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What if there was a plant [br]that had over 60,000 uses?

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A plant that had the ability to heal[br]some of the deadliest diseases we know?

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Could replace many chemical medicines[br]for problems like depression and insomnia?

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A plant that could reduce the growing[br]and devastating effects of deforestation?

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Preventing the habitat destruction[br]of many endangered animals?

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A plant that was illegal for reasons [br]that simply don't make sense?

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That plant is cannabis and the name alone[br]invokes various thoughts in our minds.

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Maybe your parents have their views on it,[br]and that has rubbed off on you.

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Or perhaps you associated it with people[br]sitting in their rooms and smoking it.

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But linking cannabis to something that[br]just gets you high

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is like saying[br]water only serves one purpose.

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This video is about to get interesting[br]so sit back and relax.

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Let's take things back to the basics.

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There are three species[br]of cannabis:

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all of which can be split,[br]although usually the sativa type,

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into an industrial compound[br]referred to as hemp,

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which is where the industrial[br]side of cannabis comes in.

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Hemp has been used for thousands of years[br]and its usability is unlike anything else.

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It can be used for oil for cooking[br]and converting to fuel.

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The seeds, which are among[br]the most nutritional ones on the planet,

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supply nearly every mineral and vitamin[br]the body needs.

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It can be used for clothing, and not only[br]needs half the amount of water than cotton

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but also requires no chemicals[br]or fertilisers.

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It can also be used as housing insulation,[br]fibre boards; and it's a phytoremediation,

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a plant that can remove toxins, radiation[br]and contamination from water and soil.

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Hemp was used in the agricultural fields[br]around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site

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to help remove the heavy metals[br]and radiation from the unusable land.

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Scientists behind the plant used hemp[br]as a phytoremediation, and stated

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that as well as being excellent[br]for the job of removing harmful waste,

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the hemp could then be converted[br]to bio-diesel afterwards.

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Now, the conversion to bio-diesel is far[br]from environmentally friendly,

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but the fact that this plant[br]has the ability to do this is incredible.

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Hemp's natural process[br]of removing harmful toxins

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was also considered[br]for the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima.

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Due to the strict cannabis laws in Japan,[br]hemp was not used, though.

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But the two main resources[br]that can be produced using hemp

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that could have a deep impact on planet[br]and our lives are paper and plastic.

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According to a study conducted in 1916,

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it's believed one acre of hemp[br]over the course of twenty years

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can produce four to ten times[br]the amount of paper than trees.

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And, although the deforestation problem[br]we face now is attributed to many things,

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reducing the need for tree paper[br]by using hemp

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would still reduce the damaging effects[br]paper production has

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which sees roughly four billion trees[br]being cut down a year for that purpose.

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Yet, less than 0.1% of the paper we use[br]is made with hemp.

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Hemp plastic, which can not only be made[br]to be completely biodegradable,

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reducing extensive pollution on beaches[br]and destruction to marine life,

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can also be produced with little[br]or no chemicals,

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which we all know makes up[br]the majority of plastic we use today.

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Those who discredit the broad use of hemp[br]as a material say

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it can be costly and overlong to produce[br]the equivalent of what we have today,

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and they're right.

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However, cheaper is not always best,

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as shown with the impact of chemical-laden[br]and non-degradable products we consume.

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Hemp would most likely cost more to use,[br]but the overall impact would be justified.

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Where do I begin[br]with the medical side of cannabis?

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Let's start with what scientists[br]and researchers believe

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is the reason it has profound benefits[br]in the first place.

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So far they have been able to identify[br]483 chemical compounds within the plant,

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80 of which are called cannabinoids.

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Though the studies are becoming[br]a lot more popular,

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so far we do not know a whole lot[br]about these 80 cannabinoids

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or their effect on humans, as the research[br]has been focused on just a few of them,

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such as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol,

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by far the most studied chemical,

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binding the receptors in your nervous[br]and immune system when heated,

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causing you to get high, and it's the only[br]compound in cannabis to do so.

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It's the chemical that medical marijuana[br]is most active in,

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as it acts as a side-effect-free[br]muscle relaxant,

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anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant,

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and current studies are showing that[br]it could be used as a therapy for anxiety,

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the side effects of chemotherapy,[br]cancer growth reduction, Crohn's disease,

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chronic pain, insomnia[br]or multiple sclerosis, just to name a few.

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The next one is[br]tetrahydrocannabinolic acid,

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which is the same chemical as the one[br]just talked about in its unheated form,

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which means[br]it's a non-psychoactive compound.

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This is administered by juicing cannabis[br]like wheat grass or any other plant,

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as it contains medical properties[br]that are lost when heated.

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Though the chemical is in its early stages[br]of research,

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it's thought to be an effective treatment[br]as an anti-inflammatory

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and of a variety of illnesses[br]without any significant side effects,

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and will not give patients[br]the feeling of a high either.

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Cannabidiol is similar and has been linked[br]as an effective aid for anxiety,

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nausea, acne, schizophrenia

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and many neurodegenerative diseases.

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The studies haven't gone on long enough[br]to know full benefits cannabis may have,

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and there's a reason for that.

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It's been illegal in nearly[br]every country since the early 1900s.

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Let's talk about that.

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We have established that cannabis[br]has thousands of industrial uses,

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and many of these can be produced[br]with less of an impact on the environment

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than conventional products,

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and that cannabis[br]may have more medical benefits

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than any other natural,[br]untouched product in the world.

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So why would something with all these uses[br]and benefits be illegal?

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It can't be due to the high when smoked[br]because if that was the case

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and the law wanted to protect us,[br]then why would alcohol and tobacco,

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substances that kill millions every year,[br]or even refined sugar,

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linked to a lot of health complications[br]human suffer from today, be legal?

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That just wouldn't make any sense.

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But if it's not illegal[br]due to health concerns, then why is it?

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Well, it's confusing and there's lots[br]of false information about the subject,

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although it seems[br]there are three supposed reasons.

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First, in 1929 Harry Anslinger, the head[br]of the prohibition department in the US,

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was dealing[br]with the backlash of the alcohol ban,

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and once this was removed, his department[br]were practically non-operational.

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So they came up with an idea[br]to tell people cannabis was a devil drug

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that turned men into wild beasts

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that would attack women.

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Apparently, Harry contacted 30 scientists[br]asking for proof to show to the public,

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but 29 of them said they could not find[br]valid proof that the drug was dangerous.

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The second explanation is linked to[br]the 1900s Mexican immigration to the US.

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When the Mexicans arrived, they brought[br]marijuana as a medicine and relaxant.

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In order for the US to have an excuse to[br]search and deport the immigrants,

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marijuana became the perfect drug[br]to criminalize and label dangerous.

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And lastly, one that many people reside to[br]when asked why cannabis is illegal

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is that major companies, mainly DuPont,[br]became worried at the many uses of hemp,

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more specifically nylon,

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which DuPont invented around the same time[br]the cannabis laws were being enforced.

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It was profitable to back and promote[br]the government's decision to tell people

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cannabis was a drug to make people high[br]when in fact it was to ban the use of hemp

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from being a nylon alternative.

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It's hard to prove why it's illegal,[br]as no authentic records seem available.

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One or a combination of the above seems[br]the reasoning for the US to ban cannabis,

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resulting in other countries to follow.

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But regarding the last theory,[br]I wouldn't say big corporations are greedy

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and do not want to use hemp.

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If this theory is factual, I think[br]it's now gotten to the stage

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where it's too far gone for them[br]to make the change to hemp,

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since after it was made illegal,[br]all manufacturing was grounded to a halt

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and no new technology was used[br]to advance the hemp production,

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meaning that getting to it now[br]would be very costly.

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Whatever the reason, cannabis is illegal[br]in the majority of places,

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be it an outdated racial action[br]or the greed of big corporations.

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Only now, nearly 100 years later,[br]as it's becoming less frowned upon,

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are doctors and researchers realising[br]how powerful it could be.

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For me, everything on this planet[br]serves a purpose,

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whether it's the bees and wasps[br]that pollinate plants and flowers

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or whether it's you[br]who fulfils your purpose in life.

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It seems everything[br]has some reason for being here,

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and many say cannabis has the purpose[br]of providing humans with thousands of uses

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with very little impact on the planet.

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Yet, because just one of many things[br]it's used for makes you high,

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the law has perhaps stinted the research[br]and industrial production

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of one of the most incredible materials[br]on the planet.

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To finish off, I want to state[br]I am not a cannabis activist by any means.

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Probably like you, I never thought of hemp[br]apart from the fact that it can be smoked

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till I started researching for this video,[br]which I wanted to talk about for a while,

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because it's made me,[br]and hopefully you, realise

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that there is so much more to it[br]than that.

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That doesn't mean the benefits of cannabis[br]can justify smoking weed, though.

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For some people smoking it can cause[br]social and life problems,

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and the effects have been shown[br]to possibly harm a developing young brain.

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So if you're unhappy, don't have a job[br]and smoke weed in your room all day,

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I know you need to be going after life.

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Though weed's linked to busting depression[br]and anxiety, and many other problems,

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quitting your habits[br]could be the best thing you do.

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Certainly do not think to now go out[br]and smoke weed for its health benefits

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because medical and recreational cannabis[br]can vary massively,

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and the potential for long-term[br]side effects is still being researched.

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Those taking cannabis for medical benefits[br]mostly don't want to get high

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and only require a small amount[br]of the drug in the first place.

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An amount that would not have[br]any mind altering effects,

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but still seem to help relieve[br]and prevent many illnesses.

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I hope you've enjoyed this video.

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I'll see you in the next one.