Whimsical Imaginations
Cover Artist, Kathy Long
by James Bridges | Herbage Magazine
“A lot of my inspiration early on was escaping. I dealt with a lot of trauma as a child. I was always interested in the Whimsical types of things. I’ve always loved fairies and dragons and stuff like that.” Kathy looked through her camera as we talked through Zoom. It’s a rather odd way to conduct an interview, but it’s becoming easier to swallow. I suspect I’ll never be able to keep it down in my gut though.
“I always wanted to be a part of that world. I actually speak Elvish.” Kathy smiled. I could tell I was speaking with someone that had a huge imagination and I really enjoyed the entryway to what I am sure is a wonderful land of amazement inside of her head.
Kathy happens to work in the cannabis industry as her “day job”. The team down at HempRX in Tulsa have the pleasure. She could recall being there for about 5 months or so, but like many of us on this planet right now….time is hard to keep up with.
“Being in the cannabis industry was a very unexpected opportunity that fell in my lap. My husband said you should go by HempRX. They are looking for someone like you in their store. I was like okay.” I noticed the word n-o-b-r-a-i-n-e-r lift off of her head and dissolve into thin air.
“I actually dabbled with THC when I was younger. Before it was ever measured and prescribed if that’s what you call it. I discovered I’m more of a CBD person. This is the interesting part. My mother’s side of the family actually had someone in there. I believe it was a cousin who has schizophrenia and I don’t possess that Gene, but whenever I smoke I straight-up hallucinate. So I get the same high with CBD as you would with THC.” She was saying with her eyes wide open.
I found this to be rather interesting. How could someone hallucinate from CBD? I looked. It is impossible to completely rule out if CBD will ever produce hallucinations. Most importantly there are very few actual recorded cases of CBD oils and hallucinations. Furthermore, studies show that CBD may help “dampen the abnormal brain activity that can cause the hallucinations and delusions linked with psychosis, paving the way for it to be recommended to help with these kinds of problems for patients in the future.”
“I moved to Oklahoma because my husband is a dialysis patient and his working ability is limited and working with cannabis is one of the things that actually helps him. He has an autoimmune disease. Cannabis actually helps him to not get sick every morning. It’s a job where he can freely smoke and take care of his autoimmune issues and still work reasonable hours.” Kathy seemed at peace.
Kathy not only produces some fun talent on canvas she is an advocate for her patients that she has grown to know. She loves the cannabis community and seems right at home within it. Find more of her work on Instagram or check out her website here.
