We All Gaze At The Same Moon

This is for my friend, Elizabeth, who lives in beautiful Salzburg, Austria, home of the Sound of Music. 🙂

When I was young, my mother used to sing me a song about the moon. Actually, it was kinda of a scary song… about a man with a big shotgun… It went something like this:

May you never run out of that which sustains you

Eight days until payday. I hope I can make it, although I fear I may start smoking sunflowers. 🙂

I don’t ever want to be treated by a Catholic hospital

While I remain disappointed in John Oliver’s take on the opioid war, I’m happy to say that Samantha Bee has never disappointed me. Her latest episode on the scary amount of mergers in the Catholic hospital system is something that also concerns me. But not because I’m personally concerned about reproductive healthcare — it’s end-of-life care that I’m worried about.

Under comments:

Sandra Nelson:  As a former Catholic, I say this segment should be broadcast to all females everywhere. The Church has spent a couple thousand years hating women. They just keep getting better at it. Buying up all those hospitals means that they have plenty of opportunity to cause as much devastation and agony for women as they possibly can. Ladies, wherever you live, find out where the nearest SECULAR medical facility is. Make sure your family and your doctor know that you will NOT allow yourself to be taken to a misogynistic emporium of misery masquerading as a hospital.

Michael Bamford:  How is it that more people don’t find it absurd that most of the time it’s men who make legal decisions and legislation about women’s rights? The Hobby Lobby supreme court case is a perfect example. ALL of the women on the court were in the dissenting opinion for that case because they actually realize the depth of liberty that’s being put in the hands of people who have no understanding of the issue. We need more female leaders.

Barry Kaine:  Couple of things… it seems like denial of aid by a medical doctor is a major violation of their Hippocratic oath, and a non-profit organization denying help based on religion is discrimination, and should cause them to lose their non-profit, tax exempt status.

Jessica Lee: And their federal funding.

What does cannabis withdrawal feel like?

If you want to know how a medication is affecting you, you can always stop taking it. Having to go without will definitely show you if the medication was helping or not. And it will also show you how dependent you are on that medication.

I use cannabis every day to treat my intractable pain. So, when I don’t have it, I go through a type of withdrawal. I get really sad and cry a lot, often for no apparent reason. I smoke cigarettes like there’s no tomorrow. My insomnia gets worse. I see no point in making any kind of plan for the day because I have no pain relief waiting for me. I lose my appetite, even for chocolate. I don’t want to eat because eating hurts my jaw joints, face, head, and neck. Don’t even try to ask me to smile.

After 3 or 4 days without bud, the sadness dims and is replaced by anger. I’m always surprised at how much anger there is inside of me, so closely contained, just waiting to burst free. Anger, frustration, irritation, and sometimes, even hate. I absolutely hated having to depend on a doctor for my pain relief, and it’s no fun now, having to rely on an underground bud connection.

Yes, bud helps me control my anger. It helps to manage my dark and suicidal thoughts. It puts me in the mood to find just about anything funny. It distracts me from the constant pain. It makes chocolate taste better, if that’s even possible. And it even helps me cut back on smoking cigarettes.

Even though I’m a non-violent person, right now, without bud, I could seriously punch someone. Being poor really sucks, but being in unrelieved, constant pain sucks more.

But is this withdrawal, or is this just my normal, painful state of being? If it is withdrawal, it’s not that bad. Doesn’t last that long. I’ve taken a lot of different drugs to treat pain in the past 30 years, and I’d have to say that the withdrawal from cannabis is no big deal. As long as I know that I’ll have access to it again in the near future, I’ll be okay…

But seriously, right now, stay the fuck out of my way.