made. In many cases the people in government making important decisions about marijuana do not use marijuana and have no idea what their talking about. They don’t really understand the beneficial analgesic and psychoactive effects of the whole natural plant. In many cases they want to strip away certain cannabinoids such as the THC thus making all other ingredients less effective. Marijuana people have known for years that it is the combination of all of the ingredients of the flowering female bud when kept intact that provides the best medicinal effect. The cannabinoids all work much better when working in concert together.

This is just one reason among many that there is an urgency and importance that savvy patients and caregivers learn where to obtain seeds, and learn to self-cultivate before the government and big corporation conspire to try to shut this practice out completely. Once you learn to propagate your own seeds, you will become self-sufficient for the rest of your life with no dependence on the governments watered down overpriced product. A wise move would be to contribute to this crowdfunding cause and pre-order the Self Cultivation Course and take control of your own health and medicine. Go to cultivatetomedicate.pubslush.com

I know that everything is more expensive than it used to be, but as someone who does not have to purchase marijuana, ( I’ve grown my own for several years now ), I must admit that I was taken aback a bit when I read  that dispensaries are getting $20 a gram. $20 a gram huh? That adds up to $560 an once. Are you kidding me? This is one area of the legalization movement that has not turned out so well for the consumer. Marijuana is a natural plant that one can self-cultivate relatively easily. There is no way anyone should pay that price. Self- cultivation should be a no brainer for savvy consumers, patients and caregivers for more than just monetary reasons. You can grow exactly what you need and be sure that no herbicide or pesticide has been used. With commercial grows you cannot really be sure. Myself and others forsee  big corporation taking over the growing rights and genetically modifying the plant, dumbing it down and adding addictive additives. Like any other pharmaceutical, they will set the price as high as people are willing to pay for it.

What can we do about this? I’m starting a crowdfunding campaign on July 22 to fund a series of online courses to educate people about self-cultivation both indoor and outdoor. While there are many books out there written about self-cultivation, there is not a lot of visual demonstration and instruction of the growing process from seed to finished product. This is important for people who want to be self-sufficient and take control of their own lives. I think that this is the most valuable skill and most urgently needed course. The needs for more courses are many. Courses explaining all the new and different vaporizers and delivery systems will be created.  How to create and use oils. How to treat specific ailments. How to differentiate between the effective medicine and all the marginal snake oil that are trying to ride marijuana’s coattails. Look for this campaign using Pubslush at this blog next week. We must educate people before big pharm, big corporation, or big government takes over and ruins it for the people who need it most.

I’d like to give a shout of gratitude to the group Lifelong wellness and The Unitarian Church of Utica New York. They invited me to be their speaker last night and I think that everyone enjoyed their time. It was about my 5th or 6th official speaking engagement and I find myself getting more and more comfortable. My motivation to speak to groups is to share with people real options to help improve their health and lives. It is very refreshing to find that most all people who I have engaged with are very interested, respectful, listen intently, and ask intelligent questions. It was a pleasure last night and I appreciate their asking, and paying me to speak.

This speaking career is an evolution of my book Arthritis and Marijuana. What I have found is that while most people liked my book and found it to be useful, they wanted more. More detail, more visuals, more updates with the swift evolution of med-marijuana. So I will gladly give everyone more. More speaking engagements, more ambitious education. One thing that I’m really excited about is that I’m creating some great online courses on Self Cultivation of Marijuana, Best use of Vaporizers, Best uses of marijuana as Medicine, to start with. Look for this to be completed by October 2014. I hope to help a lot more people. Stay tuned.

If your aching a lot, your not going to be very happy or productive. If you can find a way to soothe the ache, it can do wonders for your body, mind, and soul. If you can find a way to get to a pool, swimming or any sort of aqua therapy is one of the best arthritis antidotes around. Submerging your body in water instantly takes pressure off of your joints and provides a soothing effect. The beauty of water is that it has it’s own medicinal properties. There is less gravity on your body and you have easier mobility. You can stretch so much easier in water and create circulation with less pain. You can move your body in ways that you cannot do so on land. Your buoyancy in water allows you to get a sort of surround-sound balanced therapy.

If you are in pain and relieving it becomes a priority, it is actually worth it to move your residence or modify your work schedule to have convenient access to some sort of aqua therapy. Aqua therapy helps keep the doctor away and has a bit of a Fountain of Youth effect. It can diminish your pain and give you a better outlook on life.

Most communities have pools at schools, community centers, YMCAs, and private health clubs. Pools usually schedule open swimming, lap swimming, and water aerobics classes. You can work out on your own or with the help of instructors. There are lots of choices and levels of intensity. The Arthritis Foundation does a good job of setting up classes and programs within these facilities. They do this wherever they can and usually make it affordable. It takes a concerted effort to get to a pool regularly, but if you can get to some sort of aqua therapy at least once or twice a week, it can do wonders.

New York State’s government recently approved a bill called The Compassionate Care Act. It at least is a positive move, but still has some layers of government to pass before legal medical marijuana becomes a reality for New York residents. The problem is that it is too restrictive and narrow. It limits the diseases eligible leaving out some very legitimate debilitation, it takes the administration of it away from healthcare and gives the Governor the power to pull the plug on it whenever he sees fit, and their saying that nothing will be ready for at least 18 months. What if patients are managing their medical problems competently and one day the Governor decides that he doesn’t like it? This is not democracy or what the majority wants.

There is also some mean spirited language towards doctors who are deemed to be liberal with writing prescriptions. The state is threatening felony prosecution. Most doctors with established practices won’t want to bother with this and you can’t blame them. There is going to be a lot of lucrative political maneuvering concerning who gets to control the growing and distribution of state controlled marijuana. What I see happening is the dumbing down or genetically modifying the quality of marijuana while the cost will surely go up. This should not be happening to a naturally occurring plant that should be an option to those who choose to use it. I can understand the government wanting to be cautious and having safeguards, but the more that I see of their work, the more it seems to be about control and money and less about compassion. If it wasn’t for the revenue, would they even be considering legal medical marijuana?

What can we do about this? In the upcoming weeks, I’m going to be building some support for developing a series of online courses for the safe access and best uses of marijuana as medicine. I think that people need education and the truth. There has been a lot of politics and snake oil with all of the non-marijuana people jumping on the gold rush bandwagon. People want safe access and more importantly they want relief from debilitation. It needs to be about compassion and not about money and control.

There was a recent analysis published by The Commonwealth Fund that mirrors closely with several other recent studies. It’s findings were that despite having the most expensive care, The United States ranks last among 11 developed industrialized countries concerning the quality of healthcare. The United Kingdom ranked first despite spending only $3,406 per person compared to $8,508 per person for the U.S. Indeed Switzerland, Sweden, France, and Canada all ranked ahead of the U.S. in quality of healthcare and the access to it.

It’s not the United State’s doctor’s, nurse’s, or support staff that are the problem. It’s the system of administration largely controlled by big corporation, big pharmaceutical, and big insurance. The emphasis is on money and profit more that quality care. Inefficiency and bloated bureaucracy are also to blame. This is where I say that we have to be careful of big corporation or big pharmaceutical taking over control of medical marijuana. While there have been great strides of late concerning the legalization of marijuana, I’m not so sure the powers that be aren’t going to try to make marijuana the next poorly administered, overpriced pharmaceutical. Marijuana is a naturally occurring plant that shouldn’t cost a lot of money. I’ll be watching closely, and will be posting some thoughts about this in the near future. It is well worth it to educate oneself with the skill of self-cultivation to provide safe affordable access to quality marijuana.

I’m writing this blog in gratitude to what I have learned from The D’vorah Lansky Book Marketing Challenge. One thing that I will definitely take action upon is creating an online course dedicated to educating people on the proper use of marijuana in the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. I have learned much about the marketing of books since publishing my book Arthritis and Marijuana. I have learned that many people liked my book and found it to be useful, and I also learned that people wanted more. They wanted more detail, more visuals, more specifics. At the same time, the med-marijuana movement continues to evolve daily. Some of this is good and some of it is not so good. There seems to be a lot of people who are out to profit from jumping on the green rush bandwagon. There is a lot of hype and marketing that may not be in people’s best interest, and there are some truths that need to be reinforced. I hope to be the voice of truth and reason as an educator and healer. What better way to convey this to the many people who are seeking relief from debilitating diseases such as arthritis, lupus, fibro, and multiple sclerosis than to offer a visual, comprehensive online course to teach patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, law enforcement, and others this valuable information. Stay tuned, my goal is to help contribute to the improvement of healthcare and society.

There are over 20 million people within the United States, and over 1 billion worldwide who are debilitated in some way by arthritis.

There is a massive healthcare system and a colossal big money, big business of pharmaceuticals, topical lotions, products and supplements to treat arthritis. One must keep an open mind about this. There are effective marketing strategies that prey upon people’s hopes and needs. Some promising miracle cures and easy remedies. The truth is that something’s work, something’s do not, and something’s actually make things worse.

For true arthritis relief, it requires a combined effort of modification of activity, medicine, and exercise. Here is where I would like to advocate for the use of marijuana as an effective natural therapeutic medicine. While not for everyone, I believe that marijuana is more sustainable, less toxic, and better suited than pharmaceuticals. I’m talking about the whole natural bud of the female plant which contains the combination of analgesic and psychoactive cannabinoids. Not hemp oil, not topical lotions, not dabs, but the natural plant which humans have used medicinally for centuries. While there are many ways to deliver the effects of marijuana to the central nervous system, the best, quickest, most reliable effective way is to inhale the smoke from the burning bud into your lungs. This is where some in healthcare understandably disapprove. I see this as a low risk trade off, but  there are other methods that deliver without the smoke. Vaporizers and e-cig type devices have evolved to become very common and efficient for those who want to go smokeless. The possibilities and choices grow with every day. That is a whole another subject for another blog, but inhaling marijuana into your lungs is the best method and it can be relatively harmless. Edibles and topical lotions are harder to control and just do not work as well.

Marijuana works for arthritis relief because it can be self administered, quick acting and reliable. It can help a person feel their body more intrinsically, less stiff and crusty. It can give you a more rational attitude towards pain. It can help a person relax and work through stretching and exercises. The effects wear off gradually as to not interfere with work or family. It has proven to be less toxic and less likely to be as addicting as most pharmaceuticals. If you have the ability to self cultivate for personal use, it cost very little and you have an organic self sustainable product.

I will close with a quote from the former Surgeon General who spoke as it is Dr. Joycelyn Elders.

The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, and can do so with remarkable safety. indeed marijuana is less toxic than many drugs that physicians prescribe everyday.