It’s two steps forward one step back as long as pot remains illegal at the federal level. On one hand, states are racking up new revenue, medical patients are finding affordable relief from pharmaceuticals, monetarily as well as physically, and low level pot offenders caught in the criminal justice system will soon walk free. Potentially with a job in the industry that put them there in the first place, according to an recent article. That’s a win, win, win.
But on the other, it is still a dangerous cash only business, employers can/will still fire you for failing a drug test, and anyone on any kind of federal assistance can fuggetaboutit. Say, CHA residents who can be kicked out on the street because as a federal entity, CHA follows federal law. And local villages are opting out by voting pot sales out of their towns. Like pot hasn't already been sold in your town by a local dealer since the 60's. That’s not winning.
But I'm really not ending 1 year, 8 months, and 3 days of non-blogging to tell you what you already know. I'm here to tell you what you don't.
Never forget my first hit of pot. REO Speedwagon, July 27, 1980, Alpine Valley. My buddy and I were inhaling all of the second hand pot smoke we could, when alas, we found it was insufficient. So we asked the group to our left if we could take our first ever hit. The guy sitting next to me was like, "WHAAAAT? You guys have never gotten high?" So they gave us their roach, which I learned did NOT have six legs and a thorax. I will always remember smelling the tips of my fingers all the way home.
Fast forward nearly 40 years. Yes I have smoked pot most of my life. Yes some of you are recoiling in horror right now. Yes I have been high thousands of times. But today? Yes I smoke all the time. But getting high? Hardly ever at all. Let me do some 'splainin'.
I don't like being high anymore. Used to be you bought a bag of pot. That was it. Maybe you knew it was Maui Wowwie or Thai Sticks, but to most is was just marijuana. I had no idea there were 2 very different strands. Sativa, the most popular, is a serious mind buzz, for those that want to get really stoned. Indica, is a mellower sleepy time body buzz, for those that want to relax. Not knowing what I was smoking all of these years was fine, when I wanted to get high. But these days I don't.
There is a reason that medical marijuana got its foot in the door before recreational sales started sweeping the nation. People are learning all of the magical wonders this plant has to offer. We don't know what it is capable of because the government still lists it as a Schedule 1 drug. Meaning we can't study it legally. That doesn't so much matter to me, as I know what it does for MY body.
So why the history lesson? There is still a stigma today. Would you think twice about telling someone that you had wine with your Alsakan Sea Bass last night? Or a couple of beers at Hooters with your college buddies? Or dressed up as Pirate and lifted your right leg while downing shots of Captain Morgan at your local dive? I have done all of the above. Except dressing up as a pirate, sorry to disappoint. And I have smoked pot. Actually I don't even "smoke" pot anymore. Vaping has taken over the industry, and surprise surprise, the black market has figured out a way to dilute the product, dangerously I might add. Buy your vape off the street, roll the dice. Buy from a legal, licensed dealer, you know what you are getting.
The airwaves are flooded with commercials for booze. How about the ads for pharmaceuticals with disclaimers that literally take up half of the commercial? I seriously can't wait for the first marijuana commercial on TV. The disclaimers will be hilarious. May cause feeling of euphoria, and sudden trips to the refrigerator. Maybe that day the stigmatism will be over.
