The Duchess is keen to develop an understanding of the issues surrounding maternal mental health, and to learn what support is available. At least 20% of women are affected by mental health problems during pregnancy or in the first year following the birth of a child. If left untreated, maternal mental health problems can have significant and long lasting effect on the woman and her family.
Lindsay Lohan Trying To Get Close With Rob Kardashian
But insiders say she has an agenda! The source says she “sees it as an opportunity to become relevant again.” What does Rob’s family think? The source says, “They want him to stay as far away from her as possible.”
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Carrie King is a wife, mother, grandmother and cannabis user. It’s not just for kicks. It’s the best medicine she has had, but it’s been a long strange trip getting to this point.
In 2004, Carrie was having terrible headaches and something was just not right at all. Her husband rushed her to the ER. Carrie didn’t realize she had suffered a brain aneurysm. While the doctors worked on her, she suffered a second one. Doctors induced a coma with opiates and she stayed in that state for over a month.
It quickly upended her life. “I had really bad short term memory memory problems following this,” King shared. The cycle of opiates and refills that followed didn’t help. Depression led her to a scary point where she realized something had to change. She sought help to get away from the opiates and put all of that behind her, and she did with the help of friends and support.
Photo courtesy of Carrie King
In 2014, she was diagnosed with cancer. Carrie had two surgeries, followed by chemotherapy. “They pump you full of all kinds of medication and fluids. It’s an 8-hour process and I would be so swollen after a session.” Her oncologist wrote her a prescription for Marinol, synthetic THC. It made her very high. Too high.
A friend suggested she consider becoming a medical marijuana patient. Carrie works at a local hospital teaching yoga to people in substance abuse recovery. Worried that marijuana could be a problem for her, she approached friends working in addiction services. They assured her that there are many in the recovery community who are on the “marijuana maintenance program” and doing well.
She made some calls, got the hookup and started smoking weed. “I’m not loaded down on a bunch of medications and I can function and be a normal person.”
As a resident of South Carolina, Carrie puts herself at risk from law enforcement by being a cannabis user. It is a risk that she is willing to take. “Why can’t I smoke a bowl, have a good evening and go to bed? I am in my 50’s and just starting to see what this plant can do. We need to legalize this plant.”
Carrie just wants to be as pain free as possible and lead a fulfilling life. She believes many other people can benefit in the same way and vows to continue to share her story with others. “I will continue to voice my gratitude for this plant for helping me through a tough time and for teaching me something.”
A just-released survey from The American Legion, the largest group of war veterans in the nation, shows that they overwhelmingly approve of the legalization of medical marijuana and almost every member who took the survey is in favor of cannabis research.
Veterans tend to make up an older, more conservative demographic, but a demographic that’s been to or readied for war. There are too many cases of PTSD to count, missing limbs, missing men and women and a whole lot of suffering that can be eased with medical marijuana. In other words, they really get it.
In fact, earlier this year the Legion adopted a resolution requesting the federal government to allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to be able to discuss and recommend medical cannabis in states where it’s legal.
Last summer, the Legion attempted to put their hefty influence into the political cannabis ring in an effort to take marijuana off of the Schedule I list, hoping to allow for more research. Though they do have a powerful voice, the plant remains in Schedule I – for now.
“People ask ‘aren’t you a law and order group’. Why yes we are,” said the Legion’s Executive Director Verna Jones at a press conference with Congress members. “But we’re also a group that takes care of veterans. And when veterans come to us and say a particular treatment is working for them, we owe it to them and listen.”
However, the Legion’s also made it clear that they aren’t in this battle to win the recreational side of marijuana law reform. In a statement they made it clear, “It is very important to note that The American Legion is NOT advocating for recreational use of marijuana.”
The survey was of 802 persons, 513 of them veterans and 289 their caregivers. When the numbers shook out, nine out of 10 were in favor of medicinal research and four out of five were in favor of legalizing medical cannabis. Sixty percent of those surveyed were 60 or older.
“It is also clear from the survey that veterans are accessing cannabis to assist them in states with and without medical marijuana programs,” added Five Corners Strategies, the group that conducted the surveys for The American Legion.
A recently released study funded by the German-Israeli Foundation helped scientists have found what may be a link between obesity, nephropathy and kidney disease. Compounds like those found in marijuana seem to play a preventative role.
Obesity can worsen hypertension and increases the risk of chronic kidney disease. Renal dysfunction occurs early as someone becomes obese. This is further complicated since the condition also increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Men over 50 are more likely to be affected. But older men are just one segment of this affected population.
Obesity is a major healthcare challenge throughout the world. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1.4 billion people in the world are overweight. In the US alone, two-thirds of Americans are overweight and almost one-third are obese.
The challenge to doctors has been understanding how the connection happens. In this study scientists focused on the endocannabinoid system, the innate system we share with all vertebrate animals. Receptors connect like a lock and key with specific, naturally occurring cannabinoids, similar in chemical structure to those found in the cannabis plant.
The CB1 type receptors were targeted and ‘knocked out’ for the lab mice. The modified mice were then fed a high calorie diet to make them obese. The same diet was fed to the control group, wild mice with non adjusted genetic codes. All mice became severely overweight but all were not equally healthy.
There was less incidence of both inflammation and compromised, fibrous tissue in the knockout mice. Additional markers used to measure the likelihood of kidney disease were also found to be lower in the genetically modified group. Increased fat droplets in the tubes leading to the kidneys and increase in enzymes related to kidney disease were found in wild mice but not those whose CB1 receptors had been affected.
Researchers concluded that targeting the CB1 receptors could be crucial in helping obese patients minimize this kidney condition. This could be huge news for both people with obesity related renal disease and those who are at risk of developing it. After all, marijuana for medical purposes has continued to prove to be an effective and even safer alternative for many conditions than existing therapies.
There is no shortage of people who could benefit if this study foreshadows the effectiveness of marijuana and its compounds to ward off renal damage and disease. Considering the number of people worldwide who suffer from this condition, we can expect to see much more interest in this rather novel approach to minimizing risk to the kidneys.
A New Jersey Appellate Court earlier this week claimed the health benefits of cannabis are abundantly and glaringly apparent now,” forcing the state lawmakers to review its medical marijuana program.
In an unprecedented ruling, two out of three judges on the appellate court panel essentially confirmed that marijuana is medicine, saying that Gov. Chris Christie and his administration are required to revisit the legal status of the state’s law regarding marijuana.
For more than four decades, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule 1 drug under federal and state laws. The classification means that the herb has a “high potential for abuse” and is in the category as heroin and LSD.
The court’s ruling said that Steve Lee, the former director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, had the state’s legal authority to reclassify marijuana, despite the federal mandate. In 2014, Lee, citing the 1971 federal law, refused the rescheduling request from plaintiff Steven Kadonsky, who was serving a life sentence for trafficking. Kadonsky’s defense team claimed that marijuana was incorrectly scheduled under New Jersey law.
The judges, noting that New Jersey had allowed medical marijuana since 2010, agreed. If New Jersey citizens were allowed to use cannabis to treat pain, PTSD, and other qualifying conditions, the state had standing to consider rescheduling.
The court’s ruling does not change marijuana’s legal status in New Jersey and the Attorney General’s Office plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. But the decision could be an impetus for rescheduling marijuana.
Judge Michael Guadagno, who wrote the majority opinion for the appellate panel, is married to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the Republican front-runner in November’s governor’s race. Although the gubernatorial candidate is an ardent opponent of recreational marijuana, she has gone on record as saying she would make it easier for people to have access to medical marijuana.
Her likely Democratic opponent Phil Murphy wants to “legalize marijuana so police can focus resources on violent crime.”
For every cause, there is an effect. For every bud you smoke, there is a reaction. The key to combating these effects such as sleepiness, hunger and extensive euphoria is knowing which type of strain is perfect for what you’re trying to accomplish.
For example, marijuana that’s higher on the THC side might have you feeling happy and euphoric, but also might have a dizzying cerebral high that’s not too great if you want to socialize with people or be productive. (FYI, I’m talking about you Blue Dream).
Know that there are multiple ways to consume marijuana, you can eat or drink it, rub it into your skin, vape, smoke and much more. Ask the budtenders at your local store which products have the strains listed and then pick how you want to put it into your body.
The following are 10 strains you can order to help you focus.
Harlequin
Harlequin is the answer to your prayers. This sativa strain is spicy and herbal with a higher dose of CBD that will get your mind right on track. Plus, you’ll feel relaxed without becoming too sedated.
Blue Widow
Blue Widow is a hybrid strain that’ll even make the most mundane task, seem interesting. You can focus and get some enjoyment out of whatever it is that may require your attention. The strong sweet buds will definitely put you in a good mood, too
Ghost Train Haze
No you won’t be taken on a spooky, scary ride. In fact, Ghost Train Haze is the perfect combination of concentration and happiness. Plus, the sativa-dominant strain has a complex collection of flavors that’ll satisfy your senses.
Kali Mist
A lightweight sativa strain that’s part earthy and part sweet, Kali Mist is just what you need to be productive and sharp throughout the day.
Allen Wrench
If there was ever a sativa strain that would make cranking out hours of paperwork, dealing with obnoxious colleagues and insane management, slightly less gruesome, Allen Wrench is it. It’s citrusy and woody and the perfect happy high for concentration.
Blueberry Headband
This hybrid strain is 50/50 sativa and indica that produces a great cerebral high. You’ll feel happy and uplifted without the jitteriness to interfere with your productivity.
Super Sour Diesel
This strain is perfect for cranking out at-home projects. (It’s super dank and pungent smell might not be the best bud to indulge in before work).
Permafrost
Permafrost is actually great for treating patients with ADD/ADHD because of it’s relaxing, calming abilities that will have you focused, but not too fixated. The pine-like aromas are also very, very soothing.
Jesus OG
This herb deserves an amen. The lemony aromas create a nice high that call for clarity and functionality. Jesus OG is a sativa-dominant strain so you’ll be uplifted and inspired, while focused and driven.
Cherry Bomb
Cherry bomb is a fruity hybrid strain that’s explosive in the best way possible. It’s musky and berry, but it’s strong sativa buzz makes it a great daytime companion. You’ll feel happy, relaxed and have enough energy to concentrate fully.
You might have heard of the 80/20 principle. Many celebrities claim that it’s one of the most successful methods of maintaining and losing weight. More than a fad or strict diet that people struggle to maintain for a couple of weeks, the 80/20 principle is a lifestyle and something that, once you commit to it, can be maintained for really long periods of time.
Without getting into the math of it, the focus of the method is to eat clean and healthy foods for 80 percent of your meals, leaving you with a 20 percent window where you can do and eat what you please. If you eat 3 meals a day, that means that during your week you have 3 meals where you can go crazy. A lot of experts suggest that, when starting off the method or when looking for weight loss, you should follow the 90/10 rule, which leaves you with a more strict plan that has less cheat meals per week. Once you find your groove and get to your desired weight, you can add more cheat meals and be more lenient.
The 80/20 method is a smart way of changing your relationship to food and of helping you be more comfortable with yourself. Popsugar interviewed Yumi Lee, Jessica Alba’s trainer, who vouches for this meal plan, claiming that it’s the reason why the actress is able to maintain her weight while also having a life.
“You can’t be a 100 percent all the time, but you can be 80 percent all the time.”
It’s understandable why this diet has so many followers and devotees. Diets and weight loss programs encourage people to eat healthy and to limit themselves, but this gets harder the longer you’ve been trying to lose weight, which is why the 80/20 rule sounds so great. Instead of limiting yourself and setting unrealistic goals for your diet, the rule suggests a change of lifestyle, which, even though it takes work, will probably provide better and longer lasting results.
While there are some women in the world who are very particular when it comes to their sex life, every woman appreciates simple things.
Sex can be pretty complicated, but good etiquette while getting down might be even more important than talent when it comes to providing orgasms and having a good time. While there are some women in the world who are very particular when it comes to their sex life, every woman (and we mean every woman) appreciates these 5 simple things, which should be implicit.
Once committed to memory these 5 simple acts will help you become the great sex partner you’re meant to be, no matter your level of expertise, trust us:
If you’re only worried about yourself while having sex you might end up having fun, but you probably won’t get a second date. The majority of women want to have sex with someone who’s into them and who tends to their needs. To be the best partner you can be, you have to put in your work and invest yourself in whatever it is that you’re doing. It’ll be worth it in the long run.
Using the necessary protection shouldn’t be a demand that women make, it should be implicit. Acting surprised when women ask you to wear a condom is inexcusable, and will only make you seem annoying and immature.
It’s important for you to value her orgasm as much as your own, no matter how exhausted you are after you have sex. Get to know yourself and your body, so you can prevent that after sex slump and get her to orgasm before you fall asleep.
It’s very important to have clean sheets once you bring someone home and to not make them have sex in a crusty and crumbly bed. Please, do your laundry and clean up your place before you have visitors.
It should go without saying, but it’s very important that you invest the necessary amount of time and dedication into foreplay. Make the moment last and enjoy every second of it, even though it’ll require a little patience. Foreplay will also get her body and mind ready for sex, facilitating a sexier and better experience between the two of you.
The disconnect that the East Coast carries to actual, in-the-ground-cannabis, has far and surpassed what could be called a shame. How many of us have seen a plant up close? Seen a row of plants? Smelled a mountain brisk from late morning clouds pumping the blood of the plant itself all over you? Something that once grew freely and was made into goods is now whispers and passwords and mostly come from places in the world that don’t feel like our plane of reality.
Having the opportunity to see them up close and in their happy place was a pleasure and a privilege, and one that has sharpened my focus on what’s important in the context we exist in. Being a passerby in a cool community of humans who have turned an affinity with nature into a daily quasi-wildcraft is the sweetest part. In the lands of Northern California, nature makes the schedule.
Photos by Danielle Guercio
When I arrived, there was work to do for sure, as there’s always something to do on a farm, but nothing in the weed wing was urgent or timely, so we shifted gears for a day to press grapes from the mountainside vineyard that needed immediate attention. This really drove home that pretty much everywhere that grows wine quality grapes can also sustain cannabis cultivation. Pressing grapes is in my Mediterranean blood, so I found it incredibly fun and informative, since I’d never done it before. Bucket after bucket we loaded into a hydraulic press imported from Italy. The smell of these wine grapes after their sugary sojourn in a fermentation tub was crisp, thick, and warm, like a cut apple. I got a whole new respect for my one uncle’s private wine stash that he maintains year after year like the Sicilian grandpa he is.
Photos by Danielle Guercio
When I finally rolled up to the side of the mountain where the greenery lived, I took as many lingering glances at the geometric beauty of the blooming flowers and all of their pistil and crystalline curling leaves as I could. I was trying to imprint forever on my mind what I’d normally only seen in magazines or online. One plant in particular, a 6 foot tall and 4 foot wide specimen of God’s Gift, was painted with sunlight for most of the day which made its variant shades seem like they leapt right out of a paint palette. Each plant has its own thickly perfumed perimeter, enveloping most of the surrounding area with a melange of all of the strains populating any given area.
Photos by Danielle Guercio
Just like with wine, growing weed takes hours and hours and hours of labor from ground to harvest and processing. It was incredible to be able to participate in even just the smallest part of that day to day attention that pumps out quality buds to most of America. It completed a cycle that as a lifelong East Coaster, I was completely divorced from. The actual earth based part of cannabis consumption couldn’t be more foreign to someone like me. The day flew as I carted pile after pile of dirt to be preserved for the next year. The work was physical as to be expected, and it puts a completely different lens on what we’re smoking, eating, and vaping everyday, 3000 miles away.
Photos by Danielle Guercio
At risk of wildfires and wild weather, weed is worth as much as gold so things must ebb and flow to gain as much benefit as possible. Growers never know when Mother Nature can send them a curveball, and there are many. Those who produce cannabis have to be on the same wavelength as the ground they stand and grow on. Experiencing this deeper connection to the plant will be enriching my connection anything green I touch for the rest of my life.
Thanks to a sky-high Rotten Tomatoes score and an extremely enticing trailer, the anticipation for Thor: Ragnarok couldn’t be higher. Of all the Hulk smashing and zippy liners, one thing that really stood out was seeing Thor’s mystical hammer Mjolnir being destroyed by the Goddess of Death, Hela.
For the Marvel Cinematic Universe these are new waters we’re treading. As far as movie fans know, Mjolnir was simply indestructible. But for us nerdy comic fans, this is old hat, it’s happened at least six times.
Let’s explore just how and why Thor’s legendary hammer has previously crumbled.
The Destroyer Destroys
The first time the unthinkable happened was way back in 1965 in Journey Into Mystery #118. After some of Loki’s patented tomfoolery, the dreaded Destroyer armor was unleashed on Earth and was causing quite a ruckus. Worthy of note is that the Destroyer was able to actually lift Thor’s hammer—a feat that had not been achieved by anyone other than Thor himself at this point.
But, not only could the Destroyer lift it, he could also destroy it. He fired immense energy from his fingertips slicing poor Mjolnir in half. Luckily Odin (Thor’s All-Father) intervened and stopped the Destroyer’s onslaught. Thor then boogied on over to Pittsburg and got his hammer fixed up using a blast furnace. Classic Jack Kirby and Stan Lee goodness!
Molecule Reconstruction
Cover art via Marvel
The next time Mjolnir got broked it had some friends to share in its pain. Molecule Man often plays the supervillain to our faithful heroes, using his power to change matter and manipulate reality at the atomic scale for evil.
In battle with Marvel’s biggest heroes, Molecule Man atomized Thor’s Mjolnir, as well as Captain America’s shield, and Silver Surfer’s surfboard. Later he comes to his senses and reconstitutes our heroes’ weapons and agrees to go to therapy. Not every story has to have a super cool ending, sometimes it’s okay for things to just end. (From Avengers #215, 1981)
Self-Inflicted Hammer Wound
The unthinkable is becoming pretty thinkable at this point. Mjolnir can be broken, it just takes somebody really powerful to do it. What makes the third time interesting is Thor himself breaks Mjolnir, this time, by bashing it against a freaking Celestial’s head!
Celestials are these enormous 2000-foot tall space gods. They travel across the universe seeding life on planets, then destroying that life if they don’t think it’s progressed enough after an amount of time. In Thor #388 the Celestials ran afoul of a thunder god who meant to oppose them in their bid to end life on Earth. After a short time, the Celestial known as Exitar saw no point in continuing the fight. He healed Thor’s wounds and fixed his hammer and the Earth lived to see another sunrise.
Two Becomes One
In Thor Vol. 2 #10, the Dark Gods had enslaved Odin and taken over Asgard while Thor was busy being a superhero on Earth. The Dark God Perrikus sliced Mjolnir in two with his badass sword, then tried to lift what was left of the handle. Unfortunately, he wasn’t even worthy enough to lift the handle as the Odin’s enchantment remained intact.
Thor got the pieces of his hammer back together, and they uhhh… they just kind of reformed, and the hammer was whole again, because comics! He then gives Perrikus the beat down of an immortal lifetime, saves Odin, Asgard and the day.
Ragnarok
Loki had the fire giant Surtur forge several hammers from the same mold that Mjolnir was made from. He then gave the hammers to Thor’s greatest foes, like Ulik the Troll and Fenrir. They attacked and destroyed not only Mjolnir, but Asgard as well. This kicked Ragnarok off, and brought Thor to the end and back again as he sacrificed both his eyes and his life for the power to change the cycle of Ragnarok forever. Thor Vol. 2 #80 (2004)
More Loki Tricks
Cover art via Marvel
The most recent Mjolnir destruction time was again another Loki prank. Loki brings Thor’s grandfather Bor from the past into the present. Then in true Loki fashion, he makes Bor see illusions of demons, when there’s nothing there but regular old New York townsfolk. Thor attempts to stop him, and an enormous battle ensues.
Never having met his grandfather, Thor holds nothing back, he bashes the elder god so hard against the head that it breaks Mjolnir and kills Bor. Thor then learns that he killed his own grandfather and is banished from Asgard, so that Loki could continue his schemes unimpeded. Thor had to call in help from Dr. Strange to fix Mjolnir this time, and had to share some of his own life essence to get his hammer back. Bet he wishes it was still the 90’s so his hammer would just reform at will. Thor #600 (2009)
So that’s all the times poor Mjolnir has been broken. That poor hammer has seen some stuff, man.
