god, damp heat! argh! i don't smoke weed but i sure wish i knew how to deal with my own damp heat, it's getting worse....bleh. any tips on balancing out internal heat with external damp? possible external pernicious influence aggravating, cat allergies and other stuff like air conditioning (hate it!).

I have suggested to some patients who are habitual users and not about to change, that they get a vaporizer which does not aggravate the lungs as much. Eating it does not work for some people, but sometimes a tincture will work for them.
I have seen (and heard) about how differently it affects the body with age. Possibly due to the damp effect...? I find it very interesting how it will energize some people while making others sleepy or lethargic.

Most of what is written in the old herbals is about eating and drinking it. There are some uses as incense, but these were in a more spiritual/religious context than a medical one (although they are clearly related).
Many modern TCM herbalists consider that it moves qi and blood, and could eventually deplete both (hence the warnings about Kidney qi and possibly jing). Smoking of course can harm Lung yin. Smoking in Asia (outside of incense) came about largely after the discovery of the Americas and tobacco.
Here are some details on medical and other uses of hemp in Chinese history from:

www.rexresearch.com/hhist/hhist1~1.htm

... Chinese alchemists performed rituals to prepare for their experiments, especially with cinnabar. One such rite was a solemn dance titled "Method of Steaming Hemp according to Su Nu". The 6th century Taoist collection Wu Shang Pi Yao (Essentials of the Matchless Books) states that alchemists added hemp to their incense.

....Ma also figured in the early development of medicine. The great physician Hua Tuo (141-208 AD) formulated ma-yo (hemp wine) and ma-fei-san ("hemp boiling powder") with cannabis and aconite for use as an anaesthetic for the surgeries he performed. (Ref.16)

... The oldest pharmacopia in existence, the Pen-Ts'ao Ching (ca. 100 BC) was compiled from ancient fragments attributed to the legendary Emperor Shen-Nung (ca. 2300 BC). The book mentions that "hemp grows along rivers and valleys at T'ai-shan, but it is now common everywhere." Mount T'ai (Shantung province) is one of the oldest locations where hemp was grown in historical times. The book also mentions ma-pho, a term that means a sudden change of mood, such as intoxication. At the same time the word can be explained as dehisence, the sudden blooming of male hemp. The ancient Chinese naturally discovered the medicinal and psychic properties of the resinous bracts, which they called ma-fen. Another find from the Eastern Chou dynasty (Shansi province) contained several hundred pieces of jade and stone "oath documents" with red inscriptions that mention ma with the character for "negative" attached to it. This suggests that the undignified psychoactive effect of the plant was well known to them. (8, 9)

... Emperor Shen Nung, classifies ma as both yin (female, chu-ma) and yang (male, i-ma). He advises that the Chinese cultivate only the female plant because it provides more of the medicinal virtue, which he prescribed for mental weakness, menstrual problems, constipation, gout, rheumatism, beri-beri and malaria. He also classified chu-ma as one of the Superior Elixirs of Immortality. A late edition of the Pen Ts'ao adds this note:

... "To take much makes people see demons and throw themselves about like maniacs. But if one takes it over a long period of time one can communicate with the spirits, gain insight, and one's body becomes light."

The majority of Chinese people, however, were under the sobering influence of Taoist and Confucian religions and considered such a state of intoxication to be shameful. The shamanic use of Cannabis fell into neglect while the more tranquil opium rose in favor instead. Traditional Chinese medicine uses the Mung bean (Semen Phaseoli radiatus) as an antidote for cannabis intoxication.(17)

Historian Joseph Needham attributes the establishment of Mount Shao as the first center of Taoist practice (ca. 350 AD) in part to the use of cannabis by the sage Yang Hsi; he enjoyed a series of visions of Lady Wei, the Mao brothers, and other members of the pantheon who transmitted sacred texts through him. (8)

(8) Needham, Joseph: Science and Civilization; 1976, Cambridge University Press.
(9) Li, Hui-Lin: Economic Botany 28: 437-448 (Oct-Dec 1974)
(17) Yanchi, Lui: The Essential Book of Traditional Chinese Medicine, vol. 2; 1998, Columbia Univ. Press; ISBN 0-231-06518-3.

www.jostsauer.com/

thanks, looks interesting!

Let's not forget this idiot has an article on his page which advices parents that they should NOT talk to their children about drugs.

He ALSO states "marijuana is an hallucinogenic drug but a mild one (or it was at least before hydro dope)." Anyone who uses the word "hydro dope" should be banned from discussing drugs. Where do I begin? Dope refers to heroin, and is not associated with marijuana. Hydro dope isn't even a word. The problem goes on and on.

He insinuates that weed is what led him to his speed addiction. Simply not true. I can't take anyone seriously when they don't blame themselves for their down falls. It looks like a former drug addict trying to capitalize on the weak minded and paranoid. Not good.

i would like to call someone at your company but can't seem to find any contact information on the website. Maybe it's there somewhere, but it's not obvious. What is your 800 number?