This is one of the books I’d like to say is crucial to anyone who is thinking of trying cannabis medicinally to treat Crohn’s / UC / inflammatory bowel disease symptoms. You hear a lot about CBD from other more recent books. This book was written in ’96 and touches on a lot of things that newer books do not. The author is 75-year-old Joan Bello, beenhas been at the forefront of cannabis activists and education, dedicating her life to researching everything about cannabis and then passing along that information to others, especially those who are ill and those who are in a position to help the ill by using the plant’s many applications for illness and disease. Just a few listed on the cover are: “Marijuana therapy for psychological problems, anxiety, PTSD, Alzheimer’s disease. One hundred testimonials from the sufferers of chemotherapy, epilepsy, alcoholism, asthma, glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, ADD, Arthritis, acute pain, and many ther illnesses.”
This book talks a lot about the Cannabis and it’s relationship to the Autonomic Nervous System, which I’ll talk more about in the future.
She’s written and co-authored such books as:
‘How Marijuana Cures Cancer’
‘Introduction to the Yoga of Marijuana’
‘Cannabis & Spirituality’
‘The Yoga of Marijuana’
Below is an excerpt from the first chapter.
‘Medicine for the Whole World’
“So many people, in all walks of life, from all social strata, in every country of the world, from the young to the old (for as long as there has been recorded history) have been and are now partakers of marijuana. They may have considered their enjoyment solely recreational without understanding that this magnificent natural remedy is actually and undeniably (in the strictest sense of the word) a medicine. It is “a substance used to treat disease,” where disease is literally loss or lack of “ease” (which defines disruption of the entire person: body/mind/spirit). Marijuana as a medicine is especially needed in today’s stress-filled, fast-paced, competitive, and insecure manner of daily living. As the way marijuana works,(i.e., in complete compatibility with the healthy functioning of all facets of humanness) becomes clear from the numerous, varied and divided segments of the marijuana population who spouse the employment of Cannabis for different purposes, will realize that medicinal, recreational, and sacramental utilization of this plant are identical. To be healthy is to be happy is to be holy, all of which are connected with Cannabis. Although modern life has divided up the threefold nature of man and woman, in fact, there is no division. Our bodies are temples of the Divine, to be kept in the utmost health, and our minds are the tools by which we recognize the essential values – if we are happy. The path of righteousness and happiness it the Medicine Path!
This book barely addresses the healing that hemp/marijuana could contribute to the deforestation, pollution, and devastation of our diseased planet. Not only is Cannabis a superior medicinal remedy for every facet of imbalance in the human organism, but it also has the potential of serving as a holistic medicine of limitless extensions for healing the earth itself.
Those of us who know the truth have a choiceless commitment to expose it. Our commitment runs as deep as our souls. We enjoin you to further your knowledge and take your place among us.”
‘The Benefits of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological & Spiritual’
by Joan Bello
copyright 1996, 2000, 2008 by Joan Bello
–Front cover caduceus by Steve Willis
–Illustrations by Barbra Haynes
Endorsed by former senior editor & executive of High Times, Dean Latimer, saying, “If you would like to be one of those people who seem to know everything important there is to know about marijuana, this is the book you ought to read… Bello presents it all with balance, lucidity, and a sort of calm spirituality that you rarely encounter… It’s the sort of book you an dip into at random, absorbing nonconsecutive sections at your leisure.”
Dick Cowan, former Director of NORML, (‘The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws‘: Since 1970).
Click here to listen to author Joan Bello speak more on her book, her involvement as a cannabis activist, and more about the autonomic nervous system on the podcast, “episode 62”, on the program, ‘Adventures Through The Mind’, with psychedelic writer and podcast host, James W. Jesso. Also available on Spotify & iTunes.
