Let's talk about cannabis

If this bothers you, there's a problem with you and not me.

Talking about cannabis makes certain people uncomfortable. It’s like you started preaching about how lines of cocaine can make the day go by a LOT faster, and you are the distributor. Nah, Mary Jane is just fine. It’s okay for any sensible adult. At its most polished, it takes away stress, worries, and constant overreaction.

Fact: It does a lot less harm than alcohol. Check those drunk driving statistics before disagreeing. It’s a lot better than opioids, which is destroying the lives of young people on the verge. I wonder if they just had a few puffs of Bubba Kush, or had a pull from Kush Mints.

Store your “gateway drug” bullshit in the stupid shit that politicians and people who want to sound smart at parties. It’s not a gateway drug. Any sound or semi-sound mind who tries a harder drug and said it was due to the weed he or she had is lying like Kevin Demoff. As a doctor who recently prescribed my medical marijuana card said, “if you overdose on marijuana, you just go to sleep.” Sage judgement.

Imagine if we took wine and beer away, or made them illegal instead of weed. How many people would still be alive? How many of those souls would be under 20? Prescription-happy doctors and soft judges are the reasons DWIs and pill overdoses are flooding the waters. Weed is less harmful than a double cheeseburger. How is a drug that makes you think kindly towards everyone around you so awful?

As of 2022, recreational or “adult use” cannabis is fully legal in 18 states across the USA. That’s getting closer and closer to half of the country. In several other states, it is decriminalized--not even a misdemeanor unless there’s a LOT on you. The city of St. Louis is decriminalized. In 39 states and the District of Columbia, medical cannabis has been legalized.

Of course, there is some complexity in “legalization” and “decriminalization.” From avid cannabis supporter Craig A. Kohler:

“Right now a Missourian can acquire a card for ANY reason a doctor sees fit. So Missourians with a medical card can grow and possess a fair amount of cannabis. That offers some lawful protection the decriminalization doesn’t.

What do those 18 states have thought out that others don’t? Politics. Money. Power. That’s all it is. All it ever was.

Imagine something else for me. How many people who smoked some weed got jail time while someone who took lives in a drunk driving accident got the lightest slap on the wrist?

While “gateway drug” is 100% tomfoolery, it is wiser to start smoking marijuana a little later in your life. Get into your 20s, and then get into it. A mature mind makes every decision easier. I didn’t take a puff until I was in my mid-30s. I was at a birthday party for my uncle, and family and friends at a table were lighting one up. At this point in my life, I am thinking it’s time to try this out. My dad once told me, “after you smoke, everything just seems so much better.”

He’s right. I have smoked recreationally since that party, and ZERO cops have burst down my door. I have lost zero friends or women over my usage. My wife giggles at me, and that’s about it. On zero occasions did I do something to embarrass myself or break the law under the influence of a spicy plant. The greatest trick the authorities play on civilians is convincing them that they still give two shits about marijuana. They don’t. I’d put hard cash on the fact many of them smoke--with their job, they absolutely should.

Does weed impair your driving? Not as much as four beers and a couple shots does. But still, stay at home when you smoke. Your herb doesn’t need GPS directions to anywhere but the couch for a movie. Don’t test your limits, because the other side of those limits will scare you. Stay home, sit on the couch, turn your mind, and just drift. As George Carlin once said, “show me a guy higher than a fucking kite sitting on his couch, and I’ll show you a guy who isn’t bothering anybody!”

Is weed addicting? Case by case basis. Like any desired thing, it can be addicting. Just like soda, fries, and fountain sodas. I don’t NEED to smoke daily, but I choose to because it improves my patience and overall sense of enjoyment. I write sharper, think quicker, and don’t get too worked up if I had a couple puffs.

Hot Take: Cannabis makes me a better husband and father. Hope that doesn’t disturb any misbegotten mothers and fathers from the 60s. I hope the high school football loving oil tycoons in Texas don’t get too mad reading that. Before she died, I bet Betty White puffed on a vape pen. She knew where the tides were going.

Let me ask this. What bothers you so much about it? The lung damage. Once again, you’re doing more harm to your body with processed foods than smoking the weed--even if that eating process does usually follow the smoking. Our bodies will accumulate all kinds of damage throughout our lives. I have smoked for years and my latest doctor’s appointment didn’t reveal awful lungs and a note from my doctor.

How can I smoke if I run 3-5 miles twice a week? It’s a lot better than smoking a pack of cigarettes and downing a 12 pack of beer.

Here’s the thing. The point of all of this. Cannabis should be legal in all 50 states, and all across the world. It’s one of the least harmful drugs on the planet, taking less lives than many other vices. All criminals who were incarcerated for weed possession should be released and given three grams of Sour Diesel or Caramel Apple Gelato upon their release. It’s phony, taxpayer dollar-chugging, political bullshit.

All one can hope for is that the bill to legalize cannabis in Missouri passes through the House and Senate. PLEASE. Think about it, Mike Parson. All that MO tax money you could be sweeping under your rug.

If you disagree, please state your case in the comments below. Save me your sob story or I will pick it apart. Be honest. If someone passed you a joint without judgement, would you turn it down… or would you take a puff and find out?

I’m hoping your answers are the latter. Thanks for reading. Happy medicating to my wise friends.