Magical Marijuana

I interviewed local herbalist Wendy Read about the “Magical Marijuana” that our Northern California community has a special relationship with during my fifth episode of “The Positive Fantastic” podcast. Read is the founding force behind The Caretaker’s Garden Healing Sanctuary and Apothecary in Boonville, California.

Read and I met through our various connections to herbalism in Mendonesia. We both attended and taught at “The Motherland,” a much beloved herb school for decades. We also have both attended and worked at The Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium.

After I published my debut novel Wildfire Weeds Read hosted an author talk with me at The Caretaker’s Garden in 2019. Sipping tea and smoking joints, we had a lively group discussion about fire ecology, indigenous fire wisdom, and the unfolding shifts in the cannabis industry.

This Winter, I had the pleasure of diving into an in depth conversation with Wendy about the ways herbalism can be helpful during this Covid pandemic. In particular, she highlighted the ways that cannabis has important implications for the presentation and treatment of various aspects of the Covid virus.

Not only does cannabis offer a medicine that can support health and healthy immune response, but Read explored how cannabis can also help with the spiritual difficulties we’re all facing through this global pandemic time.

I hope that you’ll check out “The Positive Fantastic” podcast & listen to this fifth episode that we created to support everyone’s healing.

Also, I put together a short video slideshow of the Apothecary and Sanctuary. Enjoy some sneak peeks into The Caretaker’s Garden that shows the beautiful space Wendy has created over the years.