O O Ø O O O O
Weed Whacker
It’s good to be cool... isn’t it?
I read an op-ed piece today that brought a tear to my nationalistic little eye. Congratulations Canada, we’re “most dry–humpable” in the eyes of some of our neighbours. Why? Because we have such a great little society and, oh yeah, we don’t mind if you smoke dope up here. Dammit, our secret is out! Why don’t y’all come on up here and get stoned with the rest of us, and see what you’ve been missing! They’re not the only one touting this as being a good thing, and for some reason a number of places think Canada’s relaxed stance on Mary Jane is cool. They’re talking about other social issues as well, but a lot of them talk about our impending de–criminalisation and/or legalisation of pot as being a good thing, which contributes to our coolness.
I don’t think this is a good thing in the slightest. I’m not going to wave the flag and say “Yeah! We’re just like Amsterdam!” because frankly, I don’t think Amsterdam’s a terribly good role model. When I think of Amsterdam, I think of a guy I used to work with who spent a lot of time there, and the only thing he could say about the place was that the per diem he received would buy two hot dogs, six beers, a blowjob and some dope. That’s the kind of image I want when people think of my country.
Amsterdam has done a lot of things the wrong way, I think, and I fear we’re on the same path if we don’t sit a spell and think about this.
When you think of Amsterdam, can you think of anything other than the red light district and legalised drugs? Is it a place you’d want to visit to see the sights, or to get loaded and laid? The only thing I can think of other than sex and dope that’s related to Amsterdam is the bright orange jerseys of their NFL Europe team, and that’s only because there was an article in ESPN magazine a couple years ago that for some reason sticks in my addled little brain. What a great legacy. Amsterdam has done a lot of things the wrong way, I think, and I fear we’re on the same path if we don’t sit a spell and think about this.
I am not a prohibitionist. I don’t have a problem with dope, and think it’s just fine for folks who like to partake to smoke up on their own time on one condition: they should be held to the same social mores and laws we use with any other intoxicant. This means treating it like alcohol, not like candy. Live and let live should be the guiding motto, just be responsible about it.
Every day I see kids smoking up before going to school, and it’s tolerated more and more. No one says “Hey you kids, get out of that stoner tree!” they just accept it and move on. I’ll admit a lot of this has to do with the fact that the threat of legal action dissuade many adults, myself included, from interacting with minors, and you think that a parent will bust your ass before admitting their little one would consider smoking up. So, you turn a blind eye, wonder what the world’s coming to, and continue on to Starbuck’s or Timmy’s for your morning fix. It’s not just kids, it’s adults as well. Out on the streets you see/smell folks smoking up and then going back into work.
Live and let live should be the guiding motto, just be responsible about it.
As a manager, I don’t want someone buzzed, drunk, or stoned during working hours in my environment. What they do on their time is their own business, but I would expect them to be sharp, focused, and straight when they’re working. I don’t want someone who’s impaired, however slightly, working for me. It’s as simple as that. I don’t understand when it became socially acceptable, but I don’t particularly like it. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, or maybe it’s because my choice of drug is beer and I think I’m getting some kind of raw deal. Naw, that’s not it, I just don’t like the “it’s cool” attitude towards smoking up whenever.
I would like to see pot legalised, as I think it’s the right thing to do. I do, however, think we’re rushing way too quickly into getting some kind of legislation in place so Cretin can leave his mark. All I ever hear about is how great it is that we’re so progressive, and yet nothing is never really mentioned in the mainstream media about the challenges that have to be overcome to make it work. By now you’re probably wondering “what’s he talking about?”, and what I’m talking about is what responsibilities we take on by legalising an intoxicant, which can include:
- Regulating the production and sale of weed, just like any other industry whose products are consumed, to ensure the end product is safe for the end–user. This means allowing companies to produce the product under controlled conditions, and outlawing grow–houses and back–woods production.
- Recognising that weed is an intoxicant, and educating the general public on how it can affect judgement, motor skills, and reaction time.
- Applying the same laws and social mores we use for alcohol and legal narcotics to pot, and providing enforcement agencies with the tools they need (Ever hear of an effective roadside THC test? It’d be needed.)
- Researching the effects of marijuana on people to a much greater degree than has been done to date, and conclusively establishing what those effects are and how we need to manage them.
Think about it, plan it, adapt as you go, and stay the course
All of this will take money—a lot of money, and a lot of planning. The nice part is that it’s a huge underground business today, so more than likely there are companies who are willing to step in and make it work. Some thought is sorely required before we go headlong down the path of legalisation before planning it all out. The last thing I want to see is a country–wide problem like Vancouver’s got with heroin (different class of drug, I know), where the official policy seems to be “sweep the problem under the rug instead of admitting it’s there and doing something about it because we created a lot of this and are now in deep shit”. I’d like to see us prevent that from happening, even if it means waiting a couple years for people to toke up legally.
I’m not saying don’t decriminalise or legalise pot, I’m just saying make sure we know what we’re getting into and commit to doing it the right way. Think about it, plan it, adapt as you go, and stay the course to creating responsible and safe recreational drug use.
That’s something that’s cool and that I’ll be proud of.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2003
PD DCXXII