As much as I love living in America, there is a major drawback: I can't legally smoke weed. And this pisses me off. Most days I read Google Marijuana News and there are almost always stories of the cops confiscating marijuana.
That means that:
1. I must be very careful out there. The cops want to bust marijuana users.
2. There is less weed on the street, making prices higher.
3. It's harder to trust other smokers; who is a narc, is this guy trying to buy from or sell to me cool?
and finally, and this is the most important part:
4. The founding fathers acknowledged in the United States Declaration of Independence that all men have certain "Unalienable Rights", including Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
I'm being repressed over here! Can I get some help?
America has been sold a bill of goods on Marijuana. Alcohol is continually being pushed in our culture, see the dumb*** Miller Lite commercials for example (if I don't drink Miller Lite, I must be a stupid (White Male) that is completely clueless). Marijuana users by contrast are portrayed as stupid, inarticulate morons and America believes this! This is bull**** -- we must fight back!
Your suggestions and thoughts are welcome.
http://partyseeking.blogspot.com/2011/03/help-help-im-being-repressed-over-here.html
We need to change our public image, maybe if we all "came out" as it were, then the non-users will see that we are're not all lazy drop-outs, We maybe need to get successful famous users to do their part, we need get this issue talked about in the mainsteam media as it's not-users that we need to convert through education.
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ReplyDeleteConvert through education and through the children. It is only through legalization and regulation that we can make getting recreational cannabis as hard to get as alcohol and cigarettes are now for the under 21 crowd. The National Cancer Institute just proclaimed it useful medicinally. Removing cannabis from Schedule I Narcotics list will certainly forward the movement to end prohibition all together. Don't be afraid to talk about it. We can't allow the negative stigmas to keep us from speaking the TRUTH about the miraculous plant.
ReplyDeleteInsightful comments, and I completely agree.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid users that are NOT drop-out slobs, users like you and me and my hubby are too afraid to admit it publicly because we're talking about an illegal activity. So it's a vicious circle. Proving this concept wrong is too easy, but risky!
ReplyDeleteI'm a school keeper and I talk about all of this to teenagers "who'd fancy a toke to look cool", and how wrong this attitude is.
So far I got 3 people to read "Emperor wears no clothes", and i consider it a massive achievement..
Cause Greeks won't read anything longer than a road sign... :/
Meh.. hang on there ;)
Thanks for your efforts, if we all keep plugging away as we're able, we'll be able to fix this.
ReplyDeleterespect to all my american cousins for standing up for cannabis. over here in the uk we have it very easy compared to what you guys go through.
ReplyDeletefor example, i went to court for a second growing offence recently and was fined $150 or so (£80).
there is certainly something in the wind. i've been observing the "scene" since the 60's and things are moving faster now than they ever did.
your MMJ situation seems to be taking off big time and yet is never mentioned in the press over here!
i think that the PTB will give us what we want eventually but it will take them a long time to work out how to control it to maximise their profits and power over us.
if tobacco is anything to go by the penalties for home growing will be extreme and the crime of tax evasion will be added to the crime of growing....or am i just being cynical?
toodlepip.
I'm a fellow smoker suffering through life in the south (North Carolina for me). I moved down here a couple years ago from upstate NY, and the culture down here is certainly less accepting of cannabis users.
ReplyDeletePoints 1 and 3 listed in the above post are certainly valid; one must always be careful. In fact, I just met a guy who was recently arrested after agreeing to help out an acquanitance who turned out to be a narc. This guy wasn't a dealer at all, and had never been in trouble with the law before in his life (he is 28). Now his life has been turned upside down, and the corrupt cops have one more stat to put in the books.
Regarding point 2, however -- I'm not convinced that police seizures have much if any impact on market pricing. The vast majority of marijuana arrests are for minor possession only, not large-scale trafficking. There is so much pot on the market, both domestically produced and imported, that seized amounts add up to a drop in the bucket. Anybody familiar with his local marijuana scene realizes that product scarcity is not a driving factor in the market. My guess is that most price inflation occurs because in a black market, buyers do not have the luxury of shopping around for the best deal for their money. As a result, sellers can safely overcharge without losing customers. The market suffers from scarcity of information, not scarcity of product.
Anyway, best of luck. My best advice is to consistently and aggressively contact your government representatives at every level, from local to federal. I've been pleasantly surprised at the attitude some of my reps have taken on this issue, including considerable support for medical marijuana. Even the politicians who don't suport reform are shown that their voters prioritize the issue. If pro-reform citizens spent half the time lobbying our government that we spend discussing the failures of prohibition online, the current legal environment would be appreciably different. The people are far ahead of the politicians on this issue, and if we have to drag them kicking and screaming, that's what we have to do.
Excellent comments, you're motivating me to keep doing more myself. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAs a middle-aged small business owner in the MMJ battle-torn state of Montana, I'm appalled that I have to live in fear of being "found out" that I use marijuana, much as I do a glass of wine or a beer, to relax in the privacy of my own home. Absurd, but there's the reality.
ReplyDeleteI lack the courage to stand up openly and reveal the fact that most of us do not look or act like Cheech and Chong, that we are your dentist, lawyer, insurance salesman - your next door neighbor. In my small conservative community, my business would suffer from the exposure and couldn't survive the decrease in revenue. If only I, and those like me, could, this movement would turn into a tidal wave.
What about a second-best idea? Would it be feasible/possible to organize a grass-roots effort in each state to collect enough signatures for an "End Prohibition II" Citizens' Initiative to be put on state and/or federal ballots? What if the signature collectors were everyday, low-key, plain Jane and John types committed to strict confidentiality, ensuring that your signature would not be revealed before being delivered to DC and added to the national list?
Thoughts?
I agree, I'm able to advocate marijuana legalization here in the relative "anonymity" of the internet. I could not "come out" without risking losing my job. I think your idea has merit, and I'm willing to participate, for what that's worth...
ReplyDeletecome to cali , dont let your state fuck you out of your right to marijuana legally
ReplyDeleteGreat point, that isn't an option right now, but maybe some day...
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