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Why I find cannabis so fascinating 🧠
The world has changed so quickly. Cannabis stores are popping up left and right, people smoke it in parks and at picnics. It’s normal, it’s legal. Nobody cares any more about it, it’s a part of every day life, a societal norm.
Cannabis not all that long ago was a crime. They said it was long ago decriminalized but that is mostly a lie as you couldn’t legally buy cannabis legally anywhere in New York, you could be ticketed for simple possession and smoking it or otherwise publicly displaying it could land you in front of a judge facing potential jail time and mandatory treatment. I many places, that’s still the case, I didn’t bring any down to Pennsylvania.
Cannabis still provokes a certain strong reaction of disgust by certain groups of people, especially the elderly and some conservatives. You smoke, how dare you? You are trashing your brain, soon you’ll be buying heroin from some bad black dude in Arbor Hill. You’re about as bad as a mass murder or terrorist. All for smoking a pungent little herb that makes you giggle, see enhanced color and beauty, makes you really relaxed. Or maybe a bit paranoid if buy a strain that doesn’t quite vibe with you.
And then you have the whole industry of music and artwork built up around cannabis. Stoner lyrics, that trippity sound and art with a lot of color. Much of it seems like an exaggeration getting stoned. Cannabis doesn’t make you love the Grateful Dead or Phish though it’s really chill music and part of the relaxed and paying attention experience.
I would say all and all the herb is far overstated for it’s effects both positive and negative. Smoking it won’t kill you, it won’t change everything in your world. Giggle a bit, see the irony in things and how truly colorful and beautiful the world is we us. Maybe occasionally a bad trip but in general it’s cheap and kind of fun. Just like sparklers and ground fireworks which until recently were illegal in New York.
Cannabis
Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer, but a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years.
That’s the old Phil Ochs lyrics from Outside a Small Circle of Friends.
I’ve never gotten the War on Marijuana. I think that the old adage that pot smokers are loosers is kind of silly. Most people I know who smoke pot are actually quite successful. They use the drug in moderation, it chills them out and if anything makes them better at dealing with every day stresses in the a calm and collected way. Sure I know stoners who are loosers but also folks who make a ton more money then I do at my job.
To be clear, smoking marijuana is pungent and it lingers. While odor is closely associated with people’s views on the topic, there is no doubt that it’s pungent. It lingers in the air and on your clothes like mucking a hog or dairy barn. Unlike farmers though, pot smokers don’t usually shower and change out of their barn clothes before heading back to town. I guess you can grow to like the smell and associate it with good things – just like farmers like to joke that manure smells like money.
I don’t worry that much about people driving intoxicated because I think people will find ways to be foolish with motoring however they want to be, and while there may be more deadly crashes, that’s more of an issue of motoring then the drug itself. Marijuana also adjusts perception different that alcohol and its impacts are different. So there’s that.
I do think it would be an excellent agricultural crop especially once it becomes federally legal, which is only a matter of time. If the democrats win the White House that could happen in two years. It’s apparently quite easy to grow and process, it could not only help the agriculture industry but also inspire the younger generation to learn more about agriculture and do some gardening and home cultivation.
The truth is I like thinking more about smoking pot then actually smoking …
Maybe the best part of being high, is thinking about how much fun it is to be high. To read about other’s adventures about getting high and learning about genetics and strains of cannabis. To learn about the health pros and cons to smoking, to read the debate over cannabis and how legal it should be. Often it seems dreaming about doing something is a lot more fun then actually doing.
Colors 🌈
Upon my first hit, not only was I hungry, I marveled at how rich the colors were around me. How soft and gentle the leaves of trees were, how beautiful the clouds were in the sky.
At the same time I was kind of disappointed especially by the long weekend’s end. The cannabis was good but ultimately most of what it did was make me a bit sleepy and unambitious, somewhat more hungry but it wasn’t earth shattering. It made me forgetful but didn’t open up any new worlds. Maybe a bit giggly or having fun singing with Puff the Magic Dragon, but it hardly made all my fears go away.
Maybe I was just oversold on the power of grass. But it was still fun to explore this legal product and celebrate freedom on this Independence Day Weekend.