My friend, Bill is dying of cancer. He probably has two or three days left. He's not conscious and while the caretakers say that he can recognize my voice, I doubt it. He's being given a lot of drugs including morphine, but they don't seem to give him peace. His body struggles as if he is trying to free himself from unseen restraints. Perhaps he's pain-free, but he definitely does not seem comfortable. However, I was able to say goodbye to Bill with a smile on my face because of something his wife told me a few minutes earlier. She said, "Bill spent the last five days of his conscious life smoking pot." Now, if you knew Bill you'd know how utterly preposterous that statement sounds. Bill was a retired Pediatric Cardiologist. He voted Republican all his life until he voted for Obama. He did not waste money or words. And he definitely had never smoked marijuana.

Some weeks back, Bill's internist suggested that he consider medical marijuana as a way to restore his appetite which had been destroyed by chemotherapy. Later Bill decided to give it a try. Bill and his wife found a dispensary nearby after a brief internet search. They called the dispensary and were told they would need a referral letter and that a "doctor" would be on the premises that afternoon. At the time, Bill could only walk short distances and he was very weak, but they went over to the dispensary. They stood in a queue of seemingly able-bodied young men also seeking relief from something. The doctor relieved them of $140 and provided each with the referral letter. Bill's wife said that she was less than impressed with the certification process and ventured an opinion that "Bill was the only truly ill individual that doctor would see all week." The young dispensary clerks were very helpful. They suggested that Bill purchase two thumb sized buds "one of indica for pain and one of sativa for depression". Bill also picked out a nice psychedelic pipe. Once home, bill tried it. His wife said that once he felt the effects of the first puff a little smile brightened his face. He smoked some more and the smile broadened. His wife chuckled as she remembered his fondness for the stuff. She said, "I'd ask him if he'd like anything and he usually answered, "I believe I'll have some of that marijuana." It made Bill happy at the end of his journey. What a gift!

I agree with those that say that medical marijuana is mostly used by recreational pot smokers, but I know that there are other people like Bill who are truly ill and can't get anything from the medical community that works as well as marijuana to put a smile on their faces.

This article gives you advice on how to boost your brain power and keep your brain in the best shape possible.

1. Exercise

Getting cardiovascular exercise is one of the most important aspects to having a healthy brain. The main reason is that cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain. There are other benefits to exercise, but it's of great benefit to the brain in particular.

2. Brain Activities

We all fall into routines in which we aren't using our brains to learn anything new. This becomes more common as we get older and lose interest in new things. Unfortunately for some, their minds fall into such a rut that they develop attention deficit disorder or even worse - dementia.

There are many ways to keep the brain active. Here are just a few of many: Reading, doing arithmetic in your head, memory exercises, learning a musical instrument, learning a foreign language, crossword puzzles, chess, games that require concentration, or any kinds of puzzle games in general. Creative exercises such as painting, poetry, music, improv, or writing are also great ways to use the brain.

Here is a recommendation, for example: If you take the same path to work each day, challenge yourself by taking a different path and figure out how to get there just by using your mind. Try memorize the street names and just exercise your brain as much as possible. Another similar example would be for a guitar player to try and play his guitar left-handed, simply for the sake of mental exercise. Get the idea?

The purpose of these kinds of exercises is not only to build concentration ability, but to keep challenging your brain to learn new things. When the brain learns something new, it develops new neural pathways. So in a sense, every time you learn something new your brain "blazes a new trail" so that it gets easier the next time you do it. If you remember when you first learned to type on the keyboard, it was difficult remembering where all the letters were. At this point in time, I'm sure that you have so many neural pathways that your mind effortlessly types away on autopilot.

Increase your brain power by learning to do something new, and use your brain in ways that you are not typically familiar with. It takes some effort, but it's well worth it.

3. Get Outdoors

Many people suffer from poorly ventilated areas such as offices or rooms that lack oxygen. Well, big surprise: The brain needs oxygen to perform at its best. Make sure to get outdoors, get a little sunlight, and keep your homes and offices well ventilated.

4. Brain Foods

If you haven't already read my article about Healthy Brain Foods, be sure to check it out. In summary, I'll say that the our brains benefit the most from fish, blueberries, natural coffee and dark chocolate (in moderation), walnuts, blueberries, eggs, cheese and milk (in moderation), whole grains, avocados, bananas, and many other great foods such as acai berries, almonds, and cashews.

The brain is very greedy and taxes the body heavily in terms of blood sugar. The brain feeds directly on glucose, so if you aren't nourished, you will lack focus and concentration. For this reason, it's important to Eat a Big Breakfast before you start the day.

Eating a diet full of protein, whole grain carbs, and healthy, unsaturated fat is the key to a healthy brain.

5. Relaxation, Peace of Mind

If something's bothering you, it's very difficult to concentrate since your mind is constantly somewhere else. The same thing occurs when you're in a situation in which you are distracted, such as email notifications or a nagging relative. When you have peace of mind, you have clarity and focus. Try some relaxation techniques like a hot shower, bath, meditation, or deep-breathing. It's also good to take a break: Go for a walk or watch a movie to get your mind away from the stress, so you can come back refreshed.

6. Brain Supplements

I'm not going to get too much into herbs and vitamins that boost brain power, because much of it is due to speculation and conflicting data. I will emphasize that Omega-3 Fish Oil has been proven to help increase cognitive ability. Aside from the regular vitamins A through E that we normally ingest with food or over-the-counter vitamins, I don't see much of a need to rely on other supplements. It's rumored that Gingko Biloba helps enhance brain concentration and reduces memory loss over time, but there are conflicting studies. Just be sure you're following the Mr Healthy Diet and taking your multivitamin each day. That should be just fine.

7. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking

While there are some benefits for middle aged or older people to have 1-2 drinks per day, keep in mind that alcohol directly kills brain cells. So the health benefits of alcohol do come at a price. It does matter how much you are drinking though. If you do drink occasionally, keep it under control and follow the advice in the rest of this article so that your brain does not suffer.

While we're on the topic of alcohol, I'll also mention smoking. It's not only bad for your skin but it's also bad for your brain. The primary reason is that it restricts blood flow to your organs, which obviously include your brain. The same goes for drugs, which can cause mild to severe damage.

8. Sleep

Without a good night's rest, it's very difficult for the brain to concentrate. Each one of us is different, and we all require a different amount of sleep. Using trial and error, you must determine which amount of sleep is best for you and try to stay on a schedule. Consistency is key!

When I was in high school, I crashed doing an airwalk grab on the library steps. I have it on video. I smashed two vertebrae in my lower back. The surgery left me with metal in my back and an attitude. That was like eleven years ago. I have pain that can be crippling for a few days, sometimes it's not so bad. I have taken a lot pain killers including Oxycontin and Vicodin over the years. I like that stuff but it makes me drool and recite the alphabet non-stop. Mostly, I get by with an epidural injection every few months and daily doses of ibuprofen or naproxen. I smoke marijuana too.

I find that marijuana doesn't block the pain much but it sure helps with my attitude. I've been depressed since the accident. I guess, I just can't accept that I''ll never be a world class skater and I'll always walk a little bit like my grandpa. I was prescribed Zoloft at first, then Wellbutrin for depression but marijuana works much better for me. Dude, I'm only 28. I want to have fun, have some laughs. Anyway, I'm sitting around smoking and joking with some friends, and this guy Doug says, "Dude, you can smoke legally. Messed up as you are, no offense, you can qualify for medical marijuana. Medical marijuana? I visualize the herb in little capsules. So Doug knows this guy who knows a guy, call him Bob, who is totally down with the whole medical marijuana scene.

Bob and I drive up to Santa Monica so I can get on the program. The medical marijuana dispensary is between a nail salon and a Tae Kwon-Do studio. Inside, it's like any other store, a glass display case with rows of big glass jars like your granny might keep cooking stuff in except these are filled with marijuana buds, with neat little tent cards propped up in front of them with product names like L.A. Confidential, Blueberry, Kush, and Trainwreck.

I reach into my jeans for my roll and Bob says, "You gotta get a referral letter first." So we walk past the cute salesgirl in a tight pink t-shirt. She was pretty hot. We go out the back to a patio with some plastic chairs and a picnic table. Dr. Dean will see you now. The doc is pretty cool, in his forties I'd say, talks to me for about 15 minutes, lots of questions about my medical history (I have a copy of my last MRI report with me) and my psychiatric history. I sense that he's happy to talk to someone who is really messed up physically versus some of these anxiety and ADD types. Dr. Dean decided that I was a suitable candidate for medical marijuana, took the $150 out of my hand, and gave me a signed letter certifying that I was a patient under his care. The letter was good for a year, after that I could renew it each year for $100. He said that he had written several thousand medical marijuana recommendations in the last few years and that none had been successfully challenged in court.

With that reassurance, I couldn't wait to get back to the front desk and the pink t-shirt. She said I should call her Sandy and she started out with a brief primer of the major marijuana strains: "indica is for a body high, more numbing", she said, "whereas sativa is more for the head, more abstract, better for doing creative work, listening to music." I spend the next 20 minutes, looking and smelling, and checking out Sandy. Finally, I sense that Sandy wants to move on and Bob is getting impatient so I finalize my purchase. Incidentally, you can't sample anything on the premises. On the way home Bob fills me in on the etiquette of being a bona fide medical marijuana patient. Words like "weed", "dope", and getting "stoned" are not to be used anymore. Those words helped to criminalize marijuana in the past. Now, I'm to refer to marijuana as medicine.

It's still not a perfect world. The Federal government doesn't recognize the legality of California's medical marijuana law. The DEA raids dispensaries regularly. I'm talking about SWAT teams with guns drawn. They intimidate but make no attempt to identify the patients. They confiscate marijuana and the dispensary's computers, and cash. It's mostly harassment. They want the dispensaries to go away but they return the confiscated items after a while. The authorities also pressure the landlords to evict the dispensaries.

What's changed most for me since I've become a medical marijuana patient? I definitely get a much better grade of marijuana now. It costs a more, but I don't use as much. By law, I'm allowed to have as much as half a pound for personal use, but I find I keep a much smaller amount because I have a reliable and legal source. Some of the people I bought marijuana from back in the day were not people I would have chosen to hang out with otherwise, no offense intended.