Sunday we had a trip to the city planned, visit a few stores and see a couple of friends.
I had it in my mind how the day would go.  It went another way.
Storm and I had a good day and did see some people we have not seen in a while,  & it was great to say Hello and catch up a bit.
But the day had an event that really stuck in my head. Enough to draw it.

I suggested to Storm that we find an outdoor patio so that I could medicate. Which was badly needed. Young st. was busy - what else is knew... the level of poor was new, to me anyhow. Everything you see in the cartoon is TRUE and more.  It was a visual smorgasbord!   

The color, the people, the noise were slightly overwhelming as it is but when we finally found an empty patio and had just ordered a coffee, was about to medicate, I heard this strange beeping...  you know s sound you know but are not sure where....

I turned to see a woman in a hospital gown, no shoes on her feet... walking towards us - with an IV pole - she was hooked up. The blood backed up into the line connecting to her arm.  The machine on the IV pole beeping! 

I instantly thought of TIFF and thought it might be some stunt.. 
She walked right where we were sitting, when an EMT worker pulled up beside her and started to question her. We were sitting right beside her.

He was nice and asked her where she was going, he said she had walked 5 km from a hospital?!  5 km and no one stopped her? No one asked her where she was going or what she was doing. ;(  The conversation continued and he expressed concern about the IV Pole  stating a few times “it’s worth about $3,000...  “  I was thinking - buddy - she is in her hospital gown in the middle of young street attached to an IV POLE do you think she was thinking about the cost?

Well a couple of police cars later... she had slid down the railing where we were sitting almost within touching distance.. she did turn and say “sorry”

I told her she had no need to apologize.  I felt bad for her. She was here from Alberta, no family, at a shelter and sick., She had a bad infection and was in the hospital to get better. It is great in this country she can be treated!  I get it bout the IV Pole.. but really? What has played on my mind is the fact that he got so far. How sad. :( So many people just ignoring everything. stepping over the poor liek they re trash on the street. 

I bet people looked at her  when she was not looking and they thought she must be crazy. Who is cray? THOSE who see and do NOTHING are the closest to mad there is. No compassion.

I did not leave, We sat there. I at one point thought the conversation might have gone differently if she were alone. The other officer made a point about asking her is she had been in trouble and  also the cost of the Pole.
Then they talked about how they needed bigger cars. 

An ambulance finally arrived and she had to go back. Back to where she was so very tired of.  I don’t have the answers. Better security at the hospitals?

This cartoon is full of mental illness. Alcohol abuse. Sexual obsession,  Shopaholics. The rich and the poor. People together but a great percentage alone.  Many on phones. Obese people getting more obese on the takeout  Blvd. as they stroll past a woman begging for food. 

Everyone in their own world. 
NOT.   

WE ARE here TOGETHER!  One day that might be you! 

What is happening to you Toronto? Not the city I know and loved. 
That could easily be someone's sister or mother. 
I talked it over with a friend who work in the city and she said “you see so much so often you just learn to turn your head.”

I don’t think that is what Jesus meant when he said ‘Turn the other cheek’.
Forgive us, for we know squat.  ;( .
xox <>< 

There is a sign of hope in the cartoon. Can you find it?

Ignorance is bliss... ? How about when it is killing our kids? Still feeling blissful?

How about when you get a F*&^% twitch that drives crazy? Did you know it was a common side effect of one of earliest “mood” drugs approved by the  “who’s, who’s”
and pushed to the millions as ‘mama’s little helper’.  And tongue* darting...  lovely.
Twitches that never go away.   They made a pill to try,  but that just paralyzed motor skills.

Yep, it's reefer madness all over again.  When "they" first tried to tell us cannabis was bad for us they would make statements like: Marijuana will make white women like black men! It will make you crazy and go on killing rampages!  It will destroy your brain!! Some of the quotes past presidents have made are unbelievable, Ronald Regan actually said: 
"I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast."  
Tell that to Obama, who inhaled frequently.
The journey on Cannabis education for me opened my eyes to many things, some of which I would like to say I was happily ignorant and beautifully blissful; this is not the case anymore. 
So when I read  NOW- Cannabis causes schizophrenia- I looked into it.  This to me was the biggest joke to date. I wondered how they knew this and after reading time and time again - it appears it is NOT fact - far from it! It is a 'HUNCH' - a guess and a poor one at that. Well for any rational thinking human!  Turns out that the ONLY way to PROVE - scientifically* that Cannabis causes Schizophrenia is to follow each person studied for over 20 years.  ??? So I wondered- how the heck do they do that? THEY don't ! They follow up with them from time to time with a few questions - ARE you kidding me!? How can anyone make such a claim!  It would be just as easy for me to claim  about milk!  REALLY! 
They also note (in the fine print most times) that  there are other factors. 
SO the FACT is: NO they CANNOT prove Cannabis causes Schizophrenia- as a matter of FACT there is strong argument that young adolescence  who DO have pre-existing schizophrenia often learn early that Cannabis actually helps them control their condition. Don't believe me - Research it! PLEASE! I did.  Anyhow, I know there are many things, events, life lessons that have made me the person I am today - somewhat crazy - probably - but Cannabis was NOT one of them. 
*One little note to leave you with - Alcohol on the other hand is increasingly being tied (scientifically) with the rise of dementia in people. 
You sure don't see those headlines everyday!!


more on the subject: Study: Administration Of Non-Psychotropic Cannabinoid Mitigates Psychotic Symptoms In SchizophrenicsMannheim, Germany: The administration of the non-psychotropic plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) is associated with a significant reduction in psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, according to clinical trial data published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

An international team of researchers from Germany and the United States performed a four week, double-blind, randomized clinical trial assessing the clinical relevance of cannabidiol versus amisulpride, a potent antipsychotic agent, in patients with acute schizophrenia.

Researchers reported that the administration of either substance was associated with significant clinical improvement, but they acknowledged, "[C]annabidiol displayed a markedly superior side-effect profile."

Amisulpride is categorized as "one of the most effective drugs currently in use for the treatment of schizophrenia."

Investigators concluded, "Our results provide evidence that the non-cannabimimetic constituent of marijuana, cannabidiol, exerts clinically relevant antipsychotic effects that are associated with marked tolerability and safety, when compared with current medications. ... The results ... potentially represent a completely new mechanism in the treatment of schizophrenia."

A review of CBD's safety profile in humans, published online in 2011 in the scientific journal Current Drug Safety, concluded that the cannabinoid is non-toxic, safe, and well tolerated in humans, even in high doses.

Separate investigations of CBD have documented the cannabinoid to possess a variety of therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-cancer, and bone-stimulating properties.