Man, I can not wait for weed to be legal. Not that I really care that much about its (legal) availability, I just can't take hearing about medical marijuana anymore. I remember that day at the Civic Center in San Francisco, circa 1993, when some dude walked up to me with the clipboard and "the pitch" for the first time.
"Uh, dude, it's like, really important because Marijuana heals, and there are people who need it...and..and..."
My first question was "where is the recreational marijuana petition, because I'd rather just sign that one". If you don't know, let me be the first to tell you: medical marijuana is a farce. It's the hippie version of yellowcake uranium with less dire consequences. Would it be such a big deal if it was illegal dirt with similar questionable healing powers? You wouldn't hear a peep about it. It's just a backdoor to legalizing weed. That's all.
It's also the worlds greatest exercise in quotes. You go to the "clinic" to see the "doctor" about your "ailment" such as "headaches" or "insomnia" and the "doctor" "prescribes" you "medication." I had a friend tell me that when he went in for a card with an original "ailment" the "doctor" said "aw dude... I hadn't heard that one before... good one..." like he just shared a new way to cheat on the SAT.
Before you get all mad about your cousin's best friend's brother who smokes weed through chemo treatments, let me just say it loud and proud. I think it should be legal. I always have. I think anyone should be able to smoke as many bong hits as their Xbox and Doritos addicted heart desires. If that means some self-prescription through medically trying times, then yea, that too. Though, as someone who went through cancer treatment, the last thing I'd want at a time of such introspection on life and mortality would be a big puff of the chron-chron, but to each their own.
But I do have a problem with the idea of pot as a wonder healer. It's just the same old weed always has been no matter what kind of Dr. Feelgood prescribes it and smoking it everyday for headaches still makes you a stoner. Every drug has its side effects, and this ones aren't pretty. For starters, it will make you paranoid eventually. It always does. Saying weed doesn't make you paranoid is like claiming you only go to Vegas to win money at blackjack. You just haven't lost your money yet, but it's inevitable. I'm sure some twenty year study will come out in 2030 to prove this, but I don't need it. I'll cite attending the University of Colorado in the 1990s as my research.
Secondly, being a stoner makes you annoying to the rest of us. "But you can't even tell when I smoke weed, I'm totally functioning." Yes, we actually can, we just don't bother saying anything. Have you ever had the experience picking up some friends and about two minutes after hopping in the car you put it together that they are stoned and for the next couple of hours you're stuck with them laughing at cotton candy and the word "slacks" while simultaneously freaking out about ever helicopter and police car that passes? Yea, me too. It sucks. And when was the last time you've seen Vicodin transform a suburban white kid into a Bible-quoting, dread-headed Rastafarian?
My thought on legalization is that it would become like alcohol if it was. Used and enjoyed responsibly by millions while stigmatized for its overuse, the stoner equivalent of the drunk instead of revered in modern culture (i.e. Dude, you got a Dell! guy, though a good stoner movie will always make me laugh). I also believe it's irresponsible to champion a few hits a day of "euphoria unlimited" as medication, or some "AK-47" for stress. If it isn't affecting how you function on the day to day, then you're smoking way too much. Most likely it is though; there is a reason Cheech and Chong movies are so funny. And there is nothing worse than a late blooming stoner. Weed is for the young who have no idea what "I'm too high" means.
The ironic part (ichronic?) is that I know a lot of smokers who still would rather buy from dealers and dealers who are doing brisk business. Honestly, I don't blame them. The prices are the same and you're not on "The Man's" list. Sounds delusional now, but what if Palin took it in '12 and the House and Senate went right? I hate to give them ideas, but the registered stoners list of the greater Los Angeles area is not the worst place to start tightening the screws on the liberal machine.
I know, I sound cranky over something that should be so celebrated, but it's frustrating to watch the pot-smoking left, who has always prided themselves on the truth, slip into the same manipulative and backdoor means as the other side of the aisle when it comes to party drugs. I'd rather they put their time and energy into across the board legalization and spare us all the dog and pony show. Getting us back to pots intended purpose, the perfect prescription for enhanced surfing, movie or hiking experiences, man.
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Paranoia is a side effect of the prohibition of marijuana, not a side effect of marijuana itself.
i get your rant, you are tired of hearing about it. there was a great piece done on the different ratio of components (molecular level) used in medical pot vs rec pot. i know most people, such as yourself, don't care if it is legal like alcohol. this change in view point is a major stepping stone, and i think the strategy is to first legalize it for medical use, then eventually with more acceptance, legalize it across the board. the legislation process is very slow and with the way CA governs itself, we have to do things in baby steps on the ballot. the upcoming proposition may have underestimated support for its cause and could have possibly included true across the board legalization and still had enough support to get on the ballot.
I think it is unfair and condescending to make judgments on whose ailments are worse or in need of medical pot vs other ailments. i will tell you, i never had a migraine headache until last year. I didn't know the pain and suffering that comes with this "headache" but it goes away when i smoke. same goes for my menstrual cramps. this past month i was at a friends house eating dinner and i started getting cramps, no OTC did the job. i get home still in pain, have ONE hit and in a matter of minutes, they are gone.
Yes, it should be legalized. Prohibition never works, it's far safer than any other substance we consume, and it's a basic civil right to be able to have dominion over our own bodies.
No, it's not the "wonder drug" that many adamant proponents claim. But, there is growing evidence to support its medical efficacy in many instances, and there would probably be more if it could be openly studied. Besides, if a hit off a joint makes one feel better, either by combating an actual physical ailment or by simply elevating one's mood, then it has medical value.
That you use your personal experience using it as a blanket truth for everyone else is simply anecdotal and logically fallacious. Doing so to argue your point reduces its validity.