I chewed on one shy blue cannabis chewy bear to help me sleep last night and one Cannabis orange chewy this morning to see if Cannabis is as good for people with diabetes two as the researchers have been saying.

Cannabis can treat brain concussions well and significantly lower my blood sugar; that’s worth a look. It’s also highly recommended – I saw rave reviews everywhere – for people with trouble sleeping. That’s me.

One strain – the blue package – is said by many users to help people get to sleep and stay there for a while. Since the brain injury, I’ve had trouble sleeping; my head is spinning, and my back is still tender and painful. I asked a doctor if she would recommend this to me, and she said start slow and work your way up if necessary. She thought it was a good idea to try. She also heard very good things about it as a medical treatment.

Last night was a good time to start the experiment; I took one sleeping aid gummy two hours before bedtime and saved another in case I woke up, which I usually do around 3 or 4 a.m.

The sleep gummy worked beautifully; I immediately fell asleep and didn’t wake up for five or six hours. That was a very good start.   I can’t wait to meditate on this gummy bear.

The second gummy bear helped me go back to sleep instantly, which I rarely can do. That felt oddly good; it was also great for my sleep apnea mask and health.

This morning, I foolishly took a daytime gummy bear that promotes feeling steady and mellow and supports energy. This is better for weekends and evenings or dinners with friends. It sure did relax me, but it felt like I was sometimes sailing over the moon. And I had a tiny dose.

But I don’t need to be mellow when I write in the morning. And I like to be able to follow conversations with others. I can’t say it wasn’t pleasant. I can’t imagine a much bigger dose.

This differed from the overnight cannabis. I felt like floating on Mars in the morning, happy, calm, and utterly disconnected. Maria could not stop laughing. Neither could my blog Zoomers.

My spinning worsened shortly after taking the pill this morning, and I was hosting the Zoom conference for eight blog readers.

It was strange – we have become good, trusting friends and talk weekly. It was pleasantly bizarre, a dream. Strange thoughts were coming out of my mouth and disappearing.

Everyone was laughing, and I was on Mars. It would have been lovely if I could have sat on the chair.  I was there, but really, elsewhere.

But I struggled to converse with my friends or hear what they said. Maria was laughing all through this, and so, eventually, was everyone else. I think.

I don’t remember all that much about it.

Here’s an odd thing I do remember: when I began a sentence, I could no longer recall what it said at the beginning and got to the end.  I just ran out of gas. I had no idea what anyone was saying to me or what I was saying back. My words sounded like gibberish. Maria gracefully moved in to take my place, and the conversations continued happily. I was asleep while awake.

When I went to the cannabis shop in a shed outside Saratoga Springs, it felt shady. It is hard for me to believe it’s so legal; I was by far the oldest person in the shed; young couples in their late 20s and 30s came pouring in a steady stream.

There was nobody nearly my age, let alone one who was a big unsteady when his head moved. I was fine in the car. To the kids, this was no big deal. I was in awe of being able to do that, I just really decided to do it yesterday. And I have to move fast on my ideas, perhaps because I’m getting older and closer…..

My prissy bank refused to accept a credit card payment to any cannabis store, so I had to drive to a convenience store for the money. I asked the young woman selling the cannabis for guidance, but she didn’t offer much.

The kids in line were happy to help me. They said to start small and be thoughtful and observant. Taking the tiny amounts I was taking would not cause any trouble; just be aware of any side effects.

Apart from the fuzziness this morning, there were none tonight, and I feel none now. I’m going for the sleep gummies again, not the others.

I was quieter and calmer in the morning; it was confusing but also felt pleasing and calming. There was something peaceful about it. And something mysterious and even dark.  I’ll continue to use the night gummies; I don’t think I’ll take the other kind during work and weekdays.

There were no effects when a friend came to take me to lunch. We had a lovely time. He did say I looked great and seemed unusually cheerful. Hmmm….

The amounts I am taking – 5 mg – are not addictive, and even so, I don’t plan to take them every day. This is the smallest dose of cannabis I can buy.

I became addicted to Valium, which I took for more than 30 years to sleep at night, and I do not intend to get addicted to anything new.

I see this as potentially a new and experimental tool to get as healthy as possible while I age faster than I understand.

I last tried marijuana during the pre-Trump/DeSantis/Mussolini world when we boomers thought we would be free, change the world, experiment with life, and choose our lives.

That’s no longer allowed or even legal in Florida and many other states.

I never expected it could be a valuable part of my diabetes care.

This was what one medical site said about Cannabis and diabetes: “THCV and CBD have been shown to improve metabolism and blood glucose in human and animal models of diabetes. A 2016 study found that THCV and CBD decreased blood glucose levels and increased insulin production in people with type 2 diabetes, indicating a “new therapeutic agent for glycemic control.”

I do not offer or accept medical advice when dealing with strangers on social media or when listening to their prescriptions, remote diagnoses, or personal experiences.

No one stranger, sitting behind a  faraway computer, can know what is best for me or tell me their Uncle Harry or Aunt Cynthia had the same problem and took the same medicines and had the same reactions. No one can say that over a screen.

I will share what I am learning; I don’t and can’t endorse anything; I can only talk about how experiences affect me. We each carry the weight of our freight – and fate –  when the water rises and the lightning gets close.

The government and the public health and medical worlds – and my doctors –  are endorsing Cannabis more and more for more and more things, from pain to cancer to brain injuries and depression.

Maria was shocked at how quickly I embraced the idea; I’m an old fart in the body, I said, but not in the brain. She said she loved me for being open to change.

The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, first passed in 2014, prohibits federal prosecution of individuals complying with state medical cannabis laws. The recreational use of Cannabis has been legalized in 23 states, three U.S. territories, and D.C.

Marijuana. still has a musky feeling to me; for most of my life, it was a crime to use it. Millions of people went to jail for doing what I did this morning legally. (My bank refused to let my debit card for it; I guess they disapprove. I had to go to a convenience store and use their cash machine. Each package cost $30.)

All year, I have been working hard on improving my health and the prospect of some great years ahead with Maria. I’ve made some significant progress.

Doctors have rebuilt my collapsed foot, amputating an extensive toe-threatening infection and straightening two toes that were not straight. A big kidney stone was blown out of my body by air guns.

In addition, an orthopedic wizard custom-built a heavy brace that is enabling me to walk again daily, assuming my baned-up brain will cooperate soon. For now, it’s rest and more rest, some great reading, and the best company a person could have – Maria.

I’m getting increasingly on top of my diabetes with effective new medications and a continued study of nutrition.

There is so much good information online if I look there and remember to never listen to strangers on social media giving medical advice.

Maria and I laugh, love, and argue for a good chunk of every day.

But she gets all of her planned work done and more. We are careful about that. It’s the best and most satisfying fun. Creativity is our faith, and we follow it every day.

So, I’m adding Cannabis to my arsenal. Doesn’t the wheel turn and turn? I was smoking marijuana as a  teacher and neophyte reporter, and here I am, at 76, trying it again in a different context.

I’ll share the experiment; it will take over a day or two to know if it works.

So where does Cannabis, the newly legal healthcare sensation, come into this? I’ve had marijuana, as it used to be called.

Once was enough it was roughly 60 years ago when I jumped on a riot policeman’s back to get him to stop beating on my roommate Mathew, a pacifist who meant no harm and offered no resistance.

The policeman weighed about 200 pounds, and I was a skinny skirt new to Manhatten and my first job, covering the riots against the Vietnam War in Washington Square.

It was my first and l last physical confrontation with a police officer, and I believe I had just smoked some marijuana in cigarette form, perhaps not the wisest move.

He knocked me on my butt, handcuffed me, and arrested me for assaulting a police officer. When we got to the police station hours later, he decided not to press charges, and a magistrate canceled a hearing.

Matthew moved out of New York, and I never saw him again. The officer shook my hands outside the precinct house and told me to be nice to police officers.

He said I made a lousy revolutionary.