While many of these medications save lives, they also come with a host of less desirable consequences: sky-high price tags, risk of addiction, and uncomfortable side effects. In hopes of protecting their patients from the negative side of prescriptions, an increasing number of American doctors are turning to the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, for inspiration. The result is a new kind of prescription, a literal walk in the park…on doctor’s orders.

Shinrin-yoku, the practice of mindfully spending time in the forest, started gaining ground in mainstream Japanese culture in the 1980’s.

But it’s roots stretch back far earlier than that. The idea that the human body is closely connected to the natural world—and can benefit simply by existing in it—can be found in the medical traditions of cultures around the globe. Both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda incorporate a version of earth-body connection in their teachings, and many other cultures encourage sun-baths, moon-baths, or river cleanses to heal a variety of ailments.

When the Japanese government saw levels of stress-related illnesses like anxiety and high blood pressure creeping up along with the rise of modern technology, they made shinrin-yoku a part of their national health program.

The move was ahead of its time: the World Health Organization reports that depression and other serious mental health disorders are on the rise in 2018, and that one in four people will be affected by a mental illness in their lifetime.

Scientific research provides solid support for the benefits of forest bathing. A forest walk is known to cause a greater drop in stress hormones and blood pressure compared to a similar stroll in the city. And much like aromatherapy, the scents of the forest can have a therapeutic effect on mood, blood pressure, and muscle tension. Other areas being explored by researchers include a link between forest bathing as a treatment for lung ailments, and the healing audio of birdsong. [Link to: TA article on birdsong]

Simplicity is a large part of forest bathing’s appeal.

Unlike other treatments that require expensive medications, trips to the doctor’s office, and risk unwanted side effects, forest requires, well…nothing. The whole point of forest bathing is to unplug and unwind, and simply be in nature. However for some, accessing nature isn’t as easy. For low income families living in urban centers, travelling to a forest might be an arduous or impossible task. For others with disabilities, physical access to outdoor areas may be a barrier to participation in forest bathing. These facts highlight that while forest bathing may be more accessible than a $3,000/month medication, it still is not the “magic pill” for everyone.

Another great thing about forest bathing is that you don’t need a prescription to try it out.

Simply walk into a park, forest, or other natural landscape, turn off your devices, and open your senses to the beauty of nature that is unfolding before you.

Yes, long before a tweet was a cringe-worthy echo from our nation’s capital, it was simply a sound that a bird made, a note in its song. And while most of us spend our time listening to the new, electronic tweets, we’re missing out on the therapeutic qualities of the old-fashioned tweet: birdsong.

A growing body of research suggests that birdsong and other natural soundscapes offer a variety of health benefits ranging from anxiety reduction to enhanced focus and performance at work.

In one experiment, a hospital in Liverpool, England played birdsong throughout pediatric wards where children were receiving treatments spanning from vaccinations to surgery. Researchers found that the soothing sounds of nature helped to calm the children’s nerves as they prepared for treatment, and distracted patients from pain and lingering side effects. The results, they said, not only provided immediate relief, but likely sped up recovery by reducing pain that would otherwise inhibit the process.

In another study, researchers played birdsong throughout an elementary school to combat the infamous “afternoon slump,” the period following a meal when digestion sends blood sugar and energy levels plummeting. With the presence of birdsong, researchers found students to be more focused and present, nixing the need for an afternoon nap.

Adults have been found to benefit from birdsong too: airports, banks, and other businesses around the world have turned to piping in birdsong to their establishments, after it was discovered that the calming sounds can significantly boost customer satisfaction rates.

In one particular instance, BP gas stations played birdsong in their restrooms to invoke the freshness of nature. According to BBC, it was an incredible success—causing customer satisfaction to skyrocket by a full 50%. I mean, if birdsong can make people actually enjoy a gas station bathroom…what can’t it do?

The many benefits of birdsong can be traced back through years of co-evolution between humans and birds.

Though we haven’t yet learned to speak a bird’s language, we’ve come to understand that when the birds sing, it means that we are free from certain dangers. Take the expression, “the quiet before the storm.” This famous line draws inspiration in part from the fact that flocks of birds will go silent before severe weather, either because they have hunkered down or have migrated elsewhere. This is thought to be because of birds’ sensitivity to sound and changes in air pressure—they can sense storms before the humans can see them.

Most birds also chirp heavily during the early morning in what scientists call the “dawn chorus.” It’s thought that humans, after hearing the dawn chorus for thousands of years, have developed an association between birdsong and starting anew. So not only can birdsong bring feelings of security to a listener, but also of hope and fresh energy to tackle challenges. Both phenomena can contribute to an overall enhanced mood, sparking curious psychologists to ask the question, what else can birdsong can do?

So, the next time you feel yourself slipping in to an anxiety-inducing Twitter scroll, try tuning in to mother earth’s tweet, birdsong, for some instant relief. While we can’t promise that it will make the other kinds of tweets get any better, it might help you cope in the meantime.

If you dig back far, far into your brain—a la elementary school and the awkward joys of middle school—you might remember the first time you learned that everything is made of something called matter.

And within this matter are tiny, swirling, electrically-charged particles called electrons (-), protons (+),  and neutrons (neutral).Ok, I get it—you didn’t come here to relive your middle school days. And especially not your middle school chemistry class days. So, I’ll cut to the chase: it’s this same elementary-level chemistry that’s behind “earthing,” a fast-growing eco-therapy being picked up by everyone from celebs to soccer moms. And its list of benefits? Almost too good to be true…

The healing power of earthing rests in an exchange of electrons, or electrical energy, between your body and the earth.

As we go through life, our bodies accumulate “free radicals,” positively-charged compounds that we pick up through contact with pollution, pesticides, heavy metals, and other toxic substances. While positive energy is usually a good thing, an excess of this kind of positive charge can actually be really destructive, causing inflammation that increases the risk of premature aging, chronic pain, heart disease and type-2 diabetes among other conditions.

Like many things in nature, Mother Earth developed a clever trick to fix this dangerous imbalance: Earth’s surface has a negative charge that instantly neutralizes the positive charge of the body, bringing it back to a grounded state and drastically reducing inflammation.

It sounds like the perfect system…except for the fact that many of our modern conveniences disrupt this natural flow of energy between the body and the earth.

Our shoes, homes, and personal electronics can block us from receiving the balancing energy that we need, or worse, introduce even more destructive currents into the mix. As a result, the positive charge in our bodies builds up, inflammation increases, and illnesses snowball.

Enter earthing, the process of deliberately connecting to the earth’s bounty of healing, grounding electrons. In its simplest form, the only things you need to do earthing correctly are bare feet and a patch of earth—even concrete will do, as long as it isn’t treated. And just fifteen to thirty minutes of “grounded time” each day can produce results.

But for those with an already packed schedule or who live in densely-populated areas, it can be hard to find the time and the place for even a short session of earthing.

Luckily, many companies have developed earthing mats, blankets, and other devices that plug into electrical sockets to deliver that balancing flow of electrons wherever you are.

Stuck at the office but need relief from the static energy? Try a discrete earthing mat, which fits underneath your desk and can ground you through even the most hectic of days. If you’re moving around for most of the day, you might want to check out grounded sleep pads. Placed on top of the mattress, these pads deliver all of the benefits of earthing without you lifting a finger—or losing a wink of sleep.

For the low to moderate level of effort that earthing requires, it delivers an incredible list of health benefits.

Not only does the grounding effect of earthing decrease inflammation and inflammation-related diseases in the body, but it can improve sleep, reduce anxiety, and promote an overall sense of wellbeing. It can even affect the viscosity of your blood—yes, the actual thickness of your blood—with a natural blood-thinning affect. This reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and improves circulation, contributing to a youthful, rosy glow. Plus, many professional athletes are known to sleep grounded or use grounded post-workout wraps to speed up their recovery times.

If someone who makes a living out of being incredibly fit trusts earthing to keep them going, then imagine what it can do for the average person.

If you weren’t a star student in middle school chemistry class, and don’t want to start understanding now, don’t sweat it. The great part of earthing is that it’s pretty simple to get started—and works whether or not you understand the science behind it. Just sit back, relax, get grounded, and feel the magic.

The hikers, nature lovers, and health enthusiasts have come from far and wide to experience a few of the many natural hot springs scattered across the American West. By soaking in the 120+ degree waters, they’ll tap into a centuries-old wellness tradition of thermal and mineral baths and experience a list of benefits that is nothing short of, well…magic. (New Mexico’s official slogan is The Land of Enchantment, after all.)

The Jemez hot springs are just one of many ways that people can try out balneology, the practice of healing illness with mineral water.

Balneology has roots in many indigenous cultures and can be traced 5,000 years through history to the Bronze Age, where it was used by the Greeks and Romans throughout Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. In Germany and Japan, mineral bathing remains a popular choice for the health-conscious, with millions of people visiting thermal/mineral bath spas each year.

But is it just magic?

Ok, fine—not really. There’s a lot of science behind it as well. Soaking in hot water is known to help improve skin conditions, relieve muscle tension, clear the mind, and give the immune system a boost. Researchers are finding that this is likely the result of “passive heating” provided by the bath. Passive heating occurs when the heat source is outside of the body, as opposed to active heating, when the body is generating its own heat (like breaking a sweat at the gym). This allows the body to reap all of the benefits that increased temperature has to offer, without the exertion of having to work for it.

One study on passive heating found that a 30-minute hot bath burned the same number of calories as a 30-minute walk, and that the 30-minute bath was actually more effective at regulating blood sugar levels.

When you add minerals into the mix, the promise for health benefits grows even stronger. Natural salts, calcium, iron, sulfate, and magnesium are among the minerals that can be found throughout natural hot springs and man-made spa pools. Though their exact effects are still being studied, it is well known that these minerals can make skin silky smooth. Some dermatologists believe that this also leads to healthier skin in the long term, as the minerals regulate the bacterial colonies that live on our skin surfaces and trigger acne, eczema, dryness, and other conditions.

The heat and mineral combination might even help our bodies absorb some of the minerals that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to, explaining a large body of non-clinical evidence that suggests mineral baths help to relieve muscle fatigue and speed recovery.

The great part about thermal and mineral baths is that—while spas and remote hot springs are pretty tempting—it’s pretty easy to recreate them in the comfort of your own home if you have a bath tub. Beauty brands like Pursoma offer mineral bath kits to get you started. Or, you can get creative with your own mix of minerals, maybe even adding in a few essential oils for an aromatherapy boost.

Of course, you’ll want to check with your doctor first to make sure you won’t be putting yourself at risk. And please, if you see a hot spring while you’re out hiking, don’t just assume that it’s safe to take a dip. Some hot springs, like those in the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone, National Park, can reach a scalding 459 degrees Fahrenheit…proving that while getting hot feels great, there is definitely such a thing as too hot.

To help consumers navigate information about popular herbs and herbal supplements, the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has developed HerbList – an app for research-based information about the safety and effectiveness of herbal products. It is launched through the National Library of Medicine’s app pages.

HerbList helps consumers, patients, healthcare providers, and other users to quickly access information about the science of popular herbs and herbal supplements including kava, acai, ginkgo, turmeric, and more than 50 others marketed for health purposes.

Users can access information on potential safety problems, side effects, and herb-drug interactions with additional links to resources for more information. They can also mark favorite herbs for quick recall and offline accessibility.

HerbList provides only scientific, research-driven information to provide consumers and health care practitioners with unbiased information to make informed decisions about supplement use.

“Providing an app for users is part of NCCIH’s effort to inform consumers and health care providers within the complementary and integrative health space,” David Shurtleff, Ph.D., acting director of NCCIH, said in a news release. “People are considering herbs and herbal supplements for various reasons, and it is important that they are aware of what the research says about safety and effectiveness.”

The app was built using NCCIH’s Herbs at a Glance webpage, a series of brief fact sheets that provide basic information about specific herbs or botanicals—common names, what the science says, potential side effects and cautions, and resources for more information.

HerbList is available to download for your iPhone or iPad from the Apple App Store or to your Android device via Google Play.

About the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): NCCIH’s mission is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and integrative health approaches and their roles in improving health and health care. For additional information, call NCCIH’s Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

But an unexpected force is driving medical marijuana legalization in the United States: America’s armed forces veterans.

The push by U.S. veterans to legalize marijuana is largely tied to the drug’s proven efficacy in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain, two of the most common afflictions of active and non-active U.S. service members. According to the Veterans Cannabis Project, a non-profit organization with the mission of increasing the accessibility of medical marijuana for veterans, up to 20 percent of active service members suffer from post-traumatic stress. In many cases, this stress leads to significant self-harm or suicide. The numbers are staggering: each day, an average of 22 veterans commit suicide. Chronic pain affects an estimated 75% of female veterans and 50% of male veterans. The two disorders appear to be linked: according to researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, up to 80 percent of Vietnam veterans with PTSD reported chronic pain.

Traditional medical practitioners doled out prescription medications as an attempt to address this epidemic in veteran populations, but in turn created an even larger epidemic. Veterans became addicted to many of the drugs that were prescribed, most notably opioids. According to Reuters, veterans are twice as likely to die from an opioid overdose than non-veterans. This coincides with the national epidemic of opioid abuse sweeping the nation.

Reuters also reports that opioid drug abuse has claimed more American lives than the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars combined.

Veterans organizations have taken to lobbying for the legalization of medical marijuana to treat PTSD and coinciding chronic pain, in hopes of providing alternative, less addictive treatment options for suffering veterans. Their efforts have been fairly successful. 29 states list marijuana as an approved treatment for PTSD. Prominent political figures across parties have also endorsed the use of medical marijuana to treat PTSD and chronic pain in veterans, an unusual occurrence considering the drug’s controversial nature.

Among the most prominent groups lobbying for the legalization of marijuana to treat PTSD and coinciding disorders is the American Legion, a traditionally conservative organization.

The American Legion is pushing not only for legalization, but for insurance coverage for patients seeking marijuana treatment. The New York Times recently reported that many veterans who are eligible for medical marijuana treatment are not able to receive insurance coverage for the treatment. This is likely due to the fact that marijuana, while legal in 29 states, is still a federally classified Schedule 1 drug, placing it in the same group as heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy. This makes possession/consumption of methamphetamine, “meth,” and cocaine a lesser offense than possession/consumption of marijuana. While it might be hard to believe – both meth and cocaine are only Schedule 2 drugs – a lesser classification than Schedule 1.

Unfortunately, due to the complexity of legislation surrounding marijuana and the evolving perception of the drug, it might be many years before it is widely accessible and affordable for veterans in all states. This means that veterans organizations and other allies in the legalization of medical marijuana likely have their work cut out for them.

This is partly due to the increased accessibility of marijuana with legalization of the drug across the country. Recreational marijuana is now legal in seven states, making the drug nearly as easily obtainable as alcohol – all you need is a valid identification that proves you are twenty-one or older. And medical marijuana is legal in 29 states. But is using marijuana safe for parents with children, especially young children, under their watch? And what are the risks that mothers and expectant mothers, in particular, face? Here are the pros and cons of using marijuana as a mother.
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PRO: Post-Partum Depression Cure?

Nearly 80% of new mothers experience some form of mood disturbance after giving birth, including mood swings, sadness, and irritability. One in nine mothers is diagnosed with postpartum depression, a severe mood disorder that causes prolonged withdrawal from family and friends, inability to eat and sleep, excessive mood swings, and difficulty bonding with the baby. Marijuana has been found to successfully treat postpartum depression, offering reprieve for mothers that are unresponsive or uncomfortable with traditional medical treatment.
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CON: Possibility for Birth Defects

For expectant mothers, however, marijuana might present more risk than potential benefit. According to the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Women’s Mental Health, smoking or using marijuana while pregnant may pose significant risk to fetal development. Studies have found that frequent marijuana use while pregnant is associated with low birth weight, increased risk of stillbirth, and cognitive delays in newborns.
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PRO: Anxiety Treatment

An estimated nine percent of mothers are affected by severe postpartum anxiety, and an even larger percentage of mothers will experience anxiety over the course of their lifetime. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, women are two times more likely to suffer from anxiety than men. Occasional marijuana use has been shown to decrease symptoms of mild to severe anxiety, as well as other related disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and impulse-control disorder.
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CON: Breast Feeding Hazard

Similar to the risks of using marijuana while pregnant, marijuana use during periods of breast feeding can pose health risks to newborn babies. When a new mother smokes or ingests marijuana, ultra-concentrated amounts of THC can reach breast milk deposits. According to some studies, THC levels in breast milk may be eight times higher than a mother’s blood THC content. If ingested, this THC-heavy breast milk can cause babies to produce evidence of marijuana in their urine for several weeks following. THC exposure in babies and young children can cause impaired motor development, muscle weakness, and brain cell damage.
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PRO: Bringing Partners Together

Couples who smoke together, stay together. Some couples report that smoking marijuana together decreases the frequency of arguments, and increases sexual satisfaction and intimacy with a partner. This can be especially useful for parents, as rates of relationship dissatisfaction increase two-fold when a couple has one or more children.
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CON: Social Stigma

Even though recreational marijuana has been legalized in seven states, and medical marijuana use has been legalized in twenty more states, marijuana use is still highly stigmatized in many parent communities. Some mothers who have shared their marijuana use with other parents have been, for lack of a better word, shunned – their children banned from interacting with others. This negative perception of marijuana could disrupt relationships for both parents and children.
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PRO: Alternative to Prescription Drugs

Prescription drug abuse among women has increased by 500% in the past decade. Now more than 18 million women over the age of 26 use prescription drugs for uses other than prescribed, and the rate of abuse is suspected to be higher in mothers than non-mothers. Marijuana offers many of the same benefits of prescription drugs, most notably pain-relief, with a far lower addiction rate and fewer withdrawal symptoms.
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CON: Potential Employment Risk

Even though medical and recreational marijuana are legal in some states, marijuana is still a federally classified substance. This means that your employer may reserve the right to terminate your employment if your use of the drug interferes with company policy. Mothers looking to try marijuana should thoroughly read their company’s drug policy before using to better understand the risks they face.

These findings come in part from a recent study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, which found that marijuana users have on average 20% more sex than non-marijuana users. Within that, sexual frequency increased as marijuana use increased.

That means more smoking, more sex.

Research also suggests that marijuana increases the complexity of neural pathways in the brain, improving one’s capacity to empathize and communicate with a partner. A study by researchers at Buffalo University found that married couples who used marijuana three or more times each month had a significantly lower rate of domestic violence than non-users.

Researchers have discovered that smoking marijuana, or “Mary Jane,” can offer married couples a wealth of benefits including:

• Enhanced sexual satisfaction
• Improved empathy and communication skills
• A decreased risk of domestic violence

Other studies, however, suggest that this relationship between sexual frequency and marijuana use is not without its limits, particularly for male users. One study found that the risk of erectile dysfunction for daily marijuana users is as much as three times as high for users than non-users. However – findings suggested the opposite for women.

 One study reported that 90% of women experience heightened sexual pleasure while using marijuana!

Like with most things – there is a spectrum of experience; for some, marijuana actually has the opposite effect, causing short-term social alienation, and feeling of being unable to relate to others. The differential factor – what makes some people react negatively and positively – is not yet known.

So, if you are considering trying marital marijuana, the lesson here is to proceed with some awareness, mindfulness, and a modicum of caution. Be communicative with your partner and see what works for your relationship. As they say, perhaps a puff a day will keep the divorce papers away.

Well, such a cure does exist, and it comes from a rather unexpected place: the cannabis plant.

That’s right, smoking marijuana can cure your hiccups – no lemon or pinching or sugar involved.

The finding comes from a 1998 study published in the Lancet journal, in which doctors used marijuana to treat an AIDS patient with intractable hiccups, a medical condition that causes hiccups to span hours, days, or even weeks. In this case, the hiccups developed after a minor surgery and lasted for a full nine days.

Doctors unsuccessfully tried a wide variety of treatments on the patient, including acupuncture, lidocaine injections, and valproate, a prescription medication used to treat epilepsy, among other conditions. They resorted to even stranger methods – including removing a hair from the tympanic membrane in the inner ear, and flooding the ear canal with the anesthetic Marcaine – before administering marijuana.

The first dose temporarily cured the hiccups, and the second made them go away for good.

Though it’s highly unlikely that your case of the hiccups is intractable (intractable hiccups are estimated to affect only 1 in every 100,000 people), this finding combined with other studies on marijuana provide good reason to believe that marijuana can treat your everyday hiccups.

Several studies show that marijuana is proven to reduce the intensity and frequency of muscle spasms, and a case of the hiccups is just a series of inconvenient spasms of the diaphragm muscle.

So, experiencing a stubborn case of the hiccups that you just can’t shake? You may want to reach for a lighter before reaching for that lemon.

Here, we break down the famous marijuana leaf…

First, the iconic marijuana leaf is not “marijuana.” Let me explain. Appropriately called a “fan leaf,” as its many points can stretch out to over eight inches in diameter, it belongs to the cannabis plant family, and can be found on many different varieties of cannabis plants. The large leaves offer an advantage for the plants by creating more surface area to collect sunlight for the plant energy-making process known as photosynthesis. But while these leaves are the plant’s largest source of energy, they are very low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical compound responsible for a marijuana “high.” Therefore, cannabis fan leaves are rarely smoked or used to produce marijuana products.

The highest THC concentrations in the cannabis plant are found in the flowers, which grow towards the top of the female cannabis plant.

These flowers are more tightly-packed than the sprawling fan leaves, and have a fuzzy appearance due to small resin glands on the flower surface. Flowers are the most commonly used part of the marijuana plant for smoking and production of marijuana products like edibles. Within the flower are cannabis seeds, which are not used for smoking but can be processed to produce THC oil, a popular ingredient in marijuana edibles.

Cannabis plants are not just for marijuana production. Marijuana is actually just a slang term to describe strains of cannabis specifically bred for their psychoactive properties. Other non-psychoactive varieties of cannabis plants can be used to make pretty much any product you can imagine. Shoes, drywall, automobile fuel, beauty products, diapers, and paper are only a few of the over 50,000 known uses for “hemp,” or strains of cannabis plants that have been bred specifically for their fibers.

These plants have little to no THC content, but pack quite the physical and nutritional punch.

Hemp seeds are rich in “good” fats such as omega-3s, and are shown to fight skin diseases, promote healthy hair and nails, and stop the growth of cancerous cells.

Hemp seeds can be sprinkled on a salad, ground into a flour for baking recipes, or processed to make hemp milk, a popular, nut-free alternative to other non-dairy milks such as almond milk.

Hemp fibers can be woven to create a fabric that is stronger than cotton, making hemp an excellent option for durable clothing, textiles, ropes, and shoes. For centuries, hemp was one of the most popular textiles for the creation of ship sails and artists’ canvases.

In fact, it’s likely that Columbus sailed to the Americas using hemp sails and hemp ropes, and that many of the classic paintings of Europe in the 17th century—such as those by Rembrandt—were painted on hemp canvas. Surprisingly enough, hemp used to be a major staple crop of American agriculture.

In the mid 19^th century, Kentucky was the leading the U.S. hemp production industry, churning out 40,000 tons of hemp each year.

So, what happened?

In 1938, the U.S. passed a law that made the production of cannabis illegal, as an effort to curtail the use of marijuana. Since marijuana and hemp ultimately come from the same plant, cannabis, and farmers were no longer allowed to cultivate cannabis plants of any kind for any purpose, both hemp and marijuana were made illegal. As such, hemp fell out of popular use.

Because of the variety of uses for the cannabis plant family, some believe that cannabis plants are one of the most sustainable crops available for cultivation, promising climate-friendly solutions to other more toxic modern materials such as rubber and metals. However, the legislation against growing cannabis combined with the public perception of cannabis as a drug has slowed the growth of it as a major industrial crop. With the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, it is quite possible that the stigmatization of the non-THC cannabis varieties could decrease, and hemp could once again become a viable production crop. Maybe then the truth would be out about the true complexity behind that iconic marijuana leaf.