Crystal -

I really wish that we could work in this society as a coop almost - work all together for the same end, sharing what we have and all working for it the best we can. Unfortunately, that won't happen. Small groups are possible, large fall apart (communism within countries, vs communities). It would help greatly with the cost of things, I think.

The feds eventually will back off. It's what happened with alcohol - the government made it illegal, but the push back and all the problems it caused were so big that it HAD to be changed back. But with cannabis, it was used so much less in general for food and medicines than alcohol and less widely used (percentage of people) in many ways (from what I understand) as well as the other drugs that were causing issues, that it was easier for it to be made illegal. Because of opiates being so popular, cannabis was not as popular anyways for pain at the time, anyways. If we keep working on education for all (including the safety precautions needed to be taken, such as caution with young brains epecially because of their growth rates being affected by cannabis or likely rather the THC).

I don't agree too much on the petro dollar theory, but I do agree that corporations are mostly in it for the money (they all start out to help or serve with their business as well as earn money, but later seem to just be about money like my company of 250K employees). The government has to keep it's funders and supporters happy to some extent, so that DOES affect how they regulate things, too. :/

Oh, and for big Pharma? Diabetes comes mostly from bad lifestyle and refusal to fix it. For those that FIX their lifestyle (weight, food, exercise), they reverse the disease and usually cure it. WITHOUT MEDICINE. Meds just control it to some extent - again, mostly depending on the patient willing to work with the meds and the course of treatment. Gout? Also activity and diet related. Colitis? Diet and activity related and stress. Depression? Diet, activity, stress. Heart disease? Diet, activity, stress. Oh, and sleep affects all these as well. Our lifestyle is the biggest reason we're so sick and diseased. I see it daily as a pharmacy technician for 5 years. I know personally a few patients who have reversed diabetes and heart disease issues just with exercise and diet. My depression is always better with better diet, sleep, and exercise. My migranes? Better with diet, sleep, and exercise. Stress levels too! Although they get paid more for sick people, they also lose tons of money on many of their generics they make (brands are what really bring in money for them). Heck, most generics come into the pharmacy for only a few dollars for a bottle of 100. How much money are they really making with THAT after paying for lables, bottle, manufacture, ingrediants, etc? But they do also help to NOT promote better lifestyle, that's for sure!