What if milk had been illegal?
Can you picture it?
It’s 1930 and Harry Jacob Anslinger has just started working at the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics as their founding commissioner. Famous for hating cannabis, Anslinger immediately begins to lead the charge for criminalization with tons of false propaganda.
Anslinger starts his attack by spreading false information and purposefully demonizing racial and immigrant groups. You hear all about the Devil’s Lettuce at date night when your sweetheart takes you to go see the horror movie Reefer Madness. The message is loud, clear, and scary: cannabis is dangerous and can make you sexually aggressive, violent, and just downright crazy.
Well, that escalated quickly…
Violence? Psychosis? Complete insanity? With propaganda like that, no wonder Anslinger was able to convince Congress to take notice. In 1937, Anslinger’s dream comes true and Congress passes the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. The law makes cannabis and hemp illegal based on nothing but false information and a deep-seated hatred for all minorities in the United States.
But what if—and stay with me here—what if Anslinger also hated milk?
What if Anslinger hated the “cow juice” on such a deep level he also convinced Congress to criminalize the Devil’s Dairy? If Congress also criminalized milk in 1937, how would our skeletal systems strengthen and grow without its main source of calcium and vitamins? What would the bones in our bodies look like without milk?
Got Calcium?
Would your skeletal system be as strong and resilient if you never had that morning glass of milk or bowl of cereal growing up? Probably not. That’s because we know milk is an amazing source of calcium.
Even though I was never a fan of milk growing up, I knew it had what my body needed. Every morning I shoveled as much Nestle Quik as I could sneak past my mom into a Strawberry Shortcake cup of milk, plugged my nose and chugged the fudgy milk. Why? Because I knew something in my body needed that nasty, tongue-coating, aftertaste-leaving liquid and so I obliged.
Now, let’s move away from my childhood breakfasts/fears and think on a broader scale. Imagine for a moment, what society would look like today if we had denied our skeletal systems of essential vitamins for almost a century. Would our skeletal systems look like they do now if our parents and grandparents had lived in a world with contraband cows?
I don’t know about you, but I’m picturing a lot of short people with severe and early onset osteoporosis. Sure, there are other ways that you can add calcium into your diet, but the primary source for calcium is milk. Without it, we are denying the crucial vitamins that our body’s skeletal system needs to flourish.
Got Cannabinoids?
Anslinger’s campaign to make cannabis illegal did actual, physical damage to our bodies. Society’s health as a whole has felt the damaging effects of ignorant, racist laws like the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. You might have heard that your body has a system made just for cannabis. Sounds too good to be true? Not really. The Endocannabinoid System (“ECS”) is a beautiful system found inside of you (and other animals, too!) that is just as vital as a skeletal system. The ECS is responsible for monitoring sleep, appetite, pain, and your immune system response. Everything that has a nervous system also has an ECS to help maintain health and internal balance.
Just like your skeletal system needs you to drink milk to get your calcium, your ECS needs you to take in cannabis to get your dose of cannabinoids. In other words, cannabinoids are like the calcium your skeletal system needs. Sure, there are other ways for your body to get its necessary dose of calcium, but the best way for you to provide your body the nutrients it needs is milk.
The same principle applies to your ECS. Although there are other ways to get of cannabinoids, the best way to provide your body with what it needs is through the plant.
Are you saying I need to get high every day?
No, no. That’s not what I’m saying. There are many ways for you to nourish your ECS without having to smoke or feel out of it and stoned. A great way to increase your intake is with a full-spectrum edible that you can take every day, like a lozenge, capsule, or tincture. With so many full-spectrum products on the market, you can get your cannabinoid intake in anything from coffee, to marshmallows, to suppositories, to cooking oils!
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Want to learn more from Lucy?
Medicating with cannabis and hemp can be overwhelming and expensive. Depending on your ECS and your needs, you may need a higher dose of full-spectrum products to get your ECS balanced. Let me be that bird on your shoulder, chirping away guidance and wisdom to help you begin your journey to Take Control of Your Healing.
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