420: The Highs and Lows of Pot
When it comes to labels, nothing has as many as cannabis. Weed, hay, herb, grass, Maryjane, chronic, skunk, bud, dutchie, reefer, and most notably pot, are only the tip of the iceberg of more than 1200 names that has been given to the plant that goes back to at least 8000 B.C.E. Just like the many names given to it, there were many uses for it. In ancient China and Taiwan, people used hemp for pottery, food (seed & oil) and natural hemp-based medicine. The Hindu sacred text Atharvaveda describes it as “Sacred Grass” and list it as one of the five sacred plants of India.
However, due to its psychoactive (mental escapism) properties many people in the modern world have come to misuse and abuse it. The once ancient plant has gone from being frowned upon to regulated to criminalized to now being okay to use for medicinal and recreational purposes, sometimes depending on who you are and where you are at.
The visual representation of my nation’s attitude about marijuana when I was growing up was somewhere between, Cheech and Chong’s, Up in Smoke “and Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign. I was very confused on if it was good or bad. On one side of the spectrum all the coolest people smoked it. Entertainers, former presidents, politicians even famous athletes have all ingested the controversial herb. Question; where would jazz, rock and roll or hip hop be without it? I’m not saying you must be a marijuana partaker in order to play or enjoy music but, many people around the world says it enhances the experience.
On the other hand, we have all heard stories about the horror of bad THC (the primary psychoactive component in cannabis) experiences. All you must do is look at the 1936 film, Reefer Madness. Originally titled, "Tell Your Children", the film was commissioned by a church intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale. Its goal was to highlight the dangers of cannabis use. The movie suggested that even one hit of a marijuana cigarette could have a person ensnared in everything from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape and hallucinations. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug. I do personally know individuals that have bad experiences because of it.
Many smokers of marijuana think that it is a harmless drug, but it is not. Marijuana use has been linked with a significant number of short-term psycho-social issues, including problems with school, work, family, friends, and the law. It is also associated with several longer-term medical and mental health risks: including respiratory and memory issues. I know more than a few people that after being introduced to marijuana started experimenting with harder drugs. I do wonder was it the marijuana or the persons propensity for addiction that made them travel further into the gateway.
Unfortunately, corporate propaganda, politics and racism has a large part to do with many people’s outlook on the morality and legality of pot. Did you know Hemp (another word for cannabis) was one of history's most widely used plants? Tincture of Cannabis was the basis for almost every patent medicine prior to the discovery of aspirin. Hemp was used for rope, twine, and cloth. Sailing ships were loaded with it. The word "canvas" is derived from "cannabis" because that's what canvas was. You see at the end of the day hemp has been a staple in America before America was America. What do you think was in the First Nations peace pipes?
Like many indigenous ways of life colonization, capitalism, and quantification, slowly encroached upon anything that brought stress relief or healing. America in the 1900's saw a total change in agriculture and industry and by the late 1800s individual farming was being slowly eroded. Did you know that in 1896, there was an automobile engine made that was set to run off mostly hemp seeds that was allegedly superior to petroleum? Also, did you know that marijuana was not considered dangerously illegal until 1970. Before then it was tax regulated and punished mostly by fine.
As more people begin turning to more organic and holistic ways of life, the illicit mentality towards weed is returning to its roots as a source for nourishment and relaxation. Daily laws about marijuana are changing state by state. We are now seeing a reemergence of cannabis in all its forms, from hemp as a fabric to CBD oil in cooking. At the end of the day, how a person feels about marijuana is only for them to know, but like most things in life cannabis has its highs and its lows.
