So marijuana is finally legal in Canada (but only when you buy it from the government). Now people who smoke pot are happy, cheering and proud to be pot smokers…Why?
I’ve watched a lot of stand-up comedy in my life, and when a comic mentions that they smoke pot, it’s always met with cheers and applause from the audience, before he even tells the joke. Every time, I can’t help but wonder what all the cheering is for? Is smoking weed somehow considered an accomplishment? Is the act of sucking on a bong evidence of one’s aptitude, or something that contributes to society in a positive way? Why all the bragging?
Now I don’t want anyone to get all up in arms thinking that it’s my intention to condemn marijuana. I do live a very straight-laced life. I don’t smoke, don’t drink, and the strongest drug I ever take is Advil. But that is all just a lifestyle choice, not because I think all those things are evil. Unless the person is somebody I know and love, I really couldn’t care less about what strangers put in their own bodies. Everyone chooses their own vices. For me, it was junk food and a sedentary lifestyle. I can understand that others may choose differently.
My wife’s choices on drugs and alcohol, aside from the odd cocktail on a special occasion, don’t differ that greatly from my own. My son is 9 years old, and sometimes I wonder the path he is going to take. If he decides to try drugs and/or alcohol, he certainly isn’t going to get the idea from his mother and me.
I understand that my views are not the same as everyone else’s, nor is my word the “law of the land” within my household. I have no intention of banning my son from trying these substances, because I don’t have that ability. Better parents than me have tried and failed with their children already. All I can do is try and teach him to behave responsibly, and within the law. Age limits on restricted substances exist for a reason. I’d prefer it if he could at least wait until his brain is fully developed before he started altering its chemistry with drugs. If I should come home one day and find him getting wasted with his friends, or something, I will be profoundly disappointed. I won’t be angry that the substances exist, just at his lack of maturity and poor judgment.
So yeah, I personally feel that making marijuana legal makes as much sense as having legal tobacco and alcohol. They're dangerous if you choose to abuse them. There is some evidence that shows pot can have medicinal benefits, and if it works for you, great. But I think that it’s a little presumptuous to start classifying it as some sort of “superfood”. If you were to research the history of medicine, you would find that tobacco, Coca-Cola, UV lights and women’s vibrators were all claimed to have health benefits at one time.
I understand that there is a demand for these products that isn’t going away anytime soon, so why not make it legal? Will it lead to the legalization of more illicit drugs? Maybe they’ll go back to putting real cocaine in the Coke? Sure, that could work. Hopefully they’ll still offer the cocaine-free option for squares like me.
It’s your choice, your life. I just don’t see the point of being boastful. I can remember when I was in high school, and getting drunk was the thing to brag about. I’d hear the “cool” kids talking about what they did on the weekend, and what a blast they had getting so drunk they puked their guts out. Do they think that it was something that’s hard to do? Neil Armstrong bragged less about walking on the Moon.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with using marijuana, as long as it’s combined with using good sense. Just don’t brag about it. I don’t take pride in the McDonalds that I just ate. There is nothing more special about that joint you just smoked. I think the only time that it’s appropriate to brag about pot is when you’re telling someone about how you use it responsibly. And then only when that someone has just told what they think is a cool/funny story about how they stupidly spent an entire weekend getting high, and then even more stupidly got behind the wheel of a car and drove home, almost killing three people. In that exact situation, brag away…Then smack that moron upside the head (cue applause).
So marijuana is finally legal in Canada (but only when you buy it from the government). Now people who smoke pot are happy, cheering and proud to be pot smokers…Why?