THE DECEIT OF MARIJUANA

There is nothing more revolting to me than 420 in California; it's
like wearing the shirt to the show. Back on the frontlines, when I was
still smoking ditch-weed that probably created more problems than it
solved, 420 was a real celebration. We'd splurge on good pot and good
food and be grateful for one another. It's so commercial here. Still,
I had a producer to go investigate and a documentary I wanted to go
see so I was actually looking forward the festivities. Marijuana meets
reality TV: the word "TV friendly" sent shivers down my spine but I'm
curious as to the potential for education.

So I woke up this morning and immediately checked out what the local
newspaper (the Marin IJ had to say about 420. Not surprisingly, a
local drug treatment provider had taken it upon himself to warn local
parents that cannabis is a gateway drug to the pharmaceutical drugs
that kids are stealing from their parents or obtaining legitimate
prescriptions for. The Chicago Tribune had a very well written article
about the holiday and a few facts about pot that even I didn't know.

As for the negative press here, it's simply a reflection of the
spotlight conservatism of Marin.

I have a friend who I will call Joe; he refers to himself as a stoner
though he is launching a successful new business and competently grows
some of the best cannabis in Northern California, which is quite a
challenge. If you'd asked Joe 25 years ago if he wanted to grow up and
grow pot, he and his military family would have laughed in your face.
That was before Joe and another soldier held a bridge just long enough
to seriously and lastingly injure themselves.

Joe tried everything-surgery, pain killers, muscle relaxers, massage
therapy but all to no avail. Finally Joe's girlfriend gave him a paper
that she'd written in high school on the efficacy of marijuana when
used a medicine; reluctantly Joe smoked his first joint and as the
pain faded the anger set in. Why had no one told in that this amazing
plant was not the devil's weed but a gift of medicine, of food and
shelter? Why all the manipulation and deceit?

Teenagers have these same questions; they know that marijuana is not
as harmful as officer friendly wants them to believe and here is where
we are botching an incredibly important lesson: we should not be
utilizing scare tactics but teaching children to value hard work and
creativity over apathy and boredom, instilling in them the concept
that abuse of any kind is a bad thing.

In many cases teenage drug use occurs out of either the need to escape
a problematic situation or a desire to experiment for lack of
something better to do. Giving legitimate patient access to medical
marijuana is not going to change that simple truth. But it may
encourage a more open dialogue and it will hopefully change the way
that Americans deal with the tumor of problems we call addiction.

Apathy is caused by demoralization-finding out that someone you
trusted has been lying to you, that moment when you realize that your
parents are fallible, the emotional distance in many modern families-
these are all examples of demoralization. In the instance of cannabis,
politics have superseded medicine for merely a half-century and
although science is making a comeback, we still have propaganda and
scare tactics to contend with. There is no rational dispute to the
statement that cannabis was the first medicine known to man and the
herb has actually evolved with man. Children see the disparity and
they wonder what else we lie about so maybe if we tell the truth, they
will too.

If we remain silent while patients suffer or risk their lives for
medicine, we teach children to look the other way while injustice
occurs and I have never been able to do that. The rights of one
American belong to all.