Cannabis Wellness
The Dominoes Are Falling in Place Except for the Stigma
by Jay Richardson , contributing writer
It was a strange autumn , to say the least . As you may know from reading previous articles , I went through a long illness that caused me to lose a great deal of weight and suffer debilitating pain . My recovery has been slow . I haven ’ t gained much weight , and the pain is still there , but for the first time in almost a decade , I have started to feel a little bit like the creative , productive , and energetic person I used to be . This has triggered a domino effect that I could have never predicted , and the dominoes are still falling .
I am a licensed patient cultivator because it is more economical to grow my medication than acquire it from the dispensary . That is not to say that I don ’ t occasionally visit my friends over at Good Day Farms in Springfield West . I want to shout-out to the friendly staff and thank them for providing an abundance of Amendment 3 yard signs that I distributed in support of the passage . If you haven ’ t heard , the Amendment passed , and marijuana is now legal in Missouri . I can ’ t say that I am personally responsible , but I think I might have helped . We ’ ll get to that later .
medical cannabis magazine . I consider this a privilege and an honor , and I hope to do it for quite some time . It was time for the second domino to fall .
Another idea I ’ ve had in the back my mind was to start a tee shirt company . In my previous life , I was a comedian and professional joke writer , so I had many ideas that might make funny shirts . The apparel business is very risky and competitive . Since I have no money and know absolutely nothing about graphic arts or screen printing , funny tee shirts were the obvious business to start . Did I mention that I grow only the very most potent strains of marijuana available and that I get most of my ideas while smoking my bong ?
I have an indoor garden , and I use grow lights that produce a fair amount of heat . Missouri summers are very hot and have a lot of insects and pests that can wreak havoc on cannabis plants . It is easier and more economical to shut my garden down during the hot months and start again in the fall . My poor air conditioner has enough trouble fighting the outdoor heat without me adding additional warmth from the inside , not to mention the electric bill . These events led the first domino to fall .
I have gotten into the habit of planting new marijuana seeds at the beginning of September because Missouri winters are an excellent time for an indoor garden . There are no spider mites , and the heat from the lights helps to warm the house . I close the furnace vents in the grow room because ripening buds like the chilly nights and will produce deep purple hues that you won ’ t see the rest of the year .
After researching which strain could be the most likely to produce the therapeutic effects that would address my medical issues , I headed to my local grow store to procure my supplies . There , I had the good fortune of meeting a very nice gentleman named Clayton Stallings . As you may know , Stallings is the Marketing Director of The EVOLUTION Magazine . He was in the grow store to fill the magazine rack with the latest issue . If I had been there five minutes later or earlier , I would have never met him , and this article would not have been written .
As an avid reader of this publication since its inception , I had a thought in the back of my mind of trying to write some freelance articles . I asked Stallings if this would be possible . He kindly told me to contact Bill Cromwell , the publisher , who , luckily for me , took my phone call , accepted my submission , and printed my November issue article . I am now unexpectedly a freelance writer for the Midwest ’ s # 1
As you may have surmised , I needed to learn how to turn an idea into a shirt , so I had some work to do . Either through luck or divine intervention , all this coincided with the November elections and the fact that my sister , Juliet Christy Barron , is a very talented graphic artist and an indulgent sibling . She took time out of her busy schedule to turn my rough ideas into a beautiful shirt that supported the passage of Amendment 3 . My final two designs came down to “ Make Missouri Green Again ” and the one we chose to use . The shirt that became a reality says , “ On the Third Day God Created Grass and It Was Good . Vote Yes on November 8 .”
Not wanting to profit off a good cause , my financial goal with the shirts was to recover the manufacturing costs . The election was a good way to introduce one of my designs to the public and support an issue with deep personal meaning . You see , I had been fantasizing about marijuana legalization since 1976 . Little did I know then , by the time I could actually purchase legal cannabis , a senior citizen discount would be included . Better late than never .