Here are some tips when picking a Designate Grower (DG) The volume on this video is very low so external speakers may be needed... or headphones ;)

I woke up last Thursday morning the way I usually do, tired and wanting a dab. I showered and started pumping music ( French Montana and a lil Bishop Brigante) while I did my hair. During all this hair doing and singing along I think I drowned out my phone ringing- OOPS! When a song changed, I noticed my phone was flashing so I put down my hair straightener and checked to see who's call I missed. My friend AND lawyer, Ron Marzel of Marzel Law had called me. He left me a text telling me about a fundraiser that evening - A fundraiser for AutismSpeaks.ca  Ron told me that he was attending and that he thought I should to. I was absolutely flattered by the invite and there was no way I was going to miss this event - so I didn't.  
    It was held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto, Ontario. There were about 400 people there including 2 Blue Jays Wold Series Champions - Kellly Gruber and Roberto Alomar. I was very moved by a woman who spoke of her 12 year old that just learned how to tie their shoe. It's common activities like these that parents like myself take for granted but to the parent of an Autistic child, it means the world. I could see it in the woman's face - and if she was looking at me, she would have seen how proud I was of her child too! After she spoke, the lights were dimmed and a video was put on for us to watch. Not even 20  seconds into the video I was covered in goose bumps and fighting back tears. The video was set to music and had a father of an autistic child, sitting with cue cards, in black and white. He was just holding up cue cards with words but those words were so real.  I have included the video in this blog so you can see exactly what I am talking about.
   During an intermission, Ron introduced me to many professionals and told them about creams and indigestibles I make with cannabis. Some looked at me with confusion like Ron was joking, others seemed much more interested. For those interested, I gave them little tidbits of information. I did not want to overwhelm them with information and lose interest, I wanted to  spark curiosity - and I think I did. I had to leave early because I had work the next morning but before I left I managed to introduce myself to a few people and give out some business cards.
     One of the reasons I want to tell the world about using cannabis for symptoms caused by Autism is because I have seen first hand how it can help.  A couple months ago I received a call from a woman who was at her breaking point. Her daughter was autistic (low functioning) and on many different pharmaceuticals to treat her autism. Her mother was worried about the side effects of the anti psychotic drugs her daughter's doctor had been prescribing to her. She wanted to know more about cannabis. She described her daughter's aggressive and sometimes self mutilating behavior to me. I told her about ingesting cannabis and how it could help relax her daughter. I continued, it may not completely "fix" the aggression problem but It could definitely help reduce the severity. Feeling like she had nothing to lose, she sought out cannabis. Not being a cannabis user herself, she was unsure of the amount to give her daughter but knew she needed to start somewhere. She gave her daughter a very tiny bit of cannabis to ingest (in the form of a cookie). The Mother saw her daughter's temperament change within the hour. Instead of repetitively hitting her mother and then leaving the room,  her daughter sat on the floor and tickled her own  hand and smiled - SHE NEVER SMILED!
     This is just one story of many. I know of another woman that rubs cannabis infused creams on the temples and neck of her child diagnosed with Aspberger's Syndrome (a form of ASD) She stated, and so did her child, that the cream helps with the pain and anxiousness. They also use it as preventative therapy for impetigo which she believes comes  from the repetitive hand washing and mouth rubbing her child does. 
    There are 2 great examples of how cannabis helped improve the quality of life for 2 people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder - and their families. 

   Approximately 1 out of 110 children will be diagnosed with a form of autism - Please give generously to AutismSpeaks.ca  
Losta Love! 
♥ Amy Anonymous ♥ 

   It all started when I checked my emails on my way to work on October 26th. I am part of a mailing list for activists in the cannabis community so I get emails about relevant issues and sometimes about people needing help. I saw an email with the title "Help from a Toronto activist/advocate." Feeling like that was right up my alley, I read on. 

     The email was about a 40 year old man in need of help. At 17, Kurt Gengenbach was in a horrible hockey accident. He broke his 4th cervical vertebrae after going head first into the boards. This accident left him  quadriplegic BUT not being able to move didn't stop Kurt from being in constant, excruciating pain. Kurt was licensed to medicate with cannabis but was having a hard time doing so. Not being able to move his hands to assist himself, he needed help.  His attendant(s) didn't want to subject themselves to second hand smoke so Kurt was really stuck. He could see the medicine he needed so desperately but could not get the relief from it as he can not pick up a pipe and light it by himself.   Keith Faigan from Calgary420 was the man who wrote the email.  He read about Kurt on Medpot forum and felt he needed to help. He spoke with Kelly from KDK Distributors and he agreed to give Kurt a HerbalAire vaporizer, free of charge, to help him out.(You guys frickin rock!) Now Kurt's attendants would have no excuse to not help him. 

     The problem was Kurt had never used a vaporizer before. He needed to learn how it worked so he could teach his attendants. I had actually never used a HerbalAire vaporizer before but figured it couldn't be that hard to figure out - so I sent Keith a message saying I would love to help. Keith thanked me ( and thanked me, lol) and forwarded me all of Kurt's information. I contacted Kurt right away. I didn't want to leave this man waiting to medicate any longer. He had the vaporizer in his possession already so Kurt and I worked out a time for the following day for me and a close friend to go to his place and teach him how to use it.
 
     We arrived at about 7:30. Kurt's attendant Mike was helping Kurt finish up his dinner. I introduced myself and my friend and asked where the vaporizer was so I could start setting it up while he ate his dinner.  The instructions said we had to let the manufactures plastics and stuff burn off for about half an hour before using it so we had plenty of time to chit chat. Kurt was not too familiar with the cannabis scene in Toronto so I told him about the vapor lounges in the city and the different dispensaries he could gain access to. 

     Before we started using the HerbalAire, I showed Kurt and his attendant the different pieces and parts of the unit and explained how they worked. The kewl thing about the HerbalAire is that it not only has a whip, it also has a bag attachment. I was really digging this machine and so was Kurt. We tried the whip first. After a few large inhales, we moved to the bag. I showed them how to hook the air pump up to the unit and how to attach the bag. We filled that bag until it looked like it was gonna pop. I held it to Kurt's lips while he happily inhaled all the cannabis vapor. He LOVED this machine!
 
     Before leaving I explained how to use the vaporizer a couple more times. He was confident he knew but I let him know he could call me anytime if he forgot.  I also told him about a new vapor lounge opening up called Vape On The Lake that was 100% wheelchair accessible and invited him to meet me there to hang out sometime soon.   I've spoke with Kurt a few times since being at his house. He's been using the whip to medicate. One of his attendants who wasn't so happy about the smoke was thrilled to see the HerbalAire vaporizer. Now there was no excuse to deny Kurt of his medicine. The other attendant will be addressed in the coming days....