I honestly don't even know where to start with this one—it’s just one of those days where everything feels like a massive uphill battle, you know? I was sitting there thinking about how things used to be, or how they *should* be, and now I’m just spiraling into a total rant. It’s exhausting, really. I try to stay level-headed, I really do, but sometimes the sheer absurdity of it all just hits you right in the gut. I’ll probably regret typing this out once my blood pressure settles down, but whatever—let's just get into it. kaže:
Look, to keep it brief... I haven't actually had any seizures yet, but the danger is definitely there hanging over my head. I've been on some daily medication for the last few months to manage everything, so drinking alcohol is strictly off the table for me right now. 🙂
I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that having a drink here and there isn't going to kill me—really—but I definitely need to get my act together and stay on top of things. I have to be more careful... I let myself slip again.
So, what’s everyone’s take on marijuana? I’ve been digging through some articles lately that suggest using it in small doses can actually be helpful—which got me thinking—maybe I wouldn't be totally out of line if I swapped out my usual beer for that instead... 🙂
Is that really how it is? Is that actually what we're dealing with here?? 😢
Look, let’s get one thing straight—cannabis isn't some new-age, hipster invention that just popped up in Cali last week. It’s been around forever. Like, ancient history kind of forever. This plant has been part of the human story since we were basically living in caves, and honestly, people have been finding ways to use it for practically everything for millennia. We’re talking about roots that stretch all the way back to Asia. It’s even tucked away in the sacred texts of the Persians, specifically the Zend Avesta, and the Indians in the Atharva Veda. If you look at the actual historical footprint, the evidence is everywhere—we know it was being used in China as far back as 4000 B.C., and even in Turkmenistan around 3000 B.C. It wasn't just some niche thing; it had a massive, deep-seated impact on the culture and soul of countless civilizations throughout time. Even Herodotus—you know, the guy basically known as the Father of History—wrote about how various ancient peoples relied on it for all sorts of reasons, including just chasing that sense of bliss or good fortune. It’s baked into our history, whether people want to admit it or not.
Look, you have to understand how things actually worked back in the day if you want to get the full picture. You’ve got guys like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson—the literal architects of this country—running their entire operations from their estates. And let me tell you, American agriculture wasn't just about corn and wheat after we won the Revolutionary War; it was centered heavily around hemp. It was everywhere. We're talking clothing, paper, oils, even medical uses—it was the backbone of everything. Even the very first draft of the Declaration of Independence? Written on paper made from that plant. It’s easy to forget that throughout the early history of the USA, hemp was even used as a legitimate way to pay your taxes. It wasn't some niche thing; it was foundational to the country's survival.
The British Crown was so desperate for this specific plant that they practically had to lean on the colonial farmers to force them into growing it.
The real headache starts when a giant like DuPont decides to pivot toward manufacturing synthetic products. For them, the whole thing became a massive mess because they couldn't compete with the sheer efficiency of nature—I mean, why bother with complex industrial processes when you can get much cheaper, much simpler results straight from the cannabis plant? It just makes their entire synthetic lineup look redundant.
Look, if you want to know why marijuana was banned in the first place, you have to stop looking at it from a moral standpoint and start looking at the money—because that’s where the real story is. It all comes down to massive lobbying and intense pressure exerted on the US government by big corporations. The financial stakes for these pharmaceutical giants were just way too high to let a single plant threaten their bottom line. They couldn't let one little herb disrupt their empire, simple as that. But, obviously, they couldn't just tell the public, "Hey, we want to protect our profits." They had to manufacture a reason to make it illegal. You can't just take a plant that humans have been using for nearly 6,000 years for all sorts of purposes and suddenly declare it contraband without some serious spin. So, what did they do? Well, the Aslinger crew launched this massive, aggressive anti-cannabis campaign. They started flooding police reports with these wild claims, basically stating that most crimes were being committed by people under the influence of marijuana—painting this picture of users becoming bloodthirsty, violent, and totally unpredictable monsters. Now, anyone who has ever actually smoked a joint knows that's absolute garbage—it’s a total lie, and honestly, the effect is usually the exact opposite of what those reports claimed. The media played a huge role in this dirty little crusade, too. They pumped out everything—posters, pamphlets, even films and documentaries—all specifically designed to brainwash the public. The whole goal was to warp how people perceived hemp and cannabis, rebranding it as this dangerous, sinister threat to society. It was a coordinated hit job, plain and simple.
Look, after World War II, the whole anti-marijuana propaganda machine didn't just stop—it pivoted. It was wild. This time around, they weren't just saying the plant was bad for you; they were straight-up accusing users of being communist agents. The narrative they pushed was that marijuana had been planted by Chinese and Soviet communists specifically to make the American people passive—to drain our strength so we wouldn’t have the backbone to fight against communism. It is absolutely mind-blowing how the US government flipped their entire anti-propaganda playbook compared to what they did before the war. Before, they’d frame the plant as something that triggers aggression, but suddenly, overnight, it was rebranded as a communist weapon designed to induce apathy. If you look at the sheer volume of media, films, and newspapers used to bombard the public with these messages, the only thing they actually had in common was that they were equally idiotic. By 1961, the USA started basically exporting its prohibitionist mindset to the rest of the world. Through an international act stemming from Aslinger, hemp ended up being banned in 160 different countries. Just think about that level of global influence based on nothing but fear-mongering.
Look, the science is already there—it’s settled. Researchers have proven that marijuana actually helps treat, or at least positively impacts, things like MS, cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, muscle spasms, depression, migraines, asthma, pruritus, insomnia, chronic pain, and even suppresses coughing, among dozens of other conditions. On the flip side—and this is the part the haters always miss—there isn't a single study in history that shows marijuana causes brain cell death or any kind of permanent neurological damage, which is the nonsense my opponents love to scream about. It’s also been demonstrated that, unlike cigarettes or coffee, marijuana doesn't create a physical dependency. And honestly? You won't find a single case of someone getting lung cancer solely from smoking weed—just another one of those lies peddled by so-called "scientists" and total charlatans. Every year, tobacco kills about 435,000 people in the US, while alcohol claims around 85,000 lives.
Even aspirin—yeah, you heard me—causes about 7,500 deaths annually due to side effects.After over 6,000 years of human use, there hasn't been a single recorded death caused by marijuana. Prohibitionists love to claim that weed is a "gateway drug" to justify their bans, but in reality, the exact opposite happens. To get weed under current laws, people have to deal with criminals who might also be carrying much harder stuff. If you could just buy cannabis at a local shop with a receipt like anything else, that danger disappears instantly.
Take the Netherlands, for example. They allow cannabis use, and their tax revenue from weed and related tourism brings in about 2.5 billion euros a year. Despite how open they are, they actually have a lower percentage of minors using cannabis than we do in the States, and
fewer hard drug addicts than the US does. Total cannabis consumption rates are pretty much the same as they are here in America. So, it’s blindingly obvious that prohibition doesn't stop usage; it just makes it messier.
The truth is, cannabis—which many legitimate doctors and scientists say treats over 2,000 known ailments—would absolutely wreck the profits of Big Pharma. Why would anyone bother buying
antidepressants when a demonstrably more effective medicine with way fewer side effects can be grown right in your own backyard? To prevent legalization, you've got
1,274 pharmaceutical lobbyists swarming Washington (that's more than two lobbyists for every single member of Congress, by the way). It’s funny, though—the US government actually approved Marinol, which contains
THC, the very same compound they claim makes marijuana illegal. Every year,
over 100,000 people die from prescription drugs, yet they stay perfectly legal to manufacture and sell.
There is no question: cannabis is likely the most useful plant known to mankind. The potential uses in medicine, textiles, food, and even biodiesel are practically endless. Its impact on art and culture is impossible to quantify, but it's everywhere. Some of the biggest contributors to humanity were users: Friedrich Nietzsche, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, the Persian prophet Zarathustra, and basically every major musician from the modern era. Unfortunately, Aslinger's propaganda has managed to stick around all this time. Even today, you'll see mediocre pundits on news networks claiming no country distinguishes between "soft" and "hard" drugs, or some "expert" from a high school drug prevention office handing out pamphlets claiming weed permanently destroys brain cells. Meanwhile, politicians continue to score cheap points by accusing their rivals of being "pro-drug" just to look morally superior.
