Santa Barbara, Calif. - I'M 74 years old, and I have smoked marijuana almost every day since dinosaurs roamed the earth in the early '70s. When my awareness is heightened, I'm on my game - the best I can be at thinking creatively, making decisions, focusing on my work, seeing the big picture ... and caregiving.

For 20 years my wife, Anne, has struggled gallantly against the physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual depredations of Parkinson's disease. For the first 15, I took care of her myself. Now I have lots of help. Either way, enjoying a hit or two on the pipe every couple of hours has granted me tens of thousands of sweet clemencies that keep me from burning out as a caregiver.

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