Well, duh!
I only bring it up because I was writing that post on the Australian net filter when I got to thinking about the difference between being “pro-cannabis” vs. “pro-cannabis law reform”. Some in the movement prefer the latter term, so as not to be tarred with the “stoner” brush, I guess. There is a framing point that can be made about being “against prohibition” rather than “for gettin’ high, dude!”
On the other hand, there is a framing point to be made about the implied negation in the term “pro-cannabis law reform”. By emphasizing that, doesn’t it feel like you’re distancing yourself from something that is negative? Yes, it is correct to be against the injustice and waste of prohibition of cannabis, but that leaves the argument as “cannabis is bad, lock up users” vs. “cannabis is bad, don’t lock up users”. Isn’t it hard to win a debate when you agree with half of what your opponent believes?
The shorter version: how can you truly support legalizing a plant when you won’t even display its leaf?
I’m pro-cannabis. No doubt about it, my life is better with it than without it. I think many people using other drugs like nicotine or alcohol could be greatly aided by switching to cannabis. I think our caffeine-guarana-taurine-fueled world could benefit now and then from a de-stressing puff on a joint. Though it might put some pharmacists and psychiatrists out of work in recession, I think a lot of prescriptions and therapy sessions could be reduced or eliminated in favor of cannabis. And that’s just a few of my pro arguments without even touching the unassailable morality in favor of medical marijuana and the indisputable logic in industrial hemp. To me, the prohibition of cannabis is more than a crime, it is a direct assault on nature!
Yeah, I know, global warming, strip-mining, pollution, these are all assaults on nature, to be sure. But prohibition of cannabis differs from all of them on one grand moral scale. All the terrible things we’re doing to the Earth are all based on consumption. We can argue how much we need to consume and how much that’s contributing to an assault on nature, but at some level we have to consume. The problems of global warming and the rest, if I may pun, are a matter of degree.
But prohibition of cannabis is an intentional conspiracy by most of the governments of the world to extinguish an entire species of life. Think about it. If John Walters fondest wish came true, the cannabis sativa plant would not exist! It would be wiped out like bubonic plague. When we banded together to extinguish bacteria and virus species, that’s self defense. This is — what do you call the purposeful extinction of a plant, genoherbicide?
Knowing how beneficial cannabis is to mankind and this planet, just for the hemp alone, I struggle to think of something as senselessly shocking. Hold the Godwin warning, I’m not going there. The Holocaust, the Killing Fields, Stalin’s Russia, all mass murders and torture of humans we could name as far more shocking, but that’s evil, not senseless. I think the 19th century Americans shooting bison as target practice as the trains rolled across the West, that’s the kind of senselessly shocking I’m talking about.
I for one really aprieciate those folks keeping the cultuer strong, especially the growers and sellers. these people make it all happen and take most of the risk. NOT the big comerical grows but the grower who has 50-100 plants and knows them all by name. I want to be one of those guys :)
I agree Russ, I remember 20 years ago making the conscious decision to smoke cannabis and accept whatever risks it held.
I didn’t know at the time that it didn’t cause cancer or brain damage or heart disease or death. I just knew that it had a powerful positive effect in my life and that it put me in contact with the greatest people in the world (cannabis smokers).
Twenty years later I applaud that decision as one of the great positive turning points in my life. I’ve now learned about the incredible safety of cannabis and that vaporizers can remove even the small amount of risk that smoking holds.
For 20 years I’ve said cannabis is a gift from God, and I totally believe that. I believe in law reform as a natural right, but I’m passionate about cannabis in a way that makes me feel like some kind of latter day beer-brewing monk from the middle ages, keeping the practice alive until it becomes legitimized once again by society and valued for the relaxing, inspiring and invigorating qualities that it holds.
Once marijuana is legal, there will be millions who will be happy to express their support for marijuana. But as long as there remain the consequences of losing your job and losing your children for simple possession, then it is understandable those millions are not open about their consumption now. Even if some need a degree of seperation by identifying themselves as “marijuana reform supporters,” that, to me, is still courageous and their activism a tremendous support. — Until the persecution ends, this collection of testimonials is likely a good representation of how marijuana consumers feel about cannabis: — http://www.marijuana-uses.com/read.html
I’m with you Russ! I am pot smoker by chioce.
There is a definate plus to having marijuana in my life. I would love to make Hemp products more a part of my life but its difficult.
The boint is the cannabis plant is a natrual resource being wasted.
I belive we (smokers) are a culture within the american make-up.
There seems to be a lot of support for medical marijuana but what about Marijuana Culture?
On Giftmas Day (the 25th), I went to visit my great grandmother with my grandmother, my mother, and my younger sister. She’s in her nineties and suffering terribly from Alzheimer’s disease. She most recently lost the ability to feed herself. During our visit, she was actually awake and talking to us! This might not sound like much of a feat, but my grandmother told me she hadn’t spoken in six months! She had no idea who her daughter, granddaughter, or great-granddaughter were, but told me that she recognized me (but didn’t know who I was either). With her memory and independence destroyed, I couldn’t help but think how much she would have benefited from adding cannabis into her daily cocktail of medicines (which don’t seem to be doing much good) when her disease began its onset. It made me imagine, one day, if my parents are unfortunate enough to suffer the same fate, slipping them cannabis candies or even convincing them to use it medicinally for their own health. It would be a bittersweet victory.
Just recently my roommate ratted me out to my parents, and told them of my daily use. (As a side note, I am 21 years of age and live on my own and am able to do as I please, but was told I would lose any and all financial support for school from my family if I was to continue) Now, I have to hide my occasional use. The nice thing is, though, that I was able to completely justify my use of cannabis, not only for health, but also for recreation as a safe alternative to alcohol. The only thing I couldn’t get past with them is it’s law risk, and that’s why I get involved with and follow cannabis law reform. When, and I say WHEN, cannabis is decriminalized (or better) throughout the country, I can’t wait to fly my ‘Pro-Cannabis’ flag for all to see!
As the magnificent “Radical” Russ once said, “I’m pro-cannabis. No doubt about it, my life is better with it than without it.”