To begin the story today, I'd like to speak to the idea that we've been very intentional about our engagement with the cannabis industry. This has not been for a reason that we're for or against it and it's certainly not based in my nearly 20 years of sobriety from alcohol. I have my own opinions of both and I have seen the effects of both play out in lives for years. We have stayed on the sidelines for one reason and that is the fact that with the legalization of marijuana in Michigan, came a FLOOD of product and opportunity for people to jump right in, and in Muskegon...the resources to effectively educate people on what modern day marijuana is all about are really not enough to give people enough to go on. Any product that can effect your ability to operate a machine needs to be used responsibly and the inarguable fact that a young brain developing should not be under the influence of anything stand.
With that, we were offered for the first time to visit a local Micro Business where they grow the plants in house. Render the products into flower or extracts and work to help people know the product a little more than going into a different place and just buying in bulk. There are a million opinions on the approach to the discussion, there are also a million ways other products have been slanted over the years to make them seem less harmful. Eyes wide open we took the invite to at least crack the surface on the conversation about marijuana and maybe turn the way we speak to the people of Muskegon about this topic. For years, Muskegon has been told "this is bad, don't do this, that's all you need to know." Well....let's try a new way.
IndiGrow is offering an informational seminar this coming Friday at their location on Clay Avenue in Downtown Muskegon. The idea will be to answer the questions that come in from those in attendance about what marijuana has become today compared to the "ditch weed" we all knew from days gone by. How is it grown? What is the extraction process? Are there dangers and limits? While every answer might not be there, it's a beginning. I will add editorially, that yes....there are dangers and limits. This will focus primarily on parents and their relationship with cannabis. Not knowing has led to an over load of people being treated locally for "cannabinoid hyperemesis" which is throwing up violently from over eating of edibles or other use. There is also a level of psychosis that some can experience. I will add too that from an addict's perspective, I don't believe that the physical addiction with cabanas is that of opiates or alcohol, but it's also not a replacement. That is strictly my opinion.
Karen Kekelik is one of the founders of this micro business in Muskegon and she sat down with me to talk about this event coming up Friday. CLICK HERE for event details. Take a listen to see if it's something you can benefit from.
Our purpose today is to offer a chance for you to learn more and if you are interested in attending the informational discussion. There will be lockable bags from Public Health Muskegon County there for free if you are a cannabis consumer or would like to lock up any other substances away from your kids that are in the house. We are in a changing time. It's a time that there is an awful lot of unsure stuff out there and if you are a user of marijuana or not....for or against it.....we're going to continue to walk the "fringe" of it. We believe that a lot more needs to be known and that the stigma attached needs a lot of serious discussion and awareness. IndiGrow made the first offer to us to just share some knowledge... and for that, we appreciate the opportunity.
