Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A little history first: I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s and yes, I smoked pot (and yes, I inhaled). I dabbled in other recreational drugs and I was (am) an alcoholic. I quit drinking alcohol and using any drugs in 1981 - for the benefit of my then 6 year-old son. The last pot I smoked was strong enough that I swore I'd never smoke it again. I was so stoned that my apartment could have burned down around my ears, killing my son and I, because I was too stoned to move. So - 36 years have gone by and somehow I've gotten a hell of a lot older and I have a myriad of health problems. I live in Oregon, where medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries are legal. The whole country is up in arms it seems about the huge opiate problem. Well, you know what? I've been tapering off the oxycodone that I've been on for years that has done a good job of controlling my pain. I'm six weeks from being totally off of it and I'm hurting like hell. I have osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraines - and more. And I'm ready to try just about anything. What I realized as I started contemplating using marijuana again is that in the "good old days" we didn't measure THC levels or different ways to deliver the effects. We bought what someone told us would give us a good high and after that it was trial by error. This book was just what I needed to help me understand a substance I smoked prodigious amounts of but never really understood. There's a lot of science and chemistry written about in this book. But there's also a lot of easily understood useful information. The book is divided up into sections. It starts out with the history of marijuana use, talks about how different marijuana plants differ from each other, talks a bit about growing but the two sections I liked the most were: 1. Different varieties of marijuana plants, levels of the different components in each, best ways to utilize the pot (smoking, vaporizing, oils, tinctures, edibles and more), and best approximations for dosages. 2. Different types of physical ailments, diseases, or conditions marijuana can be used to help along with the best varieties for each of those conditions, etc. and best ways to utilize and dose for each condition, etc. I'm not 100% sold on the idea of using marijuana but I've gone from 100% against to probably 90% for. I still do want to discuss this with a couple of my doctors because of my complicated medical history, my history of addiction, and the long grocery list of prescriptions I take. This is a wonderful resource especially if you've been away from the scene for a long time like me or if you are a total newbie.