The ATF recently distributed a letter to firearms dealers to remind them that they cannot sell guns to users of marijuana. People are suddenly up in arms about the situation, which I find odd, since this isn’t anything new.
Good old Kentucky Blue has been Schedule I since 1970, and the accompanying prohibitions date back to 1968. Having or consuming the stuff is illegal, and those who do so are prohibited under U.S.C. § 922(g) from receiving or possessing a firearm. Thanks to an unpleasant trend in jurisprudence, federal law overrides any state laws that might make it legal, even by prescription.
The current situation presents real a hardship to those who need the Maui Ouchie for legitimate medicinal purposes, and the punishments for those who use it recreationally are excessive and unjust. It might be nice to see things change, but the majority of pot smokers aren’t the most…shall we say, motivated bunch. Peeling oneself off the beabag chair long enough to go shuffle around at a NORML rally doesn’t get much done.
A legislative push would be nice, but the problem lies in the fact that I’ve never met an advocate for its legalization who wasn’t an active user, and therefore engaged in criminal activity. That hurts credibility a bit. Mainstreaming the idea means getting folks who don’t break the law to work on changing it.
2 thoughts on “Dave’s Not Here, Man”
Hi there. I’m only stumbling across this because of the mall cop post (which was fantastic, thank you!) so I know absolutely nothing about you or your blog’s intent, but if you’re set on finding ‘non-criminals’ who have experience to lend to this, you can find hundreds if not thousands of them on cancer, Cystic Fibrosis and Crohn’s forums alone.
My roommate suffers from CF and has been medicating himself with marijuana for just a few years; moved thousands of miles to a state that would allow him a green card and offered him better all-around care. He’s been diagnosed for maybe 10-15 years now, so his symptoms aren’t new but it’s an uphill battle. He first (and still) used it to treat the severe nausea and lack of appetite induced by some of his medication. Then he realized how helpful it was for pains he was having.
If you’ve never smoked or really done any research into marijuana, there are two types; indicas and sativas, with a sliding scale between them. If a strain is a heavier indica, you’ll get the stereotypical ‘sit around, play Star Fox, eat Cheetos’ sort of ordeal. Sativas, however, actually induce productivity, creativity and brighten your mood.
One of my roommate’s bigger issues was just being motivated enough to wake up in the mornings. Depression is rampant in this country and it’s awful. There is so much money being made off of miserable people who don’t know what else to do with themselves but trial a cocktail of drugs and Big Pharma loves it. Some of these medications work, some of them don’t, and some of them make things even worse.
Of all the things he praises marijuana for, just being able to smile and laugh and not stress about his life for a little bit is by far the most important to him, especially without having to worry about clashing prescriptions to do it.
Having been on multiple anti-depressants myself before, I can attest to the fact that the effect of marijuana is genuine happiness and overall positivity, and not the empty, drone-like, hardly-there feeling you often get with anti-d’s.
Just remember, some odd decades ago, these advocates wouldn’t have been ‘criminals’ if the government didn’t have reason to favor tobacco farmers over hemp farmers.
Anyways, thanks again for the laughs and be well :)
True, but they never seem to be the ones we see speaking to the news cameras. Unfortunately, the face of the movement seems to conflict with the spirit of it.
You’ve given me some information I hadn’t seen before, and I’ve certainly got some food for thought. Thanks.