The author and this blog does not directly nor indirectly dispense medical advice nor prescribe treatment for sickness. It is not the intent of this blog to diagnose nor prescribe treatment. The information is a collection of herbal treatments from the writings of Jack Ritchason, N.D. I, the author, and the this blog assume no responsibility if you diagnose for yourself without a doctor's approval. I'm only asking you to consider and speculate that the U.S. medical system and the FDA have got it all wrong!
It's been a rough year for me and I had stopped writing this blog. Floods, excessive car repairs and someone had destroyed my car while it was parked in the street were some of the unfortunate events I had met with this year. I've been away from my homebrewing hobby for too long. I thought I'd share this information with you as you dwell on voting at this time.
Many of us will go to the polls today on Tuesday to decide politician and law changes. Today, Michigan voters will decide whether to have recreational marijuana or not. Nine states in the U.S. currently have legalized marijuana.
There is also a legal battle between the State of Michigan and the city of Lansing, Michigan's capitol, over keeping medical marijuana dispensaries open. I'm not here to sell you on the marijuana issue for or against.
It's no secret that the use of medical marijuana was to alleviate pain. Those with cancer have used marijuana to minimize their pain. If our conservative state (old fuddy-duddy, stick-in-the-muds) ends up making it harder to get medical marijuana how will its residents relieve their pain? The latest news shows the Devos family has a non-profit that is forking over the big bucks to fight against legalized marijuana in Michigan. You know - Devos is Amway.
What I've found out is marijuana is in the same plant family as hops. Jack Ritchason, a naturopathic doctor, wrote a book titled, The Little Herb Encyclopedia: The Handbook of Natures Remedies for a Healthier Life. The book covers some little known information from a variety of sources about herbs compiled from nutritionists and other health experts. Hops is listed with its uses including its use in pain relief and insomnia. Do you see where I'm going with this?
If you are currently taking medical marijuana for pain and your source is about to dry up isn't it worthwhile to take another look at hops? I'm not talking about boiling it in homebrewed beer. You can still boil hops for beer if you are a homebrewer. I'm talking about getting a bag of hops from your local homebrew store in its leaf or pellet form. I'd try it as a tea by steeping it. Don't forget hops is completely legal here in the U.S. If you love those bitter IPA's then you probably won't mind hop tea.
I can't provide medical advice. I'm just asking that you try a new tea at home and see if that pain goes away. If it takes away your pain isn't all that really matters? If it works - screw the marijuana card, screw the doctor visit to get a prescription, screw the FDA and screw the conservatives. Medical marijuana may be the biggest scam the U.S. is playing on patients to relieve their pain! Now, if you wanted marijuana legally you can still fly or drive into any of the 9 states that allow it: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. It's also legal in the District of Columbia. If your state doesn't allow it just drive or fly to a state that does and spend your money there. Don't let your state leaders decide what's right for you - go to a state does! Marijuana infused beer may be the next trend. If you want that when it happens be sure to give your business to the brewery and the state that offers it.
While I'm on the subject of Jack Ritchason's book, let me share with you what he has to say about other ingredients that have been found in some beers. The author shares some good history too. Birch bark was used by the early Americans to relieve headaches. His book lists it as being used before for arthritis, pain and rheumatism. Juniper berries were used with bladder problems, colds, diabetes, hypoglycemia and kidney infections. Irish moss was used to absorb toxins, lung and thyroid problems. Hawthorn, available more in the beers from the past, was also used for insomnia. It has shown itself in assisting with blood pressure, heart disease and heart palpitations.
If you had been reading my blog, you had seen that I had previously infused catnip in my homebrewed beer. I was quite happy to find the taste was quite pleasant from the fresh catnip growing in the yard. The book shows catnip was the most common tea in early Europe. It was used for colds, flu, insomnia, pain relief, measles and mumps.
Recently, my dentist started taking blood pressure and said they couldn't do any work till I got my blood pressure down. This happened many times and I had to take some action. Without any doctor fee, no prescription, I use an herb from this book regularly and now my blood pressure is down and the dentist can work on me. I'm not guaranteeing this for you, but I've seen the value of herbs in my life. Grab yourself Jack's book as it's available on the web, used, for as little as $1.99 at the time of this writing.
Remember, other countries for thousands of years have been treating illness with herbal remedies successfully without any need of an FDA nor the use of allopathic medicine from the big pharmaceutical companies. The FDA and allopathy are a fairly new medicine in the world.
I do agree with science and experimentation, but disagree with using experimentation to prove one type of medical science or ideology is superior to the others. I do believe marijuana as to be a scam that the medical authorities are playing on U.S. citizens. Regulation just makes more money for someone else and that comes out of our pockets. There are alternatives, but they don't want us to know. Just like my grandmother used to say about a lot of things, "it's a racket!" She referred to someone always trying to cheat her out of something.
Lots of people are doing beer experiments these days and listing the results in social media. Why not try a health experiment with beer ingredients? Who knows. It might provide an alternative for you.
Next time I'm feeling some aches and pains I'm going to grab a bag of hops!