Cannabis News Marijuana Policy Project
  Ex-Drug User Not High On The Future
Posted by FoM on June 15, 2001 at 21:42:14 PT
By Thom Marshall  
Source: Houston Chronicle  

cannabisnews.com A man who has what he considers an average circle of 15 close friends said that eight -- more than half -- of them are users or former users of marijuana.

He said among those eight are a couple of bankers, a lawyer, a marketing executive, a nurse, a priest and a psychiatrist. While this man said he has "for the most part, put pot-using behind me," he does not chastise any of his user friends nor does he consider them to be criminals.

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Comment #4 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on June 16, 2001 at 12:27:16 PT
I Am Jack's Medulla Oblongata
Don't forget the people who are addicted to recovery and twelve-step programs...

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Comment #3 posted by Doug on June 16, 2001 at 11:00:30 PT
A Basic Need
I have mixed feelings about this one. I believe, and I think there is much evidence for this, that altering your consciousness is a basic need for human (and other) beings. It has been done for millenia, and is done by "lesser" animals. The problem now is that this basic need is repressed, big-time, and so it comes out in all kinds of morbid and damaging ways. Some of these toxic responses to this repression of basic needs are mentioned in the article above; I agree that we are going the way of Rome, but not because "teachers go to class high" but because of the War on Drugs.

On the other hand, the article doesn't mentioned the main, over-reaching addiction-like reponse that Americans show: conspicuous consumption. America is all about consumption, the more the better. It is our birth right. This addiction to stuff and more stuff -- retail therapy -- is the behavior that dug use is a scapegoat for: we can't even talk about this addiction to more and more, even though it is destroying the planet, and so we arrest more and more drug users, hoping to avoid the real problem.

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Comment #2 posted by aocp on June 16, 2001 at 05:36:48 PT
Amazing insight
"Americans are unhappy or bored with their lives,"
he wrote. "We're a society of users, be it drugs, alcohol,
petroleum, 180-plus TV channels, or whatever."

Anyone ever heard Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy's
"Television - the Drug of a Nation"? It's a great track and
puts this quote into focus. Where do we draw the line at
what addictions are "worthy" of state intervention? The
hypocrisy surrounding booze and smokes is just the tip
of the iceberg. As George Carlin said, "Don't bail out on
me now! The blood is already on our hands! ... we're
just talking about a matter of degree!"

Right on. The "blood" here represents (to me) every
american's personal addiction(s) and the "degree" is
the wide spectrum available to choose from. I believe
cannabis should be mandatorily added to that list. Any
naysayers?


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Comment #1 posted by Dave in Florida on June 16, 2001 at 05:11:00 PT
Circle of Friends
A man who has what he considers an average circle of 15 close friends said that eight -- more than half -- of them are users or former users of marijuana.

That sounds about right for me as well. At least that I am aware of, that about half of my friends smoke. Actually, several of us will play cards (wizard) on saturday nights and smoke a few. After smoking for 32 years I enjoy it as much today as the first time I tried it. I am sure there are many more small circles of people who do the same.


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