"Marijuana Magic: Enhancing Exercise and Easing Pain
Larry Mishkin discusses the debut of the song "Sugaree" by the Grateful Dead, sharing interesting facts about its origins and performance history. Additionally, he presents three stories from Marijuana Moment, highlighting how medical marijuana is linked to reduced pain and lower opioid dependency in chronic pain patients, enhances the runner's high and reduces pain during exercise, and improves the quality of life for military veterans while reducing their prescription drug use.
Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show
Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin
Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt
Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg
July 31, 1971: Astronauts Drive on the Moon
1971: Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin drive the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the surface of the moon. It’s the first off-planet automobile ride.
Rumor has it that sometime during the show, Jerry stopped playing, pointed to the moon, and said, “just think, right now there are men sleeping on THAT”
Confession, I listened to almost the entire show and was not able to locate that moment so I cannot confirm Jerry said it, but it sounds like something he might say and either way is just another cool Dead story to pass along.
INTRO: Sugaree
Track No. 3
Start – 1:14
Sugaree" is a song with lyrics by long-time Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and music by guitaristJerry Garcia.[1] It was written for Jerry Garcia's first solo album Garcia, which was released in January 1972. As with the songs on the rest of the album, Garcia plays every instrument himself except drums, played by Bill Kreutzmann, including acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and an electric guitar played through a Leslie speaker. Released as a single from the Garcia album, "Sugaree" peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1972 and was Garcia's only single ever on that chart.[2]
The song was first performed live by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 1971, at the Yale Bowl at Yale University,
Even though it was on Jerry’s solo album, it was clearly a Dead song from the start and here it is debuted by the Dead six months before the Garcia album’s release. Maybe not the best version ever, but it is the first.
Ultimately played 361 times by the Dead.
Last played on July 8, 1995, the penultimate Dead show
Always one of good buddy Mikey’s favorite Dead songs, “What’s shaking Sugaree?”. Shout out to Mikey, Alex, Andy, Lynn, Harold who just saw Tedeschi Truck this past weekend at Red Rocks. My wife and I had to miss it this year, but I know they all rocked out. And, they were joined by Lori and Monte, more good Chicago friends, and Lori was part of the group at the Joanie Jam with Judy and Andy. So lots of great musical cross relationships developing all the time. THAT IS WHY WE GO TO SHOWS!
SHOW #1: Mr. Charlie
Track No. 4
Start – 1:15
This is also the breakout version of this song. It was played a total of 50 times after its debut on 7/31/71 in New Haven, the same show at which Sugaree debuted. It was played at all 22 shows of the Europe '72 tour, including its last performance on May 26, 1972 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, the last show of that famous tour.
Lyrics by Robert Hunter, music by Pigpen. It was Pig’s song and as his time in the band dwindled, so did some of his tunes. No post-Pig resurrection of the song by the band.
Never released on a studio album, there are rumors of a planned album following Workingman’s and American Beauty that would have included this song as well as Bertha, He’s Gone, Loser, Brown Eyed Women, Ramble on Rose, Tennessee Jed, The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion), etc. Might have even been enough tunes for a double album. Story is that the Dead abandoned it when they decided to get out of their Warner Bros. record deal.
SHOW #2: Hard to Handle
Track No. 12
Start – 1:06
"Hard to Handle" is a 1968 song written by American soul singer Otis Redding along with Al Bell and Allen Jones. Originally recorded by Redding, it was released in 1968 as the B-side to "Amen" (shortly after the singer's sudden death in 1967). The song also appears on the 1968 album The Immortal Otis Redding. Redding's version reached number 38 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 51 on the pop chart.[1]
American rock band the Black Crowes covered the song for their 1990 debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, reaching number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their rendition.
Hard To Handle was performed by the Grateful Dead about 90 times between March 15, 1969 at the Black and White Ball, opened the show with it (The ball is the Bay Area's largest black-tie street party and a tradition since 1956 - a night for high society and just plain folks to mingle in gowns and tuxedoes around Civic Center Plaza to listen to music. ) and August 1971. It was subsequently performed only twice, on December 30 and 31, 1982, with Etta James taking the vocals and support from the Tower of Power horns.
Another fun Pig lead that, like most of his other songs, died with him.
SHOW #3: Sugar Magnolia
Track No. 24
3:10 – 4:23
Still relatively new in the Dead’s repertoire, I like the musical jam in this version and so does the crowd. We all know the lyrics but it is this kind of jamming that made this a Dead standard and favorite among Deadheads. This version is still early enough that it appears in the middle of the second set, not yet having moved to its almost always spot as a second set closer. Always sad when they get to the obvious set closer, but when it was Sugar Mag we all felt a lot better. Notes from Deadheads mentioned this as one of the highlights of the show.
SHOW #4: Darkness Jam
Track No. 28
0:56 – 2:06
the 'Darkness' jam from the 1969 Youngbloods song, Darkness, Darkness which was done a few times in 1970; the most well-known version is in the 9/19/70 Not Fade Away where it's very clear. (They also do the China Cat riff in that NFA, which they did frequently (and at greater length) in the fall of 1971.).
Played 4 times by the Dead in concert. This is the LAST one.
Darkness Darkness - Darkness, Darkness" is a song written by Jesse Colin Young in 1969, which has been covered by many artists. Young's band The Youngbloods released a version on their 1969 album Elephant Mountain. They released a version of the song as a single twice: in 1969, which reached #124 on the Billboard chart,[1] and in 1970, which reached #86 on the chart.[2]
One of the various themed jams played by the Dead in their early years also including:
OUTRO: Uncle John’s Band
Track No. 30
1:28 – 2:44
An early version of an all time classic. Already a crowd favorite, clapping, sing along. Can’t go wrong with an Uncle John’s Band at the end of a show – actually closed out with Johnny B. Goode – no encore. Other great stories of this show at Yale, runs in with the cops, gate crashers, gallons of electric Kool Aid at the gates. Just another typical Dead show, but at one of the country’s most prestigious schools. Even the Ivies loved the Dead.
Still working on stories
John Mayer says goodbye:
“These tours with @deadandcompany exist on an almost otherworldly plane – everyone, on stage and in the crowd, meets up in this shared dream, and on the last night, after the final note is struck, we leave it all on the stage. We bow, we hug, we share our love for one another and then… we disappear. I fly through the dead of night and wake up at home, where my ears ring, my heart sings, and I’m left with this mix of fatigue, joy, accomplishment, and deep appreciation for what I was able to be a part of,” Mayer shared. “I can feel the connected, collective experience of thousands of others who wake up feeling the same. I’ll never get over the profound beauty and uniqueness of this, and we’ll never in our lifetime see the likes of @bobweir@mickeyhart and @billkreutzmann, playing beyond all perceived limitations and expectations. It’s nothing short of remarkable. Thank you one and all for allowing me a seat on this transcendent ride.
”
“Dead & Company is still a band – we just don’t know what the next show will be,” Mayer wrote on social media. “I speak for us all when I say that I look forward to being shown the next shaft of light… I know we will all move towards it together.”
Larry (00:26.274)
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Deadhead Cannabis Show. I'm Larry Mishkin of Mishkin Law in Chicago and excited to be with you guys today. We've got a lot of great stuff to talk about both as far as the debtor concerned and also some very interesting marijuana news. We haven't gotten to a lot of marijuana news lately because we've had some great guests who have kept us very busy talking Grateful Dead.
Uh, but this week, uh, it's just a me along for a solo ride. So, well, that's not true. We've got a producer, Dan out there doing his thing, you know, live from the offices of banks in Denver. So, uh, plug out to them and Carson way to go guys. You're the best. Um, but yeah, let's, uh, work with a fantastic show today. 52 years ago, July 31st, 1971, the Yale bull, new Haven, Connecticut. And if you were there, you would have heard this.
Larry (02:36.206)
We all know that song. It's Sugary, we know it, we love it, we can't live without it. But here's something you may not have known, that was the very first time it was ever played live. Right there from the very beginning of the song, you heard the first notes of the first time that Sugary was played live in concert by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 1971 at the Yale Bowl. Obviously a song with lyrics by longtime Grateful Dead lyricist and Garcia buddy Robert Hunter.
The music is all Jerry's and it was written by Jerry for his first solo album, Garcia, which was released in January 1972. An interesting note that we've talked about, but always great to emphasize, especially in the modern days of guys like Dave Grohl who can play every instrument under the sun. On the Garcia album, Garcia played every instrument himself except for drums, which was played by Kreutzman. So that's the one place where Dave Grohl edges
But Jerry played acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, all played through a Leslie speaker. It was released as a single from the Garcia album and Sugary peaked at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1972 and was Garcia's only single ever on that chart. So here it is first performed live by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 71. Even though it was on Jerry's solo album, it was very clearly a dead song from the start because here it's being debuted.
by the Dead six months before the Garcia album is even released. This may not even be the best version of it ever, it's not, but it's the first and there's something kind of cool about that. I like the way that worked out. On Garcia's first album there was a number of tunes that wound up in the Dead repertoire just like off of Bobby's Ace album that we've talked about. But this one, The Dead, we're already playing it and Garcia hadn't even put it out yet.
For me, that's great. A fan favorite and a permanent member of the Dead's touring songbook played about 360 times by the Dead over the years. Last played on July 8th, 1995, the penultimate Grateful Dead show at Soldier Field. You know, as I'm putting these together, I'm always amazed by the number of these shows last played on either July 8th or July 9th. It seems like, you know, we've talked about 50 songs over the last few weeks.
And most of them were played that last weekend in Chicago, one way or the other, but I don't know. Maybe it just seems that way, because I'm looking at it all the time. But either way, they kept a lot of these songs in the rotation forever, and Sugary was one of them. It was always one of my good buddy Mikey's favorite dead songs. Always would greet you with a, what's shaking Sugary? Give a quick shout out to Mikey, Alex, Andy, Lynn, Harold. They just saw Tedesky Trucks this weekend at Red Rocks.
My wife and I had to miss it this year, but I know they all rocked out and they were joined by our good friends from Chicago, Lori and Monte. And interesting news here for active listeners. Lori was part of the group at the Joni Jam with Judy and Andy. We just have to get Amy into a story one of these days and you'll have the whole group. So lots of great musical cross relationships developing all the time. That's why we go to the shows. Well, that and the good music, but all the people we meet and all the people we get to hang out with and all the great things we get to do.
If you're at the Grateful Dead show on July 31st, 1971, you're thinking, wow, this is cool. I'm here and I just saw the third song of the show because they didn't open with Sugary. They actually opened with Truckin, a very good truckin, into Sugary. But we've heard and talked about Truckin before, so I dived in. But that's number two. And then right after Sugary...
uh... they break out another new one for stand
they dropped it and it didn't come back up. And since that time, it's only been performed twice two nights back to back, December 30th and 31, 1982. So part of an annual New Year's run of shows on both nights with Etta James taking the vocals with support from the Tower of Power Horns. Now, that's a great show. And the Dead always would do stuff like that at their New Year's shows.
uh... you know bringing out tremendously talented people to play with them uh... power of power were regulars uh... eda james is just such a remarkable singer in her own right uh... and the dead do such a great job uh... with blues and soul numbers that uh... you know they make a great combination uh... doing everything uh... together like that so uh... you know hard to handle really fun song uh... and uh... you know
Pig died in the song, died with him as far as the grateful dead were concerned. And it's just unfortunate, you know, Bobby tried to keep a few of his things alive and, you know, done a generally good job. But at the end of the day, uh, these are shoes that are just a little too large, both, uh, metaphorically and actually probably for people to fill. Um, and there's not a dead head out there. I don't think who's, you know, listened to the band seriously.
who wouldn't tell you what they wouldn't give to be able to just go back for one night and see a show with Pig Pen up on stage with the band, strutting his stuff and doing his thing and barking out his blues numbers and drinking from his bottle and, you know, telling raunchy stories to the crowd. And it was an experience and, you know, it was all part of the primal debt experience and it spilled over into Americana a little bit. But at the end of the day, Pig was gone and the
You know, went to higher and higher heights in 73 and 77 and, you know, throughout good chunks of the eighties and the early nineties and, you know, always with slightly different personnel, especially at the keyboard. Uh, but I like to think that the spirit of Pig Pen was always with them. And, uh, you know, never really quite left the band and that would be a great thing. Um, well, as promised, we are now going to take a moment and swing over into the wide, wide world of cannabis, Dan.
Larry (19:56.814)
Thank you, Dan, another one of your very, very clever marijuana lead-ins, and I'm not even gonna pretend that for a moment that I knew that was Neil Diamond until Dan let me know, and I wouldn't have to sound like a total stuttering fool out here. But yeah, the guy who gave us sweet Caroline is sitting there singing about the wonders of pot, and you know what? That's a great intro for today because we've got some really good stories, and these are my favorite kind.
If Rob was here, he'd be rolling his eyes and saying, man, you always talk about this stuff. And I say, you can't ever talk enough about it. And we got a whole set of stories today from Marijuana Moment and our good friend, Kyle Yeager. And thank you to them as always for putting out such great news sources in marijuana for us to be able to link into and work with. And this week, we found ourselves at Marijuana Moment. And here's my stories that I think everybody's gonna like to hear. The first one.
We've already had this story in a different format, but it's just another one. Medical marijuana linked to lower pain and reduced dependency on opioids and psychiatric prescriptions. Another study shows. The key word in all of that is the word another, right? We have one, we have two. Now we have another. Study after study after study. So another study has linked medical marijuana used to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription meds.
This time, researchers at the University of Florida carried out a three-month pilot study to assess the efficacy of cannabis among middle-aged and older chronic pain patients. One month after the participants initiated medical marijuana use, they completed surveys detailing the benefits and side effects of the alternative treatment option. The study published this month in the journal Cannabis found that most participants perceive medical cannabis to be overall effective
for chronic pain management. The benefits that they reported include reduced pain and anxiety, improved physical and mental functioning, better sleep quality and mood, and less reliance on prescription meds, including opioids and benzodiazepines. I'm sorry, my friend Deany, who knows all these drugs, is gonna laugh at me, but I'm even gonna try and say it again and just chalk it up to the fact that...
I'm not a pharmacologist and so I can't say benzo, maybe it's benzodiazepines. How about that, benzodiazepines. Let's try that and see if I finally got it. One 51 year old patient that medical cannabis treat, reported that medical cannabis treatment is pretty damn effective. I'm no longer using my walker.
Larry (22:45.938)
I only take my meds, opioid pain medications one time a day instead of three, and I haven't had a Xanax in 30 days," she reported. Others said that they've been able to use cannabis as a complete substitute for certain prescription drugs. It's great. I've never ever used medical cannabis before. A 43-year-old woman said, with pain, I haven't had to take any medication, and I've been taking medication for years. All these narcotics and other meds, I was surprised I didn't know was going to help me like that.
It really, really works. So here's the upshot of all of this. This is one of the latest studies in a growing volume of scientific research showing the therapeutic efficacy of cannabis for pain. For example, a study published by the American Medical Association in February of this year found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.
The American Medical Association also released research showing that about one in three chronic pain patients report using cannabis as a treatment option and most of that group has used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, again, including opioids. State level marijuana legalization is associated with major reductions in the prescribing of the opioid codeine specifically, according to a study that leveraged data from the...
FDA, from the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Administration. So, let's just start off by saying, Ross, doubt that, you know, go suck eggs again, mister. You know, you and your, it doesn't help anybody, it doesn't work for anybody. This is not just one study, this is another study, and another study, and another study, all telling us the same thing. So, we can either believe it, or we can stick our head in the sand. I know there's some people in this country that like to stick their heads in the sand, but other people say, you know what, I'm gonna listen. It's been enough.
doesn't mean you have to like it, doesn't mean you have to use it. What it does mean is you have to lay off other people that do use it. You can't be skeptical if somebody tells you, I'm using marijuana in a medical way. It helps me with my pain, it helps me sleep, it helps me with my stress and anxiety, it helps me with an upset stomach, it helps me, and you're about to hear all sorts of other ways it can help you. The point is, if people say it helps them, it helps them. You know, if you don't participate in it,
If then you're, that's fine, but you're not in any position to know, you know, and your opinion on the subject quite frankly is uninformed. Doesn't mean you can't have an opinion, but it does mean that, you know, you're probably not the best person to be spreading the word on this. Medical marijuana works for so many people and whether you call it medical marijuana, whether you call it adult use marijuana and I'm just buying it because I'm self-medicating or because I've gone to a doctor.
who has prescribed medical marijuana to me, not just written me into a program, but healthcare provider who has specifically treated me with specific strains of marijuana based on my symptoms and my condition and where I've seen relief from all of that. This happens and it's always happened and it happened way back when I was in college in law school and I used to have a very upset stomach, I'm sure, from all the stress of running around and trying to get all of that done.
Marijuana worked wonderful for me, you know, put me on all sorts of other meds and I couldn't sleep well or they'd really upset my stomach or they would really cause me anxiety, but the marijuana always worked. It never, it never caused those problems. And back then, you know, when I was going to law school in Columbia, Missouri, where, you know, I was the left-hand side of the political spectrum folks, there wasn't anybody in my law school class in 1987 at the University of Missouri who was any farther to the left than I.
like to consider myself a somewhat middle of the road kind of guy certainly liberal on key issues but maybe not quite as liberal on others but when you go to school down there it doesn't take much to make you the uh... the left hand side of that spectrum and uh... it was always very interesting but i managed to get through just fine and marijuana played a significant role in all of that and you know if i tell that to anybody who wants to hear it some people don't some people do but facts are facts and uh...
We can't ignore them, we can't wish them away, and that's just the name of the game. Now, if that was just one more positive marijuana story, we'd all say, okay, good, let's get back to the Grateful Dead. However, that's not just the first story. It's the first of three stories that we're going to talk about here. So, bear with me on the marijuana side here for a few minutes, folks, because we've got some really good stuff. We're going to get back to our concert in a few minutes with more information about the songs they're playing.
A quick update from John Mayer and his final statements on DeDenco and our regular final wrap up. But right now, how about if we explore a story again from Marijuana Moment that tells us now marijuana is linked to an enhanced runner's high and lower pain during exercise, a new study has found. Marijuana is associated with enhanced exercise experience, making running more enjoyable.
while reducing pain, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder surveyed 49 runners, asking them to rate various aspects of runs after consuming cannabis and without using it. The study published last week in the journal, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, found that participants experienced less negative effect, greater feelings of positive effect, tranquility, enjoyment, and dissociation, and more runners high symptoms during their cannabis.
versus non-cannabis runs. They did run a bit slower after consuming marijuana, with researchers observing that they ran 31 seconds slower per mile, but they said that was not statistically significant. Participants also reported low pain levels after their cannabis versus non-cannabis run, the study says. Perceived exertion did not differ between runs. Results suggest that acute cannabis use may be associated with a more positive exercise experience
among regular cannabis users, it concludes. Research using various methodologies, a range of exercise modalities, and diverse populations is needed to establish the long-term harms and benefits associated with this behavior, as well as the generalizability of these findings to other populations and settings. But here's the key. The positive effects of cannabis that the runners report is consistent with the findings of a 2019 study.
which found that people who use marijuana to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise. Older people who consume cannabis are also more likely to engage in physical activity, according to another study that was published in 2020. Goes on. Similarly, in another stereotype-busting study that was published in 2021, researchers found that frequent marijuana consumers are actually more likely to be physically active compared to their non-using counterparts.
And meanwhile, the use of medical marijuana is associated with significant improvements in the quality of life for people with conditions like chronic pain and insomnia, and those effects are largely sustained over time, according to yet another study published this year by the AMA. So we're rolling out study after study here. So people who say, oh yeah, well, I don't believe it, or oh yeah, you can prove anything once. No, in fact,
everything is proving this and as I talked about last week or maybe the week before this is all consistent with studies that go back to Dr. Lester Grinspoon at Harvard in 1984 whose research I relied upon to easily win a debate in my debate class at Michigan my senior year over whether marijuana should be legalized in Ann Arbor this evidence existed back then you know, again you had to go digging for it there wasn't an internet where it got put right out there where you could easily find it
But we're not breaking new ground here, people. This is stuff that we've all known. Rafael Mishulam in Israel has known this. The researchers in the United States have known this. And those of us that use marijuana and then go out and engage in physical activity, we know it. What I like about that story is, at first glance, people might wanna say, well, hey, maybe it is performance enhancing, but although it may not be statistically significant if you're trying to run in the Olympics, 31 seconds off of every mile,
uh... that will kill you so uh... it may not really be all of that uh... in performance enhancing uh... other than it keeps you in the game and uh... keeps a smile on your face you know while you're trudging through uh... your miles your laps in the pool or whatever it is you're doing but again positive story marijuana doing good things not harming anybody uh... you know positive identification uh... a positive spin if you will which is also important
And then the third story that we have, and you know, unless you're Ted Cruz, it's really, really hard to dump on veterans. You just don't find yourself doing that very often, and nor should we. Political affiliations aside, veterans are the most important people we have in our country. They're the ones that fought and made the ultimate sacrifice or risked the ultimate sacrifice out on the battlefield. Those are the ones who have quote unquote kept.
alive the American way of life, although many of us now debate exactly what the American way of life might be. But luckily, a very large majority of us agree on the fact that whatever that American way of life is, it should include cannabis and marijuana use. So we got that going for us. But medical marijuana improves medical, excuse me, military veterans quality of life and reduces prescription drug use study fines. Again, Kyle Yeager from Marijuana Moment.
All of these articles are really basically saying the same thing. They're not the same studies. They're not the same testing groups. They're all very different. But we notice here how every reduces prescription drug use. Well, we just read about it, reducing prescription drug use. We're improving the military veterans' quality of life. We already read and heard about it improving people's quality of life. But again, there's something about being able to say that it helps veterans.
Larry (33:16.894)
especially things that make veterans feel better and reduces their stress after they went and didn't make the ultimate sacrifice and fought in our armed, or served in our armed forces, whether on active military combat or whatever else their duties might have been. And the very large number of us that have never had that experience, you know, owe all of these people a huge debt of gratitude. This isn't like...
place, say like Israel, where every single person that reaches a certain age and they go into military service and that's just it. So in that respect, it doesn't make you any more unique than anybody else. But here, where it's all voluntary, I think it speaks a lot to the quality of the people who choose to go in. And again, I may not agree with them philosophically, I may not agree with them politically, we may not even share for the same college football teams, but nevertheless, they're certainly entitled to the thanks and honor from this country.
for going and doing those things so that the rest of us don't have to go do them and still get to enjoy the freedoms and the privileges that we have and hope that we'll be able to keep. But going back to our article, it reads that over ninety percent, ninety percent of U.S. military veterans who use medical marijuana say that it improves their quality of life, many using cannabis as alternatives to over-the-counter and prescription medications according to a new study.
This time, research at the University of Massachusetts, University of Utah, and cannabis research institutes looked at self-reported survey data from 510 veterans who said that they consume marijuana seeking to better understand the purpose and experiences of their usage. A majority of the respondents, 67%, said that they use cannabis daily, and about one third, or 30%, said that they consume marijuana to reduce the use of other medications.
including antidepressants 25% and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory 17%. Another 21% said that cannabis has allowed them to reduce their use of opioid-based medications. Overall, 91% of the veterans said that cannabis improved their quality of life. Veterans who were black and who were female, who served in active combat, and who were living with chronic pain were more likely to report a desire
to reduce the number of prescription medications they were taking, the study says. Women and individuals who used cannabis daily were more likely to report active use of cannabis to reduce prescription medication use. Medical cannabis use was reported to improve quality of life and reduce unwanted medication use by many of the study participants. The present findings indicate that medicinal cannabis can potentially play a harm reduction role.
helping veterans to use fewer pharmaceutical medications and other substances. There's particular interest in studying the possibilities of cannabis as a treatment option for veterans as the population disproportionately suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and high rates of suicide. A 2019 survey from Afghanistan Veterans of America found that 20% of veterans have used marijuana for medicinal purposes.
while 66% have consumed cannabis for recreational purposes. As far as the medical side goes, veterans are able to speak with doctors at U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs about their use of cannabis, but, and here's the killer, the doctors remain prohibited from filling out the forms required to issue a medical cannabis recommendation in a legal state. A bipartisan congressional bill, as well as an amendment attached to a VA spending legislation aim to change that.
this current legislative session. But that's just, I mean, a little beyond bad, right? Who is the federal government kidding here? There's really nobody who's against marijuana use, and those who are shouldn't be making public policy anyway. And in the meantime, we're recognizing something that would be wonderful for these veterans, and the government says, nope, we're not gonna let the doctors sign off on that because marijuana bad, marijuana dangerous, marijuana, we don't know what the hell. No, no, we're gonna.
we're gonna take you guys right to the opioids. That's what could go wrong with giving somebody opioids to help them reduce stress and pain and things like that. Well, you know, we know a lot, but you know, again, we wait for the government, you know, to kind of come around and really take a fair and honest look at all of this. And all of these steps that they're taking are great and all the studies that are coming out are wonderful. But until our policymakers really sit down and embrace these studies.
uh... as actual public policy there's an argument to be made here at least to be considering that people who are out of shape people who are overweight uh... perhaps they should be smoking marijuana perhaps that will make them more active perhaps that will give them an urge to go out and exercise and do things i'm no expert i'm not saying it will but if there are studies coming out that saying it's a possibility doesn't that at least bear some scrutiny doesn't that at least warrant
Larry (38:29.442)
try it? Okay, fine. Some people may get high and just collapse on the couch. But we find out that kind of stuff with any medication, with any type of medical system that you go through or medical ritual or program, whatever the word I'm looking for is there, regimen. Right? Because some things work for some people and some things don't. But it's not a quid... We shouldn't be hiding these things.
you know we should be telling people being honest and saying look in you know ninety one percent of the time veterans uh... who use medical cannabis reported positive outcomes you know i think that there's a strong bond uh... among veterans and you know strong belief that if something's working for one veteran or one group of veterans that other veterans you know maybe more likely to give it a go in and see if it can work for them and uh... they should this again is
is so readily available now in many states. Those states where it's not, it should be made readily available because of studies like these. And because, you know, if we're not out, you know, to really try and focus our efforts on protecting our veterans, you know, then in all honesty, who are we really trying to protect at this point? And we've all gone down this road and we've all talked about it. You know, we don't have to protect our kids. You know, we don't have to protect a lot of people. You know.
who come out with something like this. And this is marijuana. We know it's safe. We feel good about it. And I would hope that everybody moves forward and allows these kind of things to happen in a way where everybody can benefit, whether this is a question of the way that you like to relax, or whether it's a way that you like to medicate yourself, and whatever it might be. So at any rate,
Lots of good stuff going on there and stuff that's always fun to talk about and very positive and I'm very happy to see it. Not a whole lot more happening yet on the bank bill, not a whole lot more happening on federal legalization, but these types of studies help move those efforts forward because I really do believe it becomes harder and harder for the government to...
really be able to just ignore it after a while. If you've got things that help veterans, why aren't we doing it? And I don't want to hear extremists in either party coming out and trying to push back as well. We don't want to encourage drug use. We don't want to encourage that. We encourage drug use, folks. If they're gonna prescribe Xanax and these drugs that I can't even pronounce to these guys, and marijuana will accomplish the same thing and it's safer, it's like, why would you tell your kids to drink alcohol when they could smoke marijuana at school?
Right, the old one will kill you, one won't. Let's recognize this. Let's not be scared off by marijuana just because it's marijuana. I hope I'm preaching to the choir here, but if anybody's listening who's not entirely sold on this prospect yet, get with it and read the data and read the research and see why it's such an important way to go. And then you'll go out and as you read more and more of these articles, it just brings a smile to my face. Another study, another study, another study. We could never have too many of them.
Back to the Grateful Dead on July 31st, 1971 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. How great is that the Grateful Dead are out there playing at certainly one of the most prestigious institutes of higher education in this country. Yale College or Yale University would never have wasted its time with a guy like Larry
Rob Hunt, on the other hand, probably could have written his own ticket there. And Dan Humiston, I'm just surprised that he didn't, but that's their loss. But I do know actually a couple of people who've gone through Yale. My cousin Rachel in Chicago is an Eli, a Yale graduate. And hats off to her for that. Congratulations. Cousin Rachel might also be known to regular listeners of this show as the younger sister of cool cousin Brent, who did not go to Yale, I'd like to point out. So.
This was something that his sister was able to accomplish. None of the other grandchildren on that side of the family were ever quite up to that standard. But I know that she keeps in touch with the school and always likes to know what's going on out there. And my good buddy Harold, his son Johnny is a Yale graduate and now is traveling all over the world spending long chunks of time in Asia and other places like that, which I guess must be a very Yale thing to do if you know how to speak all those languages.
You actually have a brain instead of the rest of us who just kind of go through life trying to figure out what to do next. But yeah, look, the Ivies love the dead as much as anybody else and why not? The dead would go out there and shake them around and everybody has a good time with it. And if you've ever been to any of those colleges that make up our wonderful Ivy League, you will know or you will find that there are many, many students there who are very happy to tie one on as they say.
with whatever substance happens to be available at the moment. And many of them will turn on the Grateful Dead. And just as a quick throw in, there was another article that I didn't have time to get to, but is now saying that based on polls they've been taking, your likelihood of becoming a deadhead is irrespective of whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. And on the one hand, I think that's kind of cool. On the other hand, I want to say to them, good, you love the Grateful Dead, so what the hell is wrong with you the minute you walk away from the music?
And of course that's just my own independent legal position, or not legal position, political statement. I don't speak on behalf of PodConnex or anybody else, not even my co-host. So I just like to get that out there every now and then. But we welcome them all. We've talked about Ann Coulter being a deadhead and that's great. Tipper Gore was a deadhead. Although I think people would associate her and her husband with being more on the liberal side, she was the one for the long time making the big push on censoring rock and roll lyrics. Which.
earned her the despisement from, if that's a word, Frank Zappa, who always had a good time going out and tweaking the noses of people like that. But at the end of the day, Yale and the Yale Bowl, kind of a historic place to play the Harvard Yale game there every other year, so that's kind of cool. Lots of famous things that I know nothing about, but if you went to Yale, you probably know all about happened there. And the dead went there and played.
Um, it was fun because in the notes after the show, uh, it was, it was even more than that a little bit. Uh, the deadheads were kind of spilling out, uh, onto the big lawns at the school there, uh, some run ins with the cops, some gate crashers, uh, stories of, of gallons of electric Kool-Aid at the gates with cups so everybody could get some. You know, really just another typical dead show. Um, and, uh, parents, just because you're sending your kids to these schools, doesn't mean they're not going to grateful dead shows and getting turned on.
to the stuff that all deadheads like to get turned on to. But back to the concert. Here's our next song, which was just really coming into its own at this time.
Larry (46:54.946)
So at this time, Sugar Magnolia was brand new. American Beauty had just come out, so it was just getting played. And it's one of those songs that deadheads love and love and love, and we could never quite get enough of it. A Bobby Weir tune, but it was on American Beauty. And it was early here, but the part that I liked about and the part that I picked here was primarily a musical jam.
You know because I think it's so wonderful. I think you could tell from the crowd reaction that they loved it, too You know we all know the lyrics, but this is the kind of jamming That made this a dead standard and a favorite among deadheads the version is still early enough That actually it appears basically in the middle of the second set not yet having moved to its almost permanent spot as a second set closer although for those occasions when they open up a show or Maybe even a second set with a scarlet with a sugar mag and then
uh... would save the uh... sunshine daydream uh... to close out the show at the end and kind of put a nice sandwich around everything but most of the time uh... it was the uh... it was it was the show closer and uh... the notes from the deadheads mentioned this is one of the highlights for them and you know we as deadheads you know always loved this nobody liked walking out of a show at the end and nobody liked you know hearing oh no this is this song we know from experience this is the last tune
And then this is all done. But when it was Sugar Magnolia you were almost kind of looking forward to that last song because you had that little bit of energy left and They'd get out there and they jam it just like this and you know It's one of those songs that over the years there might be subtle changes here and there But it was basically always the same song You know played more or less the same way and as far as I'm concerned that was perfect It was the way the song was intended to be played It is a great tune and
Larry (48:49.77)
If I'm going to a dead show and I want to see one song and I want to see five songs, Sugar Magnolia will almost always be on my list. And I will say, but I want it at the end, darn it, because that's where I'm used to having it. And again, yes, if you're there one night and they yank it out and they open the show with it or something, that is cool because it is different. And I do enjoy that too. But otherwise, very, very happy with it as a show closer.
and apparently they are too. So that's a wonderful version of Sugar Mag. Now this next one that we're gonna play is interesting and you'll be forgiven if you don't immediately recognize it and if you do recognize it, then you should pat yourself on the back because you're quite a dead aficionado. So let's hear this one.
Larry (49:55.938)
So that's the Darkness Jam. And the Darkness Jam was one of the various themed jams played by the dead in their early years based on different music or different things. This one came from the 1969 Youngblood song, Darkness, which was a single and came out on the Youngblood's album, Elephant Mountain.
In April of 1969, the song was written by Jesse Collin Young, who is a very, very well-known artist, both in terms of writing songs and performing songs. And it's been covered by a number of different artists. Young's band, The Young Bloods, released it, as we said, in their 69th album, Elephant Mountain. They released a version of the song as a single twice. In 1969, which reached number 124 on the Billboard chart. And in 1970, which reached number 86.
on the chart. So we talk about it being a themed jam and you know what exactly is a Grateful Dead themed jam? Well, let me give you some examples. There was, in addition to the Darkness jam, like we say was based off the Youngblood song, there was the Feeling Groovy jam. It's basically a four chord jam based, as you would imagine, on the 1966 Simon and Garfunkel song and was frequently done in Dark Stars.
from 69 to 72, and I almost wanted to say, as you would know by the name of the song, but of course, Feelin' Groovy, I believe, is the 52nd or 56th Street Bridge song, or whatever that song is on their album, where they talk about feelin' groovy, but that could just be Time and the Drugs talking, so hopefully I'm right on that one. It didn't just embarrass myself even more. So that's the groovy jam, Feelin' Groovy Jam. Like I said, it was primarily, you'd hear it in the middle of Dark Stars, but by 72, they were kinda done with it.
The next one we have is the Titan Up Jam, which was a very common Latin style jam theme in the year 1970. It's often called a proto-eyes jam since Weir plays two repeating jazzy chords that are rhythmically similar to the opening of Eyes of the World, but they were commonly thought to be from Archie Bell and the Drells' 1968 tune of the same name, Titan Up. So there was the Titan Up Jam.
Then one that was very popular and always has been with Deadheads is the Mind Left Body Jam. This originated in the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra, PERO, P-E-R-R-O, sessions. And just a quick diversion here, the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra is a nickname given to some artists who recorded together early in the 1970s. They were predominantly members of Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
Um, and, uh, here we can hear, uh, an early faster version of the four descending chords. Paul Cantner took this riff for his 1973 song, your mind has left your body on which Garcia played pedal steel. Uh, Garcia in turn adopted it into a grateful death theme, which first showed up on occasion in 1972, but started regularly entering the jams in the fall of 73, it added a transcendental feeling.
to many shows up through 1974. And then finally, and I only say finally because I'm just limited on time, because there's many more of these that we could kind of go on and on about. But we have the Spanish Jam, and Bob, we're based the Spanish Jam on the song Solea on the Miles David album, Sketches of Spain, sometime in late 1967, when the Dead started recording Anthem of the Sun, their second studio album. As was a little bit of the Spanish Jam actually got on the album.
in the form of a short Davis-flavored trumpet break from Phil in the middle of Bourne Cross Side after the verse, think I'll come back here again every now and then from time to time. For a moment, it seems like Garcia and the band are about to break into the Spanish jam, but they quickly cut back to the song. So yeah, so we have these theme songs. The significance of the darkness jam this night on July 31, 1971, is that this was it. This was the last time they actually played.
This was the last time they played it. And no explanation for why. It wasn't one that they played a whole lot of times, maybe five or six times I think I saw when I was looking it up. But it's a really cool jam. And would definitely recommend checking it out and checking out any of these jams. You can go online and there's all sorts of blog posts where people go through all of these different jams and not just explain them, but give citations and links.
to actual performances so you can hear the dead playing it and be more able to better understand what these guys are talking about when they're writing about these jams. But just part of the fun of going to a Grateful Dead show and Darkness Jam is always fun to play in a situation like this. Before we launch out of here today and play our song we're gonna go out on,
I just want to touch on something that I thought, that I saw my wife actually sent it to me as well. And it's a brief quote or set of quotes from John Mayer when he was speaking with the media after the final night of the Dead and Co. tour, playing their last night out at Oracle Park where the Giants play ball out in the Bay Area there. And you know.
quite poignant I think and they say maybe even a little emotional for John. He said, these tours with Debt and Company exist on an almost otherworldly plane. Everyone on stage and in the crowd meets up in this shared dream and on the last night after the final note is struck, we leave it all on the stage. We bow, we hug, we share our love for one another and then we disappear. I fly through the dead of night and wake up at home where my ears ring, my heart sings and I'm left with this mix of fatigue.
joy, accomplishment, and deep appreciation for what I was able to be a part of." Mayor shared. I can feel the connected collective experience of thousands of others who wake up feeling the same. I'll never get over the profound beauty and uniqueness of this and will never in our lifetime see the likes of Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman playing beyond all perceived limitations and expectations. It's nothing short of remarkable. Thank you one and all for allowing me a seat.
this transcendent ride. And then he goes on to say, for me, Dead in Company is still a band. We just don't know what the next show will be. I speak for all of us when I say that I look forward to being shown the light, excuse me, being shown the next shaft of light. I know we will all move towards it together. So you know, I give John credit for that. That's you know, some deep stuff that he's touching on there. And you know, from my perspective, I think that
But there's a suggestion that he really does kind of get it. People have given him a lot of credit, and rightly so, for his ability to adapt from kind of a pop, rock, and blues guitar player into a guy who was very, very passable and some would say better than others, handling the Jerry roll for a band dedicated to playing the Grateful Dead. So...
It certainly sounds like he got it and it certainly sounds like it's something that really registered with him. Hearing that, I think, makes all of us feel a little bit better too. Yes, it's easy for us to point fingers at whether or not we like John, but John has every right to point those fingers right back. If he didn't really enjoy the experience, if he didn't like playing with the guys, if he didn't really feel welcomed by the deadheads, then my thought is he would be less inclined
you know, to be, uh, you know, thinking about wanting to come back and therefore, you know, saying, you know, quote unquote, all the right things. Uh, I'm not saying he's saying this for any other reason other than that. He really means it. Um, but, uh, you know, I, I do think it's good to hear and, uh, I'm happy he spoke and said that. Uh, my understanding is, is that, um, uh, Mickey and Bob have both had very complimentary things to say. And even Billy out there is, you know,
trying to stay positive with everything. And I just read their cues. If they're all happy, then I'm happy. I have lots of great, grateful dead music to listen to. I was telling Dan on the way into my office today, I had to sit in my car an extra five minutes after I got to the parking lot because the morning dew from 5877 at Barton Hall came on and boy, we've talked about that show a lot. We've played it and we've played that morning dew and Jim Marty and I, the first time it was featured on this show.
and it just kind of puts you in a stunned silence no matter how many times you've heard it. And it's like if there's a movie that captures your attention and you can't walk out on, if you step into that morning dew anywhere, if you're getting out of a taxi cab, you have to tell the driver, dude, I'm gonna be in your cab for another three minutes here. I can't walk out of the middle of this guitar solo. And nobody wants to. It's just wonderful to hear and wonderful.
you know, that everything that the band does. And, you know, for me, it's great and it's fun. And I love being able to once a week focus on this, you know, when I get to do it solo, when I'm blessed to have Rob around and tap into all of his knowledge and experience. And, you know, certainly when I get to tap into the knowledge and experience of my big world of deadhead buddies who are out there, who I've named some of them from time to time, and we'll keep naming them, and, you know, guys from whom I never stop learning and always enjoy meeting up with.
to see Grateful Dead music. So on the way out the door here today, we're going to listen to a very early version of an all-time classic, already a crowd favorite. You can hear the clapping and sing-along. You can never go wrong with Uncle John's band anywhere, especially at the end of a show, although here they actually closed out with Johnny B. Goode, no encore, which was typical for that time. But, you know, when I hear that, I just think of Johnny B. Goode as an encore anyway, probably because that's where we heard it so many times. But
Uncle John's band is one that everyone can relate to. If there's one or two Grateful Dead songs people know the words to, this is one of them. Of course it has the self-deprecating humor of, oh, I want to know how does the song go, which we all laugh because inevitably at least once per performance somebody in the band steps up to the microphone and jumps in on the wrong verse or the wrong line and everybody just at this point kind of smiles and goes along with it.
You know, it's a lot of fun, but you'll hear the crowd really loved it a great way to wind down a show and lead into the conclusion of the show and With that we say thank you and goodbye to Yale from July 31st, 1971 Thank you. Goodbye to everybody who listened this week I'll be back next week with more great stories about the Grateful Dead more wonderful stories about marijuana with Dan's fun introduction music
and other good stuff that we always have to talk about. We appreciate you listening. Stay safe and enjoy your marijuana responsibly. Thank you.