War God: Nights of the Witch (Chapter 12)

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This is the third of four extracts from my novel
War God: Nights of the Witch that I am offering free-to-read here on Reality Sandwich to mark the publication of War God in the US. If you have a Kindle (or the free Kindle app on your PC, Mac, I-Phone, I-Pad, Blackberry, Android, etc) you can download the complete novel from Amazon.com any time this week for just $2.99. Click here: http://amzn.to/15sPWRj. For War God in the UK, click here; http://goo.gl/VDyKK. For War God in Canada, click here: http://goo.gl/HmXq0. The free Kindle app is available here: http://goo.gl/AOm5q

This third extract is Chapter Twelve in which I introduce Shikotenka, like many of my characters a true historical figure and a man who is to this day regarded as a hero in his homeland Tlascala – once a fiercely independent mountain kingdom that resisted Mexica (Aztec) hegemony with great courage and determination. The Mexica preyed upon the Tlascalans for sacrificial victims and Shikotenka has been spying from a hideaway in a hillside on a huge Mexica army assembling to attack his people. His hiding place is discovered by Guatemoc, nephew of Moctezuma himself, who challenges him to a duel.

Chapter Twelve

Tlascala, Thursday 18 February 1519

When Shikotenka propelled himself out of the crevice he was ready for anything, his knife back in his hand and a snarl on his lips. To be sure, it had been agreed this was to be a matter of honour between knights, but he still half expected to be bludgeoned into unconsciousness. He’d long since learned the bitter lesson that any treachery was possible when dealing with the Mexica.

But Guatemoc hadn’t betrayed him. Draped in a shimmering cloak of turquoise cotinga feathers, the prince was strolling up the hill and singing, passably enough if somewhat out of tune, the lyrics of ‘I Say This’.

The song was well chosen. As famous amongst the Mexica as it was amongst the Tlascalans, it had been composed by Shikotenka’s ancient father Shikotenka the Elder and it contained an embarrassing reference to Shikotenka himself, which Guatemoc now recited: ‘My young son, you leader of men, a precious creature.’

Guatemoc looked back over his shoulder and gave Shikotenka a mocking smile. ‘Behold,’ he said, ‘the precious creature has emerged from its burrow. Creep in my tracks if you wish, oh leader of men, the long grass will hide you.’

Guatemoc was a head taller than Shikotenka, broader in the shoulder, heavier through the body and about five years younger, perhaps twenty-seven to Shikotenka’s thirty-three. He wore a mahogany helmet, painted gold, in the form of an eagle’s head. The jutting beak framed his handsome face, which was also eagle-like with a hooked nose and cruel mouth and bright, predatory eyes. His black hair tumbled down over his shoulders from beneath his helmet. In his right hand, held loosely, almost carelessly, was a long spear with a leaf-shaped obsidian blade. Strapped to his back, lodged inside a leather scabbard with only its handle protruding above the collar of his cloak, was his macuahuitl, the obdsidian-edged broadsword used both by Mexica and Tlascalan knights as their primary battle weapon. Shikotenka had come here to spy, not to fight, and for that reason was without his sword, but he didn’t worry unduly about the imbalance. The macuahuitl was an instrument for killing and dismembering opponents. If Guatemoc opted to use it he would be unlikely to end the fight with a live prisoner to offer to Hummingbird.

Shikotenka put his knife back between his teeth again and snaked silently on his belly through the tall, feathery grass that covered much of the hillside. It was a manoeuvre he had practised in a thousand training sessions, so it was an easy matter to circle past the Mexica prince and get ahead of him

When Guatemoc reached the hollow, Shikotenka was already there.

***

‘I’m not going to ask you how you did that,’ said Guatemoc. He stood at the edge of the grassy circle in the bottom of the hollow, ten paces from Shikotenka.

‘Put it down to my superior military training.’

‘If Tlascalan military training is in any way superior, then why do we Mexica so often defeat you in battle?’

‘I’d say it’s because you breed like rabbits and outnumber us ten to one,’ said Shikotenka. ‘On the rare occasions when it’s a fair fight with equal numbers, we Tlascalans always win.’

Guatemoc smiled but there was no humour in it. ‘I see one Mexica and one Tlascalan here,’ he said, ‘so let’s put your theory to the test.’ He removed his helmet and placed it on the ground, set down his spear and cast off his shimmering turquoise cloak. As well as his great advantage of height, Guatemoc had the broad, muscular chest, narrow waist and powerful sculpted legs of an athlete. He wore no armour, only a simple white loincloth and battle sandals. ‘We’re even dressed the same,’ he observed. ‘What could be fairer than that?’

‘You still have your macuahuitl,’ Shikotenka pointed out.

‘Ah yes. Of course.’ Guatemoc shook off the leather shoulder straps that held the scabbard to his back and laid the weapon down on the grass. In the same smooth movement he snatched a long, double-edged flint dagger from its sheath at his waist. ‘Knife to knife then,’ he said.

‘Knife to knife,’ said Shikotenka. He raised his own double-edged blade in a mock salute. ‘But will you tell me something first?’ he asked. ‘Something I’m curious about . . .’

‘By all means.’

‘How did you find me? I chose that crevice carefully. I was well hidden inside it. You shouldn’t have been able to see me there . . .’

‘Do you have a sweetheart?’ Guatemoc asked.

‘What?’ said Shikotenka. He couldn’t understand the sudden change of subject.

‘A sweetheart. Do you have one?’

‘You’re talking about a woman?’

‘Yes. Or a man if you’re that way inclined. A sweetheart. Someone who loves you.’

‘Well yes. I do . . .’

‘Girl? Boy?’

Shikotenka laughed. ‘Girl.’

‘And her name?’

‘Zilonen.’

‘Beautiful name. She’s the one that gave you to me . . .’

Shikotenka perceived an insult and his blood instantly boiled, but Guatemoc held up an appeasing hand: ‘Don’t worry, that’s not what I mean!’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m picturing a tender moment. After a night of passion Shikotenka and Zilonen are saying their goodbyes.

Shikotenka is a daring sort of fellow and he’s off on a dangerous mission to spy on the Mexica. Zilonen says, “Wear this charm for me, my love”, and gives him a silver amulet she has worn since childhood. She weaves it into Shikotenka’s hair. “It will keep you safe”,’ she says.

Shikotenka’s hand went to his long braided hair. He’d forgotten about the little amulet, but it was still there, still intact, still shiny, exactly where his wife Zilonen had placed it. He’d been a fool not to remove it immediately, but he’d felt sentimental about it. Now he saw how it had put his life in danger. ‘It was reflecting the sunlight,’ he said.

‘Like a signal.’

‘Really elementary mistake on my part,’ admitted Shikotenka.

‘That’s how I found you,’ said Guatemoc. And while he was still speaking, giving no hint or warning of his intent, without even a change of facial expression, he launched himself at Shikotenka across the ten paces that separated them, his dagger gripped point-down in his right fist, its long blade hissing through the air in a blur of criss-crossing diagonal slashes.

Shikotenka was unimpressed. He’d survived enough knife fights to know that speed, strength and technique were all very well, but what really counted was having the sheer malicious will to do as much harm as possible to your enemy. By all accounts Guatemoc was brave and cruel in battle, but Shikotenka knew there were limits to the damage he would want to do today when his overriding concern must be to win honour by bringing in a high-ranking living captive for sacrifice.

Shikotenka had no such distractions. He would not take Guatemoc prisoner. His only interest, the entire focus of his will, was to kill him now, quickly and silently, and continue with his mission. So he weaved and ducked before the furious assault, keeping his own knife hand back, not yet committing himself to a counterattack, waiting for the right moment.

‘It must be difficult for you,’ he said conversationally as they circled.

Guatemoc blinked: ‘Difficult? What?’

‘To be the most accomplished warrior in Coaxoch’s army and yet see his windbag sons raised above you as regiment generals.’

‘They’re welcome to the job,’ laughed Guatemoc. ‘I fight for honour not position, and I take my orders only from our Speaker.’

‘Oh yes, of course, your uncle! But tell me – as a brave Mexica, how can you possibly endure the leadership of that stuffed tunic? Why even Coaxoch is a better man than him!’

‘Moctezuma is the greatest Speaker ever to lead the Mexica nation.’

‘Come off it, Guatemoc! You don’t really believe that, do you? The man’s an arse. I know he’s an arse. You know he’s an arse. Why not just admit it?’

‘He’s a great man.’

‘He’s an arse. He’s going to put you all in the shit if you don’t get rid of him soon. That’s what arses do.’

‘I’ll not hear your filthy insults against my Speaker!’ Guatemoc feinted as though about to strike upward and predictably stabbed down, aiming to disable Shikotenka with a wound to the thigh.

Shikotenka danced away from the blade. ‘Perhaps the rumour about the Lady Achautli is true?’ he suggested. He made the face of a man who has tasted something sour. ‘It would explain your insane loyalty.’

‘You dare speak of my mother!’

‘Not I, Guatemoc, not I, but every gossip on every street corner, every merchant, every fruit-seller, every masturbating schoolboy speaks of your mother – and of your mother’s loins . . .’

A thunderous look had settled over Guatemoc’s brow. ‘You go too far!’ he warned.

‘Apparently those loins of hers were famously loose–‘

Too far!‘ Guatemoc roared, and lashed out with his knife – a curling right hook that whistled past Shikotenka’s neck, missing him by the breadth of a finger.

Shikotenka danced away another few paces. He could feel the joy of battle rising in him. ‘Apparently,’ he said, ‘the Lady Achautli wasn’t just bedding your father Cuitláhuac – that poor cuckold! – when you were conceived. The hot little hussy was also bedding his brother Moctezuma. Five times a day I’m told, when she could get it. So no wonder you’re loyal to him! He’s not just your uncle, he’s your father as well!’

As Guatemoc charged, making strangled, choking sounds, drawing his dagger up into a brutal overhead strike, time seemed to slow for Shikotenka, and muscle memory from many battles took over. He slid his left foot forward, punched his blade into his opponent’s exposed flank, scraped it across his ribs and swung it up to parry his strike.

The knives clashed and locked a span above Shikotenka’s head, and the two men strained against each other, muscles knotted, grunting like animals. Shikotenka found himself close enough to Guatemoc to see the mad cruel Mexica arrogance in his eyes and smell the distinctive metallic reek of human blood on his breath. Which of my brothers? he thought. Which of my sisters?

Knife fighting was all about deception, so Shikotenka allowed Guatemoc to use his superior height and weight to bear down on the fulcrum of the two blades, wanting him to focus his mind there. He waited . . . waited . . . until he felt the point of balance shift, then abruptly swept his own blade clear, letting the big man’s momentum carry him forward and down. Guatemoc rolled as he hit the ground, bounded back to his feet and came circling in again, but he was slower than before, blood was streaming from the wound in his side and he seemed to notice the injury for the first time.

Did he still seriously imagine he was going to take a captive here?

Guatemoc lunged and Shikotenka blocked, slid his left leg forward, trapped Guatemoc’s right knee behind his left knee, sliced the blade of his knife thrice through the soft flesh of Guatemoc’s right forearm to disable his knife hand and in a flurry of activity stabbed him in the chest and throat five times in rapid succession – Tac! Tac! Tac! Tac! Tac!

In an instant the bottom of the hollow had become a butcher’s shambles and Guatemoc was on his back on the grass.

A bright bubble of blood at the corner of his mouth, the faint rise and fall of his chest and the pulse of the big artery in his neck – miraculously still intact – were evidence that life still clung to his body.

***

Shikotenka stooped, knife in hand, whispering a brief prayer of gratitude that his enemy’s heart still beat. Ilamatecuhtli, aged goddess of the earth and death, required no temple or idol and would surely be pleased to receive such an exalted offering.

True the victim was no longer in perfect physical condition . . .

But while he lived he could be sacrificed.

Like the helpless Tlascalans sacrificed this morning. The smell of their blood still lingered on Guatemoc’s failing breath.

Cold, implacable rage seized Shikotenka as he remembered the slaughter and his impotence as he witnessed it. He positioned himself to split the prince’s breastbone, raised his knife and was about to make the first deep incision when a wet, choking rattle rose in Guatemoc’s throat, a great convulsion shook his body and his heels drummed out a furious tattoo on the ground. Blood spewed from his mouth and, with a final hideous groan, his breathing ceased, the pulse of the artery in his neck slowed and stopped and the spirit left him.

Unbelievable! Even in defeat the strutting Mexica had found a way to escape the rightful vengeance of Tlascala! It would have been justice to tear his palpitating heart from his chest, but now it was too late.

One could not meaningfully sacrifice the dead.

Keeping his knife in his fist, Shikotenka dropped to his haunches while he decided what to do. The thought occurred to him that he might cut out Guatemoc’s heart anyway and leave it on the grass beside his corpse. It would send a potent message to Moctezuma of Tlascalan contempt. There was a risk the body would be found in the coming hours, putting the Mexica army on high alert with potentially disastrous consequences for tonight’s raid, but that risk would be there whatever Shikotenka did. With so much blood about already it would be pointless to try to hide the body, so he might as well have the pleasure of inflicting this final humiliation upon it.

Again he raised his knife, and again lowered it.

The problem was he found no pleasure at all in the prospect of further humiliating Guatemoc.

Quite the opposite.

As he looked down at the still, broken corpse of the prince, his handsome face peaceful and almost boyish in death, Shikotenka realised that what he felt was . . .

This could be my brother.

This could be my friend.

To be sure, Guatemoc was Mexica, and belonged to the family of the hated Speaker. That was his birth. That was his fate. But he had also shown courage, chivalry, intelligence and ingenuity and had been, in his own way, amusing.

He’d not been as good a knife fighter as he’d imagined, though.

With a grunt of displeasure, Shikotenka stood, cast around and snatched up Guatemoc’s macuahuitl from where it lay nearby. He strapped it to his back, strode to the rim of the hollow, dropped on his belly and began to crawl furiously through the long grass towards the top of the hill a few bowshots above.

Dust filled his nostrils as he snaked upward. He passed through further hollows and gullies that hid him completely from view, but there were other stretches where the cover was thin and he felt dangerously exposed.

Shikotenka risked a glance back as he reached the summit and saw nothing to suggest he’d been detected by the Mexica army below. He crawled a few body-lengths down the other side of the hill to be sure he was out of sight, then stood and broke into a run. Soon he settled into the loping, long-distance stride that would carry him effortlessly over the ten miles of rough country to the forest where his squad lay hidden.

His spirits soared.

If things had gone according to plan he would have waited until nightfall to do this run, hidden by darkness from Mexica scouting parties

But war was the art of improvisation.

***

The above was the third of four extracts from my novel War God: Nights of the Witch that I am offering free-to-read here on Reality Sandwich to mark the publication of War God in the US. If you have a Kindle (or the free Kindle ap on your PC, Mac, I-Phone, I-Pad, Blackberry, Android, etc) you can download the complete novel from Amazon.com any time this week for just $2.99. Click here: http://amzn.to/15sPWRj. For War God in the UK, click here; http://goo.gl/VDyKK. For War God in Canada, click here: http://goo.gl/HmXq0. The free Kindle app is available here: http://goo.gl/AOm5q

 

 

 



Image by El Bibliomata, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing. 

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The Ayahuasca Experience
Ayahuasca is both a medicine and a visionary aid. You can employ ayahuasca for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual repair, and you can engage with the power of ayahuasca for deeper insight and realization. If you consider attainment of knowledge in the broadest perspective, you can say that at all times, ayahuasca heals.

 

Trippy Talk: Meet Ayahuasca with Sitaramaya Sita and PlantTeachers
Sitaramaya Sita is a spiritual herbalist, pusangera, and plant wisdom practitioner formally trained in the Shipibo ayahuasca tradition.

 

The Therapeutic Value of Ayahuasca
My best description of the impact of ayahuasca is that it’s a rocket boost to psychospiritual growth and unfolding, my professional specialty during my thirty-five years of private practice.

 

Microdosing Ayahuasca: Common Dosage Explained
What is ayahuasca made of and what is considered a microdose? Explore insights with an experienced Peruvian brewmaster and learn more about this practice.

 

Ayahuasca Makes Neuron Babies in Your Brain
Researchers from Beckley/Sant Pau Research Program have shared the latest findings in their study on the effects of ayahuasca on neurogenesis.

 

The Fatimiya Sufi Order and Ayahuasca
In this interview, the founder of the Fatimiya Sufi Order,  N. Wahid Azal, discusses the history and uses of plant medicines in Islamic and pre-Islamic mystery schools.

 

Consideration Ayahuasca for Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Research indicates that ayahuasca mimics mechanisms of currently accepted treatments for PTSD. In order to understand the implications of ayahuasca treatment, we need to understand how PTSD develops.

 

Brainwaves on Ayahuasca: A Waking Dream State
In a study researchers shared discoveries showing ingredients found in Ayahuasca impact the brainwaves causing a “waking dream” state.

 

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a pro cannabis Peruvian Shaman.

 

Ayahuasca Retreat 101: Everything You Need to Know to Brave the Brew
Ayahuasca has been known to be a powerful medicinal substance for millennia. However, until recently, it was only found in the jungle. Word of its deeply healing and cleansing properties has begun to spread across the world as many modern, Western individuals are seeking spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. More ayahuasca retreat centers are emerging in the Amazon and worldwide to meet the demand.

 

Ayahuasca Helps with Grief
A new study published in psychopharmacology found that ayahuasca helped those suffering from the loss of a loved one up to a year after treatment.

 

Ayahuasca Benefits: Clinical Improvements for Six Months
Ayahuasca benefits can last six months according to studies. Read here to learn about the clinical improvements from drinking the brew.

 

Ayahuasca Culture: Indigenous, Western, And The Future
Ayahuasca has been use for generations in the Amazon. With the rise of retreats and the brew leaving the rainforest how is ayahuasca culture changing?

 

Ayahuasca Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
The Amazonian brew, Ayahuasca has a long history and wide use. Read our guide to learn all about the tea from its beginnings up to modern-day interest.

 

Ayahuasca and the Godhead: An Interview with Wahid Azal of the Fatimiya Sufi Order
Wahid Azal, a Sufi mystic of The Fatimiya Sufi Order and an Islamic scholar, talks about entheogens, Sufism, mythology, and metaphysics.

 

Ayahuasca and the Feminine: Women’s Roles, Healing, Retreats, and More
Ayahuasca is lovingly called “grandmother” or “mother” by many. Just how feminine is the brew? Read to learn all about women and ayahuasca.

What Is the Standard of Care for Ketamine Treatments?
Ketamine therapy is on the rise in light of its powerful results for treatment-resistant depression. But, what is the current standard of care for ketamine? Read to find out.

What Is Dissociation and How Does Ketamine Create It?
Dissociation can take on multiple forms. So, what is dissociation like and how does ketamine create it? Read to find out.

Having Sex on Ketamine: Getting Physical on a Dissociative
Curious about what it could feel like to have sex on a dissociate? Find out all the answers in our guide to sex on ketamine.

Special K: The Party Drug
Special K refers to Ketamine when used recreationally. Learn the trends as well as safety information around this substance.

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

Ketamine vs. Esketamine: 3 Important Differences Explained
Ketamine and esketamine are used to treat depression. But what’s the difference between them? Read to learn which one is right for you: ketamine vs. esketamine.

Guide to Ketamine Treatments: Understanding the New Approach
Ketamine is becoming more popular as more people are seeing its benefits. Is ketamine a fit? Read our guide for all you need to know about ketamine treatments.

Ketamine Treatment for Eating Disorders
Ketamine is becoming a promising treatment for various mental health conditions. Read to learn how individuals can use ketamine treatment for eating disorders.

Ketamine Resources, Studies, and Trusted Information
Curious to learn more about ketamine? This guide includes comprehensive ketamine resources containing books, studies and more.

Ketamine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to ketamine has everything you need to know about this “dissociative anesthetic” and how it is being studied for depression treatment.

Ketamine for Depression: A Mental Health Breakthrough
While antidepressants work for some, many others find no relief. Read to learn about the therapeutic uses of ketamine for depression.

Ketamine for Addiction: Treatments Offering Hope
New treatments are offering hope to individuals suffering from addiction diseases. Read to learn how ketamine for addiction is providing breakthrough results.

Microdosing Ketamine & Common Dosages Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing ketamine.

How to Ease a Ketamine Comedown
Knowing what to expect when you come down from ketamine can help integrate the experience to gain as much value as possible.

How to Store Ketamine: Best Practices
Learn the best ways how to store ketamine, including the proper temperature and conditions to maximize how long ketamine lasts when stored.

How To Buy Ketamine: Is There Legal Ketamine Online?
Learn exactly where it’s legal to buy ketamine, and if it’s possible to purchase legal ketamine on the internet.

How Long Does Ketamine Stay in Your System?
How long does ketamine stay in your system? Are there lasting effects on your body? Read to discover the answers!

How Ketamine is Made: Everything You Need to Know
Ever wonder how to make Ketamine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how Ketamine is made.

Colorado on Ketamine: First Responders Waiver Programs
Fallout continues after Elijah McClain. Despite opposing recommendations from some city council, Colorado State Health panel recommends the continued use of ketamine by medics for those demonstrating “excited delirium” or “extreme agitation”.

Types of Ketamine: Learn the Differences & Uses for Each
Learn about the different types of ketamine and what they are used for—and what type might be right for you. Read now to find out!

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

MDMA & Ecstasy Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to MDMA has everything you want to know about Ecstasy from how it was developed in 1912 to why it’s being studied today.

How To Get the Most out of Taking MDMA as a Couple
Taking MDMA as a couple can lead to exciting experiences. Read here to learn how to get the most of of this love drug in your relationship.

Common MDMA Dosage & Microdosing Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing MDMA.

Having Sex on MDMA: What You Need to Know
MDMA is known as the love drug… Read our guide to learn all about sex on MDMA and why it is beginning to makes its way into couple’s therapy.

How MDMA is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make MDMA? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how MDMA is made.

Hippie Flipping: When Shrooms and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Explore the mechanics of hippie flipping and how to safely experiment.

How Cocaine is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make cocaine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how cocaine is made.

A Christmas Sweater with Santa and Cocaine
This week, Walmart came under fire for a “Let it Snow” Christmas sweater depicting Santa with lines of cocaine. Columbia is not merry about it.

Ultimate Cocaine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
This guide covers what you need to know about Cocaine, including common effects and uses, legality, safety precautions and top trends today.

NEWS: An FDA-Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray
The FDA approved a cocaine nasal spray called Numbrino, which has raised suspicions that the pharmaceutical company, Lannett Company Inc., paid off the FDA..

The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Bioavailability
What is bioavailability and how can it affect the overall efficacy of a psychedelic substance? Read to learn more.

Cannabis Research Explains Sociability Behaviors
New research by Dr. Giovanni Marsicano shows social behavioral changes occur as a result of less energy available to the neurons. Read here to learn more.

The Cannabis Shaman
If recreational and medical use of marijuana is becoming accepted, can the spiritual use as well? Experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews Hamilton Souther, founder of the 420 Cannabis Shamanism movement…

Cannabis Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to Cannabis has everything you want to know about this popular substances that has psychedelic properties.

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a procannabis Peruvian Shaman.

CBD-Rich Cannabis Versus Single-Molecule CBD
A ground-breaking study has documented the superior therapeutic properties of whole plant Cannabis extract as compared to synthetic cannabidiol (CBD), challenging the medical-industrial complex’s notion that “crude” botanical preparations are less effective than single-molecule compounds.

Cannabis Has Always Been a Medicine
Modern science has already confirmed the efficacy of cannabis for most uses described in the ancient medical texts, but prohibitionists still claim that medical cannabis is “just a ruse.”

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