Cannabis, aka ‘Marijuana’ or ‘Hemp’ has been at the forefront of many political discussions for decades. It becomes an even larger debate when you put the word ‘Medicinal’ in front of it. Many people believe doctors and scientists are the only ones who should have any real say in whether or not Cannabis is effective as a medicine. Problem is, the only people who have any real say in that area right now, are politicians.

Since 1972, many people have been fighting against the system to get Cannabis reclassified. You see, the US Government has Cannabis listed as a Schedule 1 Narcotic, under the Controlled Substances Act that was implemented under Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’. Many American politicians claim that all drugs under the Schedule 1 classification have one important thing in common. They have no known medicinal use, whatsoever. These same people claim that Cannabis cannot be used as a medicine and has no business being considered a medicine. How true is that claim?

Well, for starters lets not forget about Marinol, which is approved by the FDA. Marinol is just synthesized THC, the active ingredient in Cannabis that produces the ‘high’.

Millions of people are sitting in jail for using Cannabis raw, but it’s ‘perfectly fine’ to use the plant if the Government and the corporations they support (in lieu of bribes) take most of the medicine out of it and charge you an arm and a leg for it.

Also keep in mind: The US Government also holds a patent on Cannabis and it’s medicinal properties. US Patent 6630507 states unequivocally, that cannabinoids are useful in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases including: autoimmune disorders, stroke, trauma, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and HIV dementia. The patent, awarded in 2003, is based on research done by the National Institute of Health, and is assigned to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Do you fully understand how insane that is? How can they hold patents claiming it works as a medicine,  while claiming it has no medicinal value? This is the issue. We have mountains of evidence that it works as a medicine for a myriad of health problems. Continue reading →

A heartbreaking tragedy happened the other day, and I’m sure most of you have already heard about it. A 17 year old male gorilla named Harambe was shot and killed after a 4 year old boy fell into his enclosure. It has sparked an international debate about everything from how parents should watch their children, to whether or not zoos should even exist in the first place. This article is more about the latter, although I do want to discuss what happened to Harambe as well.

Just so you know, I have worked with or around animals for my entire life. Everything from farm animals to rare and exotic animals including big game. I have volunteered at farms, zoos, sanctuaries, private reserves, veterinary clinics, a couple animal rehabilitation centers and even a marine mammal stranding center. I have spent time around several monkeys and apes, including gorillas.

Because of my experiences, I have noticed a few important aspects of the situation that are being overlooked during this worldwide debate, and I would like to raise to attention to a few of them.

Obviously what happened the other day is a tragedy, but it is also unchangeable. All we can do is try to prevent it from happening again. That being said, this was the first incident of its kind at Cincinnati Zoo.

The staff was in just as much a panic as the screaming bystanders were. The gorilla was dragging the child by his foot through 6 inches of water, with numerous people screaming and yelling down at them. Harambe was obviously confused and didn’t understand what was going on, while the boy was crying out in fear. If you saw the video, you must admit that the situation was indeed terrifying to watch.

Here is the video from the other day, if you want to see it for yourself.

Generally, gorillas are very shy and reserved towards people. They will attack only if they are surprised or threatened or if a person behaves in the wrong way, such as making aggressive movements like beating your hands on your chest.
Continue reading →

Everyone has a color they energetically relate to. Even if you don’t have a favorite color, there is probably a shade out there that you’re most drawn to. We often blend our styles and personas with those colors in the form of personal expression. It can be hair or nail color, the color of our clothes or accessories, or even the color of your room or office space.  

There may be a color that makes you feel warm and happy when you see it, while another color may make you feel anxious or annoyed. While some colors tend to have a certain effect on most people, the results can occasionally vary from person to person. Here are the most common psychological effects on humans, for all the colors of the rainbow!

Red – Red corresponds to the base or root chakra. Most of us can agree that red is known as the color of passion and love, but surprisingly it can also be used on the other end of the spectrum; to represent aggression and war.

It is the color that grabs our attention before all others. It imbues a sense of heightened awareness and importance, such as use of a red carpets for VIPs. It also has the effect of appearing closer than it actually is, hence it’s use in traffic lights and stop signs all over the world.

Lighter shades of red may emphasize its energetic aspects – including youthfulness, impulsivity and risk taking – while darker shades emphasize power, and even durability, like a brick wall.

Orange – Orange still holds much of the powerful energy of the color red, while adding some of the warmth and softness from yellow. Like red, it pulls attention from a distance and has very high visibility.

Orange also increases hunger and appetite like yellow and red do, which is why all three colors are so commonly used by the food industry. Orange is often associated with excitement, enthusiasm, stimulation, change, and playfulness. It can be used to subtly draw attention and excitement to something, without adding too much rashness or severity. Continue reading →

Cultures across the world retain an imprint of advanced spiritual and technological civilizations. These great societies, lost to the sands of time, existed long before our current model of civilization. Many are familiar with the myths of Atlantis, Lemuria, and other lost civilizations. Ancient writings across the world, and across cultures, allude to these long lost kingdoms, and the great cataclysm that wiped them from the face of the earth.

Yet this memory is much deeper than any literary account available to us today. It is ingrained in our human psyche as a collective and racial imprint. It is no wonder that people, even today, are spellbound and captivated by stories if this ancient mystery. They remain at the forefront of the human mind, despite efforts to discredit them.

Contemporary archaeology has long tried to dismiss such stories as mere fantasy, conjured by the minds of uneducated , and primitive peoples, or to reduce such stories to more recent, localized events. However, clear evidence is beginning to emerge that a great cataclysm occurred around the end of the last age approximately ten thousand years ago, wiping civilization from the face of the earth.

This evidence strongly agrees with the chronology of Atlantis given to us by Plato. Evidence has been found to indicate a meteor strike 12,900 years ago, leading to the rapid melting of the North American ice cap, and what we know as the great flood. Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, a pipeline was severely damaged at a Royal Dutch Shell deepwater production field, reportedly 100 miles off the Louisiana coastline. They claim an estimated 90,000 gallons of crude oil went into the Gulf of Mexico before they were able to contain the leak.

That being said, On Wings of Care, a nonprofit environmental watchdog group that flew ECOGIG scientist Ian McDonald over the spill, estimated that the official numbers were grossly inaccurate. They noted that the oil slick covered over 5 square nautical miles, or about 5,000 acres. McDonald says:

 “Even if the average thickness of the visible oil were a mere 100 micron (0.1 millimeter, vastly smaller than the areas of emulsified oil that stretch across the area), the visible surface oil would represent about 500,000 gallons of oil. We haven’t seen images like this since the BP disaster of 2010.” 

Their plane had to stay above 1,000 feet to avoid what was described as a “very uncomfortable smell of oil.” Those aboard also spotted a pod of about 50 dolphins swimming near the slick.

Here is a video of what they witnessed:

The spill was first reported Thursday, May 12, after a Shell helicopter reported seeing an oily sheen near four subsea wells. SkyTruth, a West Virginia-based environmental watchdog group, pointed to the accidental nature of the leak’s discovery.

That’s right: a modern pipeline at a high-tech deepwater development project leaked thousands of gallons of oil, and that leak was accidentally discovered. Continue reading →