Legalize It

When I moved back to California a few years ago, I was regularly taking pain pills (hydrocodone) for my fibromyalgia pain.  Before I left Utah I asked every health care person I could find if it would be better for me physically to be on pain pills or be a pot head.  Without exception, every doctor, pharmacist and nurse that I asked said marijuana would be healthier for me.  Keep in mind that Utah is a pretty conservative state.

So when I got here, I went and got a medical marijuana card.  I didn't want to smoke, so I bought marijuana brownies.  There's a very nice dispensary (Belmont Shore Natural Care) on 2nd Street.  Because it is in a nice shopping district, right by the fire station and public library, I am not made to feel like a criminal when I go to buy, what for me, is medicine.  The people who work there spent a lot of time explaining what would work best for my problems.

In fairness, just moving away from a cold place and to a lower altitude, have made my fibro much more manageable. But, with the help of the marijuana, I was able to get over my dependency the pain pills that were wreaking havoc on my body.  The nice part is that marijuana is not physically addictive.  If I'm not in pain, I have no feeling at all that I need more.  (I say physically addictive because people can become emotionally addicted to anything... chocolate comes to mind.)

As for  marijuana being a "gateway" drug, I can tell  you that I haven't had the slightest inclination to become a heroine addict.

The medical marijuana laws have created a way for recreational stoners to buy bud while pretending to have medical problems.  But as a sometime user, I can now honestly tell you that I would rather have kids have access to ganja than alcohol.  Or to pain pills.  Or tobacco.  Or cough syrup.  You get my point.

It breaks my heart that our prisons are full of young people, who if they hadn't been caught, would be sitting on a couch somewhere staring at their hand.  It also distresses me to no end that kids who can't catch a break from society, are the main group we ship off to the big house.  This doesn't seem to me like a helpful answer to a problem.

What about the crime rate!?  Don't you realize that people are battling a war in Mexico right this minute over the lucrative drug trade!?  Yes, I do realize this.  Legalize marijuana and that takes a big chunk of the incentive to become an outlaw.

Marijuana isn't called "weed" for nothing.  It's pretty easy to grow.  (It's kind of smelly to grow, but if you were free to do it outside, that problem would go away.)

The President of the United States has proven that smoking pot isn't going to ruin your chances in life.  You have to ruin them on your own.

Just legalize it already.