Out Of The Rut – Kat Dancer – Sep 2022

My Mum is freakin’ awesome. What should I write about this month? I muse…she’s got a pot plant. It’s kinda weird to be writing that. My Mum has a pot plant. It’s bigger than she is.

How the world has changed now the misguided misinformation about the magical properties of Marijuana has been somewhat dispelled. In the household of my formative years, the spectre of the black sheep of the family was wafted over our heads on occasion. My beloved and bizarrely absent uncle was a fascinating focal point in my young life. No-one really spoke about things in front of the whippersnappers, so it took a couple of decades to work out what a black sheep is and why he was one. I guess the ridiculous practice of putting addicts in prison was in its heyday then.

Back then, Marijuana was the first step on the slippery slope to utter devastation through cocaine, heroin and the like. This was well before the advent of E / MDMA / Molly, Crystal Meth and all the other manufactured stimulants or escape avenues that have been widely distributed in the subsequent decades. There have been countless discussions in our family about the various claims by suspiciously-motivated politicians and their exhortations to just say No, across the board without the essential ingredient of intelligence. It’s been very entertaining at times.

My parents come from a fairly straightforward background… from which they launched themselves into an unsuspecting universe and tossed a couple of occasionally unusual offspring out into the mix. They followed the periphery of the main stream most of the time, but in later years, began to go more off-piste in their reading, activities, healthcare and other aspects of life.

Dad avoided the drugs the doctors were insisting essential for at least ten years before he finally had to succumb to the delights of western medicine. Prior to that however, my parents were firmly in the western medicine camp. My brother is so scientific that most of my work with massage, yoga and so on, is a complete puzzle to him, even after I’ve subjected him to some of it. Memories fade so quickly when obscured by new pains!

Meanwhile… back with my illustrious mother… she began using cannabis cream for something and the company she bought from sent a complimentary single marijuana seed. In Spain where the esteemed parents reside, it is perfectly legal (finally!) to grow a couple of plants for personal use. My Mum has a green thumb, fingers and other digits! The thing is a monster.

When they came over to visit, the expertise of neighbours was called into play: a family is looking after the plant. First there was a discussion on security – it must not be visible to idle eyes. The awning/sun room was rearranged so the plant is hidden at the back. The mother of the family will be watering, while the son of the family will be tending to the details of nurturing a cannabis plant that no-one else knows what to do with. It’s a great adventure.

There are salves and tinctures in the making. The use of the salves on pre- cancerous and cancerous growths is amazingly effective. Using cannabis salves on aches and pains, arthritis, bursitis and more… all helpful pain relievers. CBD for anxiety, stress, depression… so much to love about this plant.

When Mum sent my nephew Oscar a photo of her with her huge plant so he could gasp in awe of its size, he asked for a full-resolution file so he can enlarge it and put it up on his bedroom wall! It’s kinda cool to be that cool turning 80.

As ever, a delight to have my folks here again. They have been visiting pretty much every year since I arrived, so there are a few friends here that they know well…and places to which they love to return. Today’s excursion included a trip to Kananaskis Village to walk the rim of the village and admire the incredible mountain views… somewhat obscured by hoops of smoke today from the fires in BC. My Mum’s Mum is up there in Kananaskis. She used to love to go to the village, walk the flat trails up there and sit and gaze out over the mountains.

What lucky folk we are to be here now.