Dr. Beth Fisher is the Chief Creative Officer for Senior Medical Cannabis. Senior Medical Cannabis provides seniors with a wide range of information and supports relating to Cannabis; legal/legislative, medical,
political, and social issues. She is on the HempWorks radio show on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. on the
To ask Dr. Beth a question, email her at
Seniormedicalcannabis@gmail.com
Dear Dr. Beth:
I am a registered patient; I use Cannabis for my glaucoma. My best friend of 20 years thinks that I have my medical card for fun and she always wants me to share my medicine with her. She says that it’s no big deal to share and yet sees me without my medicine.
How do I keep my medicine AND my friend?
Sincerely, Gladys from Gladwin
Dear Gladys:
It looks like you have a couple of issues occurring.
The first issue is your friend is apparently trying to reduce your medical Cannabis supply through “sharing.” The second is the issue of her not recognizing that you use Cannabis as medicine. Both of these issues need to be addressed with your friend the next time you two get together.
One of the basic rules of using Cannabis with others is sharing. We have “puff, puff, pass” for a reason. “The Cannabis Way” is to care about those we call friends by sharing what we have. But in this case, your friend is bogarting the joint. She really needs to get her medical Cannabis card and make it right with you. You need to have a good conversation with her about getting her own license and start sharing her own medicines with you.
Let’s address the issue of medicine to treat your glaucoma. Reducing the pressure from glaucoma is critical for you to keep your eyesight. Your friend apparently does not understand that your Cannabis medicine is critical for you to reduce the pressure in the eye. Is it worth your eyesight to allow your friend to use your medicine?
Now if you want to spend twice as much for your medicine and share with your friend that is your choice. But if this sharing may cost you your eyesight, reconsider your choices and speak with your friend candidly about your medical needs and concerns. Then watch what your friend does next.
Dear Dr. Beth:
My wife and I read your column every month. We need your advice with a disagreement we are having concerning roaches. Not the crawling kind, but the smoking kind. My wife says that roaches have all the concentrated oils from the entire joint and they need to be saved. I on the other hand think that joints should be finished and thrown away. Who is right Dr. Beth?
Signed, Light it up!
Dear Light,
There are two camps on this issue. The first is to keep those concentrated gems of goodness for dry times or when you want a more powerful punch. This is especially true if you have added hash or kief to the joint.
The second camp believes you do not want to have anything on you that would lead to an arrest. While you may think that this would not happen in RMJ/MMJ states, don’t be too sure that under the right conditions (for example smoking in public, driving under the influence), it could happen to you. This line of thinking was taught to me by a pioneer grower. He taught me to finish the joint (no roach clips), tear the paper, open the roach, empty the contents, and dispose of the paper. Then there is no way that the police could discover it.
The opposing view is to save roaches in a container; be warned that this container will begin to smell and taste like ash. Yucky. Then when you start rolling these roaches, your fingers get ashy and smelly. Personally for me that is gross and I don’t like doing it.
A possible solution is to meet half-way with your wife. When away from your home, properly dispose of the roach. When at home, open them up after you finish and place the Cannabis in a smell proof container. When you have enough for a joint, as the song goes, fill it, light it, shut up, and close the door (Johnathan Edwards, “Shanty”, also known as “The Friday Song”
Dear Dr. Beth:
I am beginning to date again after my divorce and need your advice. I currently am seeing two men over 50 years old. One uses Cannabis and the other uses alcohol. I have used Cannabis for my arthritis pain for about two years. I was a social drinker (one drink with friends) until six months ago. I like both men, but I only want to be with one. Can you help me decide?
Sincerely, Undecided
Dear Undecided:
In order to help you answer this question, let’s compare your gentlemen in six months. While today’s view may be fuzzy, thinking about being with them in the future may reveal a clearer picture.
Your guy that uses alcohol with probably be telling you that Cannabis is not really medicine; just go to the doctor and take pharmaceuticals for your stiffness, pain, and inflammation. When you go out, it will be with friends that use alcohol with dinner, parties, etc. You will get to see humanity at its worst; this social lubricant (classified as a poison) often reveals slurring of words, rash and dangerous acts, vomiting and other destructive behaviors.
You will get to hear about those “pot heads” that hide behind medical Cannabis as an excuse to get high. You might also hear from these friends that people who grow Cannabis for patients are really dealers and need to go to jail (thank you brave heroes). Given enough time, you may even give up treating your condition with Cannabis because you love this man.
This guy could also have health issues due to prolonged alcohol use. Alcohol related injuries as in falls, fights, vehicle accidents could show up in cognitive issues; memory, anger control, black outs, and organ injury. There is also alcohol related health issues, such as cirrhosis of the liver, addiction issues, and irreparable brain damage.
Sex with this man could be affected by the length and amount of alcohol consumed. Which means ladies, get used to non coital or drug induced sex.
Conversely, let’s look at your Canna guy. If he is knowledgeable about Cannabis he will know that it effectively treats your arthritis symptoms. His friends will probably be using Cannabis as well, so events with them will be filled with relaxed laughter, sharing, and acceptance of you as a Cannabis patient. You may even discover more Cannabis resources through his friends.
Sex with your Canna guy may be stronger and better than you ever imagined due to simply being healthier and the fact that there are tons of cannabinoid receptors in the reproductive area, i.e. (horny).
If you ask me, I would bet on my Cannabis guy. Less puking, more sex.
