Things I used to forget before I had a place to write them down...etc.

From Et cetera

It seems to be a big deal in this day and age. An outspoken generation of half-baked teenagers and a softspoken cluster of overcooked thirty year-olds are crying out for the legalization of marijuana in Canada. I suspect the topic floods an equally high number of hours on talk radio programs per capita in the United States, but I can only speak from the perspective of we in the frozen north.

Before I delve into the legalization chunk of the argument, I should probably clear up what I think about marijuana and its usage as the laws now stand. My personal experience? I don't particularly enjoy it. For the longest time, I could've sworn the stuff had no effect on me, or if there was, it was very minor. Coughing and hacking up large brown chunks of lung seemed hardly worth the experience.

Furthermore, I find that if there is in fact anything enjoyable to go with the pot-smoking experience, it is best enjoyed alone. This is not a social drug. And this is the problem I have with the culture associated with pot. To me it is quite clearly not a social drug, yet those who smoke it insist on making it one. Then you all sit on the couch, passing around a joint and drifting off into your own worlds. Attention spans drop, concern for your peers drops and your ability to form coherent thoughts drops. I can't understand why anyone would be blind to the fact that this is much better enjoyed alone.

The next problem with pot culture is that it's such a big deal. Punk teenagers with hemp backpacks who draw pictures of pot leaves on all the desks at school because they eat and breathe the stuff. Everyone blows the whole activity out of proportion. "Yo man, you wanna get high?" is said so enthusiastically that it make me want to puke. This sort of disgust with everyone else's enthusiasm with pot may well stem from my own sobriety after taking part. Perhaps because it doesn't affect me greatly, I have trouble understanding what everyone is so hyped up about. But really, could it be that big of a deal? I think even the most chronic of users would agree that "exciting" is not exactly the word with which to be describing a marijuana high. More like "relaxing" or perhaps "mellow, dude."

Now, having expressed my dislike for pot culture and everything related to it, I would like to say that I am totally in support of its full legalization within the government of Canada, and indeed, all over the world. Canadians needn't be the only liberated stoners of the world. As Bob Dylan wisely pointed out, "everybody must get stoned." Or at least be allowed to. You see, making a very popular activity illegal is just another way of sweeping the problem under the rug. I don't know the statistics, but A LOT of people smoke marijuana and when something that was formerly illegal becomes this popular, it only makes sense to step in as a responsible government, legalize the substance and then regulate its distribution. Currently, marijuana is in the hands of the criminal market, which is not the safest place for A LOT of people to be getting their supply. If the proud, responsible government is interested in the safety of these people, why not regulate and control what goes in to the legally distributed marijuana? This would save the trouble of the occasional person going into a coma after a few unadvertised "extras" get slipped into their joints that they picked up from that shady guy in the alley.

Not only is this an altruistic approach, but it also allows for an exciting new way for the government to collect tax dollars. Hell, with the number of tobacco smokers on a seemingly steady decline, taxing marijuana sales sure beats another increase on fuel surcharges to replenish their losses. The way I see it, it's a win-win situation. Maybe it's just because I'm a part of the generation with whom it started to become a big deal. But remember, I don't like the stuff and once it becomes legalized, I wouldn't be benefitting from it. So I feel that I'm offering an unbiased and logical opinion. Keeping it illegal sure isn't going to make it go away. Look at prostitution. That's been a full-blown black market monopoly for hundreds of years and it's been left illegal this whole time. Guess what? It's still around. And in many cases, so too are the abusive pimps running the show while their prostitute minions are busy on the street trading sexually-transmitted diseases for cash. If it were regulated by the government, these kinds of things wouldn't be problems, would they?

Ignorance is bliss, you say. Fine, but to me, ignorance is only blissful for the ignorant.

[edit] See also

• Pot Culture II: Concept Revised