"Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction." Bob Marley
Ok, ok, ok. So I was TRYING to stay away from the marijuana topic (those of you that know me in person may know I am slightly a broken record about the topic) but when I was clicking through random quotes on the world wide web, this one jumped out at me and practically burned my eyes.
Please, for the sake of my sanity, put aside the fact that it's an illegal drug. Save your breathe, we all know this. Those of us that grew up in the 90's were slammed with "Don't do drugs!" campaigns in school with red ribbons and coloring handouts. When we grew older we learned there was this long list of horrible street drugs to stay away from or we could possibly waste away and die in addiction, and the gateway to this horrible downward spiral of using was marijuana. We were taught to not drink until we legal to at 21 years old, despite that it kills brain cells. We were taught that cigarettes would put us at a higher risk for cancer, but we could purchase them for our own at 18 years old. But marijuana? Gateway to addiction, fast track to hell, stay the eff away!
Though there's this thing about the marijuana debate that's starting to drive me insane. Is it really worse than cigarettes, alcohol, and prescription medications to kill the pain/ educe sleep/ keep us alert and attentive? In my short 21 years of life I've watched teenagers and twenty-somethings drink themselves to violently sick. I've watched close friends become drunk monsters and physically hurt the ones they love. I've watched families break apart because of the bottle. I've watched my father smoke cigarettes until it clotted his blood, and still smoked them after all the risky life saving surgery. I've watched second hand smoke give my little niece asthma before she even left the womb. I've watched extended family members crush up a pill and snort it to relieve the pain from years of hard labor. I've watched teenagers steal these same pills from their parents to trip on during the weekends. I've dealt with people that have overdosed.
I'll admit, I've been around those who are stoned. I've seen it smoked in rolled paper, in a metal bat, in a wooden pipe. I've seen it cooked into butter, made into tea, added to breads. I've seen it ingested. I have never seen someone overdose on it. I have yet to see someone not be able to take care of their kids while on it. I have yet to be treated harshly by someone on it. I have watched men that would otherwise have to (legally with a prescription) take 4 or 5 different pills a day to function, go to work happy with it in their system. I have seen it prevent depression from ripping apart families, it's helped friends of my realize that life isn't worth ending. I have seen it help women keep food and water down in the first trimester of pregnancy, without taking any meditations with "possible risks/side effects."
But I have also seen this drug destroy one's life, legally. I have watched my husband go to work with men still drunk or hungover from the night before, but since they are of drinking age it's okay. If these men were to take a urine test, they would probably pass by drinking enough water. If a man had ingested marijuana in the last 30 days or less (some cases more), he could be sober as a bird the day he failed that urine test and lost his job. I have read of a case where the father gave his little baby girl cannabis oil when she was diagnosed with brain cancer, instead of chemotherapy that could potentially leave her brain damaged, if not kill her. Tumors started to shirk, dad faces jail time. Well, that makes a lot of sense!
I really think it's time this nation to put down the bottle and started some healing.
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