11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman’s Life

It’s true: Singer Jhené Aiko doesn’t mind getting high sometimes.

It's true: Singer Jhené Aiko doesn't mind getting high sometimes.

 
David J. Bertozzi for BuzzFeed

On her ethereal new album Souled Out and in person, she’s open about this, as she’s open about most things. During a visit to BuzzFeed’s New York office, the singer, mother, and free spirit explained why weed is a part of her life.

1. Smoking weed can unlock your creativity.

11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman's Life

 
David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

Especially in the studio, Aiko said. A self-identified “social smoker, not a pothead,” she said smoking can help open her mind and allow it to tap into ideas she didn’t know she had. The best ideas, she said, always come not when she’s most high, but when she’s coming down.

2. And bring you closer with your girl friends.

 
 

Aiko said when she’s smoking weed with other women, they crack hilarious jokes, but also open up. Being high can facilitate deep, emotional conversations, not just goofy ones.

3. It can soothe cramps and headaches.

11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman's Life

 

4. And can be a way to claim some time that’s just for you.

 

On the song “Blue Dream,” Aiko sings to a strain of weed of the same name like it’s a lover. Her enthusiasm, she said, isn’t because she thinks smoking weed is a good replacement for a romantic relationship, but because she cherishes the time she spends getting high as time she takes for herself. It’s all about “loving that ‘you’ time,” she said.

5. Getting high can help your remember and reaffirm positive thoughts you have about yourself.

11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman's Life

 
David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

Smoking can be like meditation, Aiko said. But because of that, it’s important to “make sure your thoughts are high” before you are too. If you’re already down, smoking can make you feel worse. But if you place some positive thoughts in your mind, being high is a great opportunity to focus on them, which can bring your spirit up long after you’re sober again.

6. And help you show others that you believe that women should have all the same opportunities as men.

 
 

Getting high isn’t a thing boys do, Aiko said. That’s because there’s really no such thing as a boy’s thing — Aiko rejected the idea that any habit, good or bad, is gendered.

7. And relieve some stress during the early years of motherhood.

11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman's Life

 
David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

Aiko’s got an elementary-school-aged daughter, Namiko. She never smokes around children and wouldn’t advise others to. But she said that smoking a couple puffs in the hours after her daughter has been dropped off at school can be productive — allowing her some space to de-stress and get her own affairs in order before sober family time in the evening.

8. The right weed can replace coffee.

 

Not all weed makes you lazy, Aiko said. Her favorite strain, Blue Dream, lifts her mood and makes her want to write and be productive. Fittingly, it also doesn’t have a skunky, heavy smell — but a citrusy, bright one.

9. Being high can put you on the same wavelength as your significant other.

11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman's Life

 
David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

Well, “as long as you’re both smoking the same stuff.”

10. And help you see the other side when you’re having an argument with someone important.

 

On her song “2 Seconds,” Aiko sings: “Man I wish I had some weed up in my system / Cause I’m bout two seconds away from just flippin’ out.” She said that being high has helped her approach important conversations with a calm, level head. Weed has helped her to not just speak from emotion and pragmatically work through issues, she said.

11. But most of all, smoking weed can help you find your own limits.

11 Ways Smoking Weed Can Improve A Woman's Life

 
David J. Bertozzi / BuzzFeed

“Everything in moderation,” Aiko emphasized. Social smoking can be great, but for her, finding that right dose and strain was a crucial first step.

 

source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/naomizeichner/ways-smoking-weed-can-improve-womans-life-jhene-aiko#1x8l6jw

posted on Sept. 9, 2014, at 10:28 a.m.

The PMS/Pot Proclamation

By “Dr Kate” – Monday, August 31 1998

Eat some chocolate, run a hot bath and bask in the remedy that is straight from mother earth! Feel better, Ladies!

Sourced from Cannabis Culture Mag
Hundreds of testimonials show that marijuana can alleviate PMS!
In the 1800’s cannabis was commonly used by women to ease menstrual cramps and labour pains. Yet by 1920, women were influenced into thinking that the symptoms they had around their period were due to innate physical problems, and their reproductive organs were often removed as a cure. Nowadays, women are often told that their very real physical symptoms are psychological, and handed a script for a prescription for antidepressants or tranquilizers.
These harsh drugs take weeks to build up in the system enough to produce a noticeable effect. It seems like overkill to take something that can throw many of the body’s systems out of balance and cut down sex-drive, every day of the month, to try to cut symptoms that typically last 3-5 days, before and during a woman’s period.

Often, all that’s needed to relax the tense, stimulate the sluggish, and soothe the crampy, is a couple of puffs of RCMP ? Royal Canadian Marijuana Products.

We can now proclaim to the world that for many women PMS is hugely alleviated by cannabis resin. The proof lies in my collection of testimonial letters submitted by women from around the globe via the internet and regular post.

These personal experiences prove that women should be insisting on access to this good herb if they are victims of this disorder, which can be disabling and even marriage-threatening in extreme cases.

Almost 200 letters, stories, and submissions are powerfully convincing, many poignant to the point of inspiring tears in the eye of the reader, some too private to ever print. What follows are just a few typical examples:

Hi Dr Kate. I have used marijuana cigarettes for my premenstrual rages and grumpiness for the last 15 years. Works like a charm. My family is glad. What else would you like to know?

A husband writes:

My wife has used marijuana to control nausea and lessen cramps. It seems to work very well, even in low doses.

A Canadian lady writes:

About your medical marijuana and menstrual discomforts, etc. I have used it for many years for pre-menstrual cramps and bitchiness? PMS! It helps me to mellow out and to tolerate the intense lower pains that I get once a month for about 3 days.

From a man in the US:

My live-in girlfriend suffered from severe cramps and depression for 2 to 3 days a month during her period. She did not smoke pot until I suggested it might help out with this, since watching her suffer was agonizing for me too.

The results were even better than expected, and she continues to smoke pot for this condition. She did do some rare occasional recreational smoking, but every cycle the pot would make her life considerably easier.

She has since moved to a state where anti-pot laws are severe, so she often does without for this reason.

And finally, from a teenager:

Dear Dr Kate, I have smoked up since I was 14. Now I’m 17. My mom found out and so I had to stop, but when it’s that time of the month, I sneak over to my friend’s house if she has some, because it really helps the cramps and headache.

Herbal remedy experts

In my studies of herbal remedies and natural healing methods I have found only a small handful of herbal expert writers courageous and honest enough to include cannabis in their repertoires.

One of these is the late,great Dr John R Christopher, author of School of Natural Healing, the greatest herbal and natural healing instructive text. He and other early herbalists call cannabis by the name Indian Hemp, but there is no doubt they are referring to the medicinal herb.

Dr Christopher lists cannabis in 11 different categories of usefulness, including Hypnotic, Antispasmodic, Analgesic, and Emmenagogue, which is described as follows:

Herbs that are female correctives to the reproductive organs, which stimulate and promote a normal menstrual function, flow and discharge.

Susun Weed is the only prominent herbalist of our time who is brave enough to speak up in defense of the much-slandered herb. She also explains that cannabis as an important emmenagogue, and describes the benefit of a couple of puffs of nice, warm bronchial-dilating smoke as “good exercise for the lungs.”

I quote her “Wise Woman” philosophies often, because they are full of common-sense insights and down-to-earth wisdom. She has knowledge only experience can bring. Susun is revered among midwives and natural women of all ages who want to take responsibility for their own bodies.

Dr Kate can be reached by email at: galbraithe@upanet.uleth.ca.

Home Remedies and Natural Cures for Menstrual Cramps Treatment
From HomeRemedies.com

Menstrual Cramps Home Remedy Using Heating Pads
Many women have found that a heating pad placed on your lower back or abdomen helps to ease the pain and discomfort of menstrual cramps. If you don’t have a heating pad, one can be easily made by filling a sock with flaxseeds or uncooked rice and heating it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.

Menstrual Cramps Home Remedy Using Chamomile
Chamomile is widely used to treat gynecologic complaints such as menstrual cramps and discomfort related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Add 2 teaspoons of dried Chamomile flowers to a cup of boiling water and let it steep for at least 5 minutes. If you are using a package of Chamomile tea bags, then follow the directions as stated on the box. Honey or sugar can be added for taste. A good preventive measure is to start drinking Chamomile tea a couple of days before you are expecting your period, and then drink at least 2 cups everyday during your period. It also feels great if you use your hot mug as a hot compress for your lower abdomen while you are drinking it.

Vitamins and Minerals for Treating Menstrual Cramps
Foods and supplements that are rich in B-vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and zinc have been found to reduce the pain, bloating and other symptoms of menstrual cramps.

In particular, calcium is known to help maintain muscle tone as well as prevent cramps and pain. For most women, a daily intake of 800 mg of calcium is recommended, which can be found in 3 cups of milk. Increasing magnesium is also recommended, since it helps the body absorb calcium. Good sources of magnesium include beans, whole wheat, tofu, salmon, shrimp, nuts, and vegetables.

Regular Exercise as a Natural Cure for Menstrual Cramps
Exercise is considered to be a natural way to reduce muscle tension and elevate one’s mood. Therefore, maintaining a regular exercise program, including something as simple as walking for 20 minutes each day, can help reduce the severity of menstrual cramps.

Ginger Root Tea to Relieve Menstrual Cramps
Ginger root has been found to help relieve the pain associated with menstrual cramps. Therefore, a simple soothing herbal tea can made from Ginger as follows:
Slice a handful of ginger root
Let the pieces simmer in boiling water for 15 minutes
Using a strainer, pour the tea into a drinking cup or mug
Add some honey as a natural sweetener if desired