We’ve never said marijuana gives you super powers, makes you smarter or dumber. We’ve never said it’d be cooler if you had some, even though it would be. We never said everyone should smoke (though it might make politicians a little more honest). My whole reason (besides all the unjust imprisonments and lost opportunities) of being an active voice in the legalization is not to make everyone high, I just want marijuana legal so I can be left alone while doing mine.
To live in a world where you don’t have to worry about cops or shitty pious neighbors, a world where my job and kids can’t be taken away from me. Instead we live in a world where a pothead/stoner/whatever you want to call yourself is a criminal. Instead we live in a world where self proclaimed alcoholics survive and thrive.
I blame the drug war proponents for lives lost; lost due to the inability to qualify for scholarships and other government programs that drug convictions dismiss you from. Lives literally lost in attempts to experiment with something legal for a high.
It’s human nature to want to escape, I remember being in the military trying the “legal weed” just to see what it would do for me — I was not impressed, natural is always the way to go. Within the past year or so there have been a rash of deaths as a result of the “the legal weed” — I blame the drug war proponents. Even the creator of “the legal weed” has come out for the legalization of marijuana.
Smoking for pleasure is nothing new; Researchers debate Shakespeare’s use of “that noted weed” mentioned in his sonnets. For hard facts it has recently been found in the Gobi desert dating back 2700 yrs ago. So why is something so old made illegal and has remained that way fairly recently?
The times are changing but not soon enough for us die hard, not wanting to go to jail, not wanting the police to raid our homes, not wanting my children taken away, not wanting to fear the police while holding, stoner types. Marijuana has and is again taking a hold in pop culture once again. Take for instance the Late Night munchies Taco Bell commercial; who are they really gunning for? (note to Taco Bell: Sell here!)
As allergy seasons come and go I get more irritated about the law. Have you ever taken a Benadryl? At 6ft 230lbs it’s an uncontrollable high I don’t enjoy and this shit is legal. As our big brother society grows and grows it becomes clearer our signals are all mixed up. The FDA just released what a new pack of cigarettes will look like. A box with images caused by cigarette smoke, I say legalize marijuana and post images of couch potatoes and late night binging on the pack, I’d still buy.
So again why is this natural beautiful thing illegal? State by state, hope develops and then quickly dwindles away when the legislature doesn’t pass or is stuck in some proverbial red tape. Is it because not enough people care? Maybe. Is it because more people feel it should be illegal than not? I don’t think so. For the most part I think the majority of America is okay with knowing a stoner, unless of course that stoner is family mooching off of you, than all you see is a p.o.s not doing what it takes to get a job.
We’re so distracted by the daily inundation of shitty news that we get sidetracked about what really is bad, harmful, or in the end will effect my life Mr. Joe Nobody. Jon Stewart explains it best on a Fox News show that all media is simply laziness and sensationalism. Magazines like High Times took the sting out of the marijuana culture shock back in the day; but now its up to websites like theweedblog, tokeofthetown, and Hailmaryjane taking a bite out of the government crime. We are not criminals, those arrested for a gram up to hundreds of pounds are not criminals and the world has to be kept aware of this.
I recently stopped in one of the most amazing pro-marijuana towns in the world called Big Sky, Montana. The whole thing was happenstance, on my way from Bozeman, Mt. to my next job I picked up a hitchhiker, who turned out to be a seasonal worker in one of the big money resorts. Along the way to Big Sky he invited me to hangout for the night; this is where my adventure began. Here I acquired some local agriculture known as Chanel No#5 which was just as intoxicating as her real name counterpart. Bag in hand; we hopped from local to local seizing the day smoking, drinking, and joking: I met a pretty young woman facing federal charges because she was caught with 14 grams in Yellowstone Park (which is Federal land). During that night she smoked like a champ and knew of the penalties that she faces. We do what we do and know the penalties we face; this ought to tell somebody something of one plant.
On days when I discourage not by the movement but by the politicians I ponder “To weed or not to weed?” and its places like Big Sky, Mt. that tell me “To weed forever”.
