Kitchen Apothecary with Sharon Letts

04/04/2025

Recipes on my website under Apothecary. Link in comments.

20/02/2025

For years I’ve been ordering organic dried herbs for apothecary from Frontier Co-op, through Amazon.

Frontier sources from small organic farmers, so, it makes no sense to order through a middleman such as Amazon.

Encouraging you to bypass the brokers and go directly to the sources of the shops you purchase from Amazon.

https://www.frontiercoop.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwtu9BhC8ARIsAI9JHak3g2JCNpaU-3tQeW5C3TGXlWOXPEXsQ7Xivfdz8HFydntQBWyFhJwaAi6GEALw_wcB

24/09/2024

20/06/2024

Thank you for nominating me for Journalist of the Year. Thanks for sharing.

14/06/2024

eCS love 💚

New tees & hoodies on Bonfire, link in comments.

04/06/2024

Going to the dentist today. Historically, not my happy place. Sharing this from my website/Sharon Blogs, about using various plant-based remedies for dental work prep and post. I won't use pharmaceuticals, only cannabis oil w/other healing plants.

With Cannabis, the Dentist is my friend.

Entry #3: January 25, 2017 (updated for this post)

“Since childhood I’ve been terrified to have dental work done... until finding cannabis and chamomile to help me through it - with great success!”

cannabis oil & coconut
The recipe for these caps can be found in the Apothecary page, under Chamomile.

My family spent vacations in Ensenada in Baja California getting our dental work done and riding horses on the beach (see American Stoner in Mexico essay). So, the dentists here were no stranger to me. Five years ago I had a filling done in Ensenada (cost $50 US), but used the Va**um typically needed prior for anxiety associated with the mental anguish I go through for these visits. This time, with the knowledge gained from past knee surgery (see Essay, Cannabis & Pain) and using only cannabis, I went into the visits armed with my favorite plant-based medicines, cannabis and chamomile (see Apothecary page with information on chamomile in this site).

The dentist was curious, as I showed him the cannabis oil capsules I had made, taking two prior to the procedure. Doctors aren't trained in plant-based medicine, unless they look into it themselves, and cannabis patients typically teach them via demonstration. I strongly encourage cannabis patients to share their anecdotal stories of healing, as it helps educate them while dispelling the myths surrounding the plant.

“Prior to taking the two caps with cannabis oil (mixed with infused coconut oil), I had to hold the assistant’s hand as he gave me the first local shot of anesthesia. My feet were kicking and my legs were moving. I thought I would break her fingers. Then, as the cannabis oil began to work its magic, I completely went limp into a full-body relaxation that’s hard to explain. Fully aware of what was happening, by the time a second series of shots was needed I didn’t even flinch.”
Part of my anxiety in the dentist's chair comes from severe bouts of claustrophobia. In past visits to the dentist I hyperventilated to tears, feeling like I was suffocating with hands in my face and tools in my mouth. This phobia began when I was held underwater in a swimming pool by a bully when I was nine years old. With cannabis, I'm able to fully relax in a "no worries" state-of-mind.

What started out as a teeth cleaning, ended up a major surgery as my fear of dentist (combined with lack of cash for pricey U.S. work) had kept me away from check-ups for too long. Stitches in two areas were necessary as a deep cleaning and scraping was inevitable.

The dentist offered me prescriptions of an antibiotic along with 800 mg. of prescription Ibuprofen, which I declined. In the five years since putting my breast cancer into remission using cannabis oil I have not had the need for any over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers - as I've had nary a headache since. For if you regularly ingest plant-based concentrates such as cannabis or chamomile, the natural anti-inflammatory and infection-fighting compounds keep minor ailments, such as headaches, at bay.

According to Drugs.com, Ibuprofen is commonly prescribed for peri-operative pain. The synthetic medicine is a NSAID, as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, though its mode of action is "not completely understood," according to the site. Side effects include "cardiovascular thrombotic events, myocardial infarction, and stroke, which can be fatal." They also have an "increased risk of serious gastrointestinal adverse events, including bleeding, ulceration, and perforation of the stomach or intestines, which can be fatal."

“My self-prescribed aftercare included RSO caps; mineral oil infused with chamomile; apple cider vinegar infused with chamomile; topical salve by External; and coconut infused caps with chamomile.”

After the procedure I mixed one tablespoon of chamomile infused apple cider vinegar (ACV) with a half a glass of water and drank it down.

ACV is a great preventive on its own, infused with chamomile it's a double dose of goodness. According to a paper published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, ACV has been used for thousands of years as medicine in wound care, preventing inflammation and infection, as touted by Hippocrates, said to be the father of medicine. He also coined my favorite quote: Make medicine thy food, and food thy medicine. It also aided in any digestive issues I may have had as a side effect of the anesthesia, as past bouts included extreme nausea and constipation.

I also did a rinse with the mineral oil infused with chamomile several times throughout the first day after the procedure. Chamomile has many beneficial properties that nearly mimic CBD (cannabinoid), a medicinal compound in cannabis, including staving off inflammation and infection that cause pain. It also takes the edge off of too much THC - which is why I added chamomile infused caps to my aftercare. (Visit the Apothecary page on website for more information on chamomile.)

Cannabis oil measures in at around 80% activated THC - which helped immensely in taking me to anther place under the knife. But too much can also cause anxiety, affecting the central nervous system, causing jitters and sometimes a lack of sleep, which is necessary to heal.

Directly after the procedure I had a surge of creative energy and began setting up the shots you see here. A favorite joke I remember from the 70s is, "cannabis forces us to be more creative than we really are," and it's partly correct. For someone like me who suffers bouts of hormonal depression (thyroid w/menopause), it can lift my endorphins to a better level and get me off my butt.

However, after a surgical procedure, the body needs rest to heal - hence the calming chamomile caps taken with the strong THC activated caps.

I slept the afternoon away and when I woke up in the evening I had no swelling, with the pain only a dull reminder of surgery. Before going to bed I took another cannabis oil cap and two more chamomile caps. By the next morning I needed only to rinse again with the chamomile mineral oil, completely doing away with any pain. As I write this it's the next afternoon and I've had no pain since.

Interesting to note, I did not want to smoke with all the ingesting. It just wasn't necessary. Actually, in treating my depression (hormonal from thyroid/menopause) I've found that if I ingest enough chamomile and cannabis on a regular basis, I don't need to smoke as much.

Needless to say, the dentist was astounded by the results. The next morning while checking my mouth, he was in disbelief in the way it had already started to heal - with no swelling or infection at all, and absolutely no pain on day two.

I'm grateful for this knowledge of plants and how they heal and protect us. But I'm more grateful for open-minded doctors and dentists, such as Dr. Herrera, who have the intellect to accept that not all traditional therapies are the end-all to healing.

Note: Recipes for all above can be found on the Apothecary page in my website.

Photos: My before and aftercare: Chamomile concentrate caps w/coconut oil; cannabis oil caps w/coconut oil; light cannabis tincture, salve for topical on affected area; mineral oil infused with chamomile; and apple cider vinegar infused with chamomile.

31/10/2023

After much encouragement, I’ve decided to start reading many of my more important stories out loud.

I’ve created a playlist on my YouTube channel, ”Sharon Reads,” with my first choice, my 2015 cover feature for Dope Magazine on oil angel, Rick Simpson.

While reading, I will also be interjecting my thoughts on the subject and the backstories.

I interviewed Rick Simpson three years after my own cancer experience, wherein Pearl Moon of The Bud Sisters (and longtime Emerald Cup judge) in Southern Humboldt, used the recipe Rick began sharing globally more than 20 years ago.

Thank you to those have followed all these years, thank you for reading, and now thank you for listening.

Sharon Reads her cover feature of Rick Simpson, originally published in Dope Magazine, 2015. Mr. Simpson found an old cannabis concentrate recipe online for ...

28/01/2023

Kitchen Apothecary continues for W**d World Magazine UK with a DIY on setting up an Herbal Bar, with and without alcohol.

"The true definition of a tonic is both a noun and an adjective. When used as a noun, it’s a feeling of well-being – you could say a good friend is a tonic for the soul, or a cool drink of water on a hot summer day is a refreshing tonic to soothe. When used as an adjective, it describes the feeling of well-being given, no matter the ailment or mood.

Making a tincture with drinking alcohol is the simplest and oldest form of infusion for remedy on the planet, next to steeping a hot cup of tea.

Alcohol strips the beneficial terpenes and cannabinoids (where the medicine is found) quickly and easily. In a cold-steep in a cool cupboard, the THC isn’t activated – providing full spectrum, or whole plant, benefits without the head high."

Cali Sober (California Sober) is a thing, where many are replacing recreational drugs and excessive alcohol consumption with w**d and limited amounts of alcohol.

24/04/2022

Kitchen Apothecary continues for W**d World Magazine UK, profiling Rebecca Forbes, with her recipe for cannabis infused olive oil (correction: Rebecca uses 1 cup olive oil per 1 oz. of plant material for her stronger dose - I updated to 1 liter oil per 1 oz. for an average batch).

"Early in 2010, a friend gave Forbes a quart jar of cannabis-infused canola oil. “He told me it might help me,” she laughed. “And me – with no faith at all, stuck it in the cabinet and forgot about it!”
.. Months later, in July of that year, Forbes ended up in the emergency room in complete organ failure. ”I was told I had 24 hours or less before my kidneys would fail. They told me to go home and say goodbye to my family,” she remembered. “I left the hospital against advice, went home and pulled the quart jar of infused oil out and took three or four huge gulps!” The infused canola oil probably tested upwards of 60 percent activated THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive compound in cannabis – knocking her out until the next day.
.. Amazingly, after waking up the next day, Forbes said she took more of the oil in the same way. ”After several days of this, I started feeling much better!” she exclaimed. “Now, I understand why they say cannabis treatments sound too good to be true. The healing is fast and noticeable right away. It made me kick myself for having that bottle of oil sit in the cupboard for as long as I did!”

After just two weeks, Forbes’ doctors cleared her of organ failure, and she set out to make her oil. ”I’ve been making my own infused oils ever since, and needless to say, 12 years later, I’m still alive and have seen three grandchildren come into this world,” she concluded."

In 2020, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) convened a task force to study racial inequities within the criminal justice system; the outcome is that the state should decriminalize cannabis altogether.

16/02/2022

Kitchen Apothecary continues for W**d World Magazine UK, with a recipe for Herbed Salad dressing using cannabis infused olive oil.

My infused olive oil has become a go-to for medicating and microdosing.

30/11/2021

30/11/2021

Kitchen Apothecary using the Nebula Boost to make a simple coconut salve with plants from the garden.
With Sharon Letts, filmed, edited and assisted by Farah Tariq, Esq.