Andrew Morris24
Newcomer
2 messages
joined May 2009
I used to be just another programmed individual, shaped entirely by the media narratives and information streams fed to us through our fantastical news outlets. People don't even realize the extent to which we've been conditioned—and I’m not just talking about marijuana, but practically everything. Then, driven by this egoistic need to prove how "smart" we are because we follow the media and absorb their supposed 'objectivity,' people swear on their lives that they’ve personally discovered and researched all these truths, when they haven't. For instance, I used to think marijuana was dangerous; I feared that if I tried it, I’d become an addict, spiral into harder drugs, turn my brain into a shriveled, useless mass, lose touch with reality, and completely ruin my life. None of that happened, nor do I see any such consequences. Of course, weed can destroy a person's life if you aren't moderate. Not necessarily because it physically or mentally breaks you, but simply because of the inherent danger of excess in anything. Even water can kill you if you overdo it. And people constantly forget that the quality of product on the American market is incredibly questionable; people talk about specific strains like they're connoisseurs, claiming they're smoking some premium skunk, but it's all highly dubious. If you buy decent herb, people call it top-shelf; if you happen to get a pure female plant, they assume it's high-grade skunk—it's all guesswork. I honestly wouldn't trust the quality of most products sold out here. There are so many different varieties with wildly different effects. All these self-proclaimed experts who claim a joint is equivalent to five cigarettes, or that weed destroys the brain and leads straight to hard drugs, clearly haven't done any deep research into the actual characteristics of cannabis; they’ve just read those fairy tales on some website or heard them on the nightly news. Naturally, those narratives are the most widespread globally because legalization doesn't benefit anyone except ordinary people who want to smoke peacefully or patients for whom marijuana could provide relief—specifically because the chemical compounds in the plant aren't limited to just THC. Everyone else loses: from the massive pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer that keep us all buying their pills—only a tiny fraction of medicines are derived from natural resources, and ever wonder why? It isn't because synthetic drugs work better, it's because there's more money in them. The same goes for other industries: cotton, paper, fuel... Even the dealers don't benefit from stricter laws; it just means less profit for them.
I am in favor of decriminalization, specifically so that the quality of the product remains high and the price stays affordable for average Americans.
The current laws make absolutely no sense; nothing has been achieved with them. User numbers haven't dropped, there is zero control over drugs, and no real deterrent has been instilled in the public. Not to mention that the majority of charges against minor users are dismissed anyway, because judges clearly see the absurdity of the law—and besides, where would we even put all these people? Unless we start building new prison islands in the middle of the Atlantic. The only thing that has actually been achieved is that dealers are making more money than ever, and I'm certain some politicians are lining their pockets with kickbacks too.
Thankfully, thanks to the internet and the vast amount of information available that our mainstream media failed to mention, people's awareness is rising regarding many issues, including marijuana. Change is coming, and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
