Yesterday I posted a comment on the DJ Hall arrest thread. I promised in that thread not to get into a long drawn out political discussion on it. It was about what happened with DJ, and not about my experiences or what I believed the laws should be. I do not feel so encumbered here.
What I have to say is admittedly anecdotal, but I see no other conclusions that I could draw based on what I have experienced. For many years of my life I was a flower child born a decade too late. I believed much as those who still do that tetrahydrocannabinal (THC) in whatever form was harmless. Many if not most of my friends used. In fact three of my closest friends during that time period seriously considered changing all of their names to Herb.
Two of these guys are the ones I spoke of in the post. They were serious about only one thing growing, perfecting and using marijuana. One afternoon at a party they were on the balcony getting high. No one really knows why he did it but one of them got up on top of the railing, and the other was following. When one fell the other tried to catch him and both of them fell to their deaths. The last time I saw the third “Herb brother” he was strung out to the point that he was almost unrecognizable.
This was the first of literally hundreds of episodes that color my thinking on this. I have seen practically every possible example of what even tinkering in this life can do to a person.
You cannot tell someone that THC is not a stepping stone drug who has seen it be one. When someone tells you that “Mary Jane is not doing it for me anymore, Crystal is taking care of me now.” There is no other conclusion.
You cannot tell someone who has experienced a friend die as a direct result that it is harmless.
You cannot tell someone who has seen people willingly give up everything they care about or own for a dime bag that it is not too addictive.
To those that use the argument that it is no worse than alcoholic beverages, this has not been my experience. No one I know who took the step from heavy alcohol use to heavy drug use has made it out of that world. Most of those that took the step from light alcohol use to light drug use at some point ended up much heavier drug users. In my experience drug use including marijuana/cannabis simply grabbed them too hard. Being immersed in that world, I have known many people before they tried it, and can say with certainty that continual use changed every one of them in a negative way. At some point in their lives the access to use this stuff reigns supreme.
Depending on your belief system, I was either lucky or blessed. I never touched it. My preferred drug was alcohol. In my position in the Navy I had too much to lose, and was randomly tested too often, to even try it. For a while I blamed myself for my friend’s deaths. The reason they went on the balcony to break out the bong was so I didn’t get exposed. I do believe alcohol use can be every bit as dangerous, and have had to break an addiction to it myself. It was very difficult for me to do so. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to break a stronger one.
Whether or not you chose to agree with, listen to, or even believe anything I have said, and still believe marijuana should be legalized, be careful what you hope for. The only reason our government or municipalities would allow it would be to regulate and tax it. If you believe that this will take away crime, I think you are not thinking it through. If it is made legal it will be sin taxed heavier than alcohol and tobacco. While there will be availability at a high price for those who wish to use and be law abiding, black markets will remain in place of the current ones. I believe all that you thought would be corrected will be worse.
I am not one of those people who go around as an activist trying to change laws and browbeating people. I agree that legislating morality is often a futile exercise. My belief is that while it is admittedly unfair at times (what isn’t?), the current system about the best we can do. For the most part light use is not prosecuted, only events that are influenced by heavy use and intent to distribute. If you insist on getting or even growing some for your personal use I doubt anyone will stop you, while I disagree you make your own choices and live with them. If you are careful you will probably get away with it.
However, if you try to sell it, if you try to give it away, even if you try to convince others to use it, I cannot help but have a big problem with you, and I will continue to fight against it fair or not.
Sorry for the length of this. I actually cut it down quite a bit.
What I have to say is admittedly anecdotal, but I see no other conclusions that I could draw based on what I have experienced. For many years of my life I was a flower child born a decade too late. I believed much as those who still do that tetrahydrocannabinal (THC) in whatever form was harmless. Many if not most of my friends used. In fact three of my closest friends during that time period seriously considered changing all of their names to Herb.
Two of these guys are the ones I spoke of in the post. They were serious about only one thing growing, perfecting and using marijuana. One afternoon at a party they were on the balcony getting high. No one really knows why he did it but one of them got up on top of the railing, and the other was following. When one fell the other tried to catch him and both of them fell to their deaths. The last time I saw the third “Herb brother” he was strung out to the point that he was almost unrecognizable.
This was the first of literally hundreds of episodes that color my thinking on this. I have seen practically every possible example of what even tinkering in this life can do to a person.
You cannot tell someone that THC is not a stepping stone drug who has seen it be one. When someone tells you that “Mary Jane is not doing it for me anymore, Crystal is taking care of me now.” There is no other conclusion.
You cannot tell someone who has experienced a friend die as a direct result that it is harmless.
You cannot tell someone who has seen people willingly give up everything they care about or own for a dime bag that it is not too addictive.
To those that use the argument that it is no worse than alcoholic beverages, this has not been my experience. No one I know who took the step from heavy alcohol use to heavy drug use has made it out of that world. Most of those that took the step from light alcohol use to light drug use at some point ended up much heavier drug users. In my experience drug use including marijuana/cannabis simply grabbed them too hard. Being immersed in that world, I have known many people before they tried it, and can say with certainty that continual use changed every one of them in a negative way. At some point in their lives the access to use this stuff reigns supreme.
Depending on your belief system, I was either lucky or blessed. I never touched it. My preferred drug was alcohol. In my position in the Navy I had too much to lose, and was randomly tested too often, to even try it. For a while I blamed myself for my friend’s deaths. The reason they went on the balcony to break out the bong was so I didn’t get exposed. I do believe alcohol use can be every bit as dangerous, and have had to break an addiction to it myself. It was very difficult for me to do so. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to break a stronger one.
Whether or not you chose to agree with, listen to, or even believe anything I have said, and still believe marijuana should be legalized, be careful what you hope for. The only reason our government or municipalities would allow it would be to regulate and tax it. If you believe that this will take away crime, I think you are not thinking it through. If it is made legal it will be sin taxed heavier than alcohol and tobacco. While there will be availability at a high price for those who wish to use and be law abiding, black markets will remain in place of the current ones. I believe all that you thought would be corrected will be worse.
I am not one of those people who go around as an activist trying to change laws and browbeating people. I agree that legislating morality is often a futile exercise. My belief is that while it is admittedly unfair at times (what isn’t?), the current system about the best we can do. For the most part light use is not prosecuted, only events that are influenced by heavy use and intent to distribute. If you insist on getting or even growing some for your personal use I doubt anyone will stop you, while I disagree you make your own choices and live with them. If you are careful you will probably get away with it.
However, if you try to sell it, if you try to give it away, even if you try to convince others to use it, I cannot help but have a big problem with you, and I will continue to fight against it fair or not.
Sorry for the length of this. I actually cut it down quite a bit.
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), The reaction was likely based on caring about what could happen if you ever did.
