Today is the 20th of April, better known as 420, the International Holiday of Marijuana. Light up, everybody!
Happy 420, Everybody!
It is absolutely amazing to me that this wonderful plant, which reduces tension and aggression, helps in the treatment of numerous diseases, and enhances every sensory pleasure known to mankind, should still be illegal virtually everywhere. There are many theories as to why the opposition to it is so unyielding. Some say it’s the tobacco and alcohol industry, some say it’s the pharmaceutical industry, some say it’s the military industrial complex (when you are well and truly stoned, you have almost no desire to kill anybody).
Actually, I imagine there are lots of reasons. In fact, as there are two sides to every story, for every reason we have for legalization, there is a counter reason.
First, let’s take the idea that the pharmaceutical companies don’t want it legalized. I’m sure that’s true. Think about it. Visit the home of the biggest stoner you know, then visit the home of the most uptight, pot hating Victorian that you know. While there, ask to use the bathroom and, while there, take a look in their medicine cabinet. I’ll bet you, dollars to donuts, that Aunt Martha has more drugs than Freddie the Freak. By a lot.
Then, there’s our argument that hemp has many other uses. It’s true. The seeds make a nice, crunchy addition to a salad, they can be pressed for oil, the stalks of course are used for making rope or cloth. Hemp clothing is really nice, it’s like a softer denim. So, on the anti-pot side you have the textile industry, the oil industry, and many others.
Of course, the real reason most of us want it to be legalized is because it’s a lot of fun. You might think that nobody could object to that, but you would be wrong. They are the same people who cover their ears and make childish expressions of disgust if the music is mildly loud. They sneer when people are laughing or having a good time on the Metro. They hate it when children are running, and yell at children who are anywhere out of the specifically confined boring zone. They think sex is evil. They go to church a lot, and not the fun churches, either. They are numerous and, unfortunately, they vote.
Fortunately, for the future of the human race, most of their kids are stoners.
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Marijuana is always compared to dangerous things, like “It’s safer than alchohol” or “it’s safer than tobacco”, but marijuana smoking as a recreational activity should be compared with other recreational activities. For example, recreational marijuana smoking is safer than: mountain climbing, hang gliding, base jumping, bicycle riding, swimming, team sports, skiing, boating, driving, motorcycle riding, horseback riding, ice skating, roller skating, tennis, weight lifting, running, eating, and just about every other legal recreational activity there is, yet all those “dangerous” things are allowed. I don’t have official figures or studies to back this up, but all those activities mentioned result in lots of injuries and deaths every year, smoking marijuana no.
Good one!
As I recall, it was William Randolph Hearst, the paper magnate, that spearheaded the fight against pot. He feared that the cost of paper would go down if hemp were cultivated.