Friday 4:20
And now for something completely different. I was contemplating my weekly drug policy post and I came to the realization that I have never properly explained why I care so much about the legal status about my favorite plant, the much maligned and demonized cannabis. Cannabis AKA reefer, demon weed, marijuana, mary-jane, pot or grass, just to name a few of the commonly used euphemisms. You may think that there are more important causes in the world to get behind, such as ending wars, animal cruelty, feminism, domestic violence, sexual abuse, poverty, exploitation and starvation, to name a few. You may even be right about that. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. But I do believe that drug prohibition in general and cannabis prohibition in particular is a blind spot for many people in our world. I would point to the recent Michael Phelps debacle to illustrate this point, as well as the ongoing raids of medical marijuana dispensaries in the US, no-knock raids and the upcoming targetting of the opium farmers in Afghanistan.
The world has many problems and the deadly drug policy imposed and maintained by the various governments of the world should be a concern and a mainstream issue. But it’s not. If you see a media story about drugs, often it’s to demonize pot-smokers or to legitimize the drug war. Very few people have a strong opinion in favor of cannabis. The ones that do are shy about mentioning it (myself included.) There aren’t enough people out there, especially in Saskatoon, that are working to educate the public about the harms caused by prohibiting cannabis. Not to mention, all the people that remain in the dark about the health benefits that many people experience due to their medicinal use.
Cannabis is the underdog and I always root for the little guy.
