Reefer Madness Revisited
A Stoner’s Take on The “Dangers” of Marijuana
“Marijuana”, or cannabis, as it’s properly referenced, gets a bad rep for a number of reasons, but mostly bullshit ones. There are some genuine reasons to be wary of weed, but these are seldom discussed with any legitimacy, sincerity, or firsthand experience.
And really, they’re more like reasons to be wary of who you’re consuming it alongside.
Even the name “Marijuana” itself is a racist misappropriation of the Spainish-English word for the plant, concocted by the United States government and Harry J. Anslinger to demonize the substance with connotations of sounding more “ethnic”:
“By the tons, it is coming into this country — the deadly, dreadful poison that racks and tears not only the body, but the very heart and soul of every human being who once becomes a slave to it in any of its cruel and devastating forms. … Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters. Hasheesh makes a murderer who kills for the love of killing out of the mildest mannered man who ever laughed at the idea that any habit could ever get him…”
— Harry Anslinger, completely making shit up, being hateful & racist
Anyone with any firsthand experience with the cannabis plant ought to know what an absolute load of bollocks that is, but in case you’re dangerously sheltered and nescient, let me assure you, I have tested it literally hundreds, if not thousands, of times and never murdered anyone.
However, having as much experience as I do with this mystically feminine substance, I am keenly aware that it’s not nearly as harmless as 18-year-old me would’ve argued. I’m not as “physically fit” as I could be if I’d spent all the time that I’ve spent smoking in a gym instead, I’ll certainly grant you that, for all you David Goggins types. However, I think I’ve become more empathetic, compassionate, and understanding of others’ perspectives than I’d be if I had spent all that time pumping weights and looking at my biceps in the mirror.
I used to think that crop-dusting the nation with weed smoke would solve all our dilemmas, but I’ve since wised up to more insoluble problems with the caveats of that concept.
Is cannabis addictive?
Nowhere near the more widely “socially permissible” chemicals of alcohol and nicotine. It’s certainly habit-forming, which is entirely different from addiction, but thereby potentially detrimental to one’s personal development. The time you spend smoking herb is time you hypothetically could spend learning, practicing a skill, or exercising. There are admittedly problems for many people with productivity and healthily coping from traumas when it comes to cannabis use and abuse.
Is it potentially lethal?
Never, unless combining its consumption with heinously reckless activities. There is absolutely zero risk of fatal overdose when it comes to the cannabis plant, or its derivatives.
Conversely, there have been a number of occasions that I’ve smoked myself out of committing to the ol’ self-deletion — naptime, forget about learning how to tie a noose, wake up feeling better. Certainly not the healthiest coping mechanism, I’ll readily admit, but I’m still here, which I very likely wouldn’t be if I was self-medicating with alcohol or pills.
Will it cause someone otherwise benevolent to become violent or dangerous?
Quite the opposite. However, the inverse is where we run into trouble — cannabis can make someone who would otherwise be a menace into a seemingly innocuous lummox.
“But, what’s the danger of that?” You may be inclined to wonder. “Wouldn’t that be an overall positive thing as well?”
Not quite — it’s better to see people as they are, rather than how they’d like to be seen, or how we’d like to see them.
Some good ganja might give you the munchies, deepen your appreciation of music, or come up with a silly, creative idea, but it may also preclude your discernment of those you’re consuming it alongside. Most people are agreeable and pleasant when stoned, but that’s not necessarily who they are at their core, in the essence of their being. Consuming cannabis together is a psychologically and spiritually intimate experience, which may not be the best course of action around fundamentally dishonest, disloyal, or otherwise shitty individuals.
Being able to get stoned together is not a good measure of if someone is a good friend — almost everyone seems cool to be around stoned.
Authentically good friends celebrate your successes, mourn your losses, encourage you to lean into your strengths, and feel inspired — not threatened — by your growth.
Good friends do NOT make jokes at your expense, exploit your insecurities, laugh at your humiliation, trample your boundaries, or try to set you up for failure.
Being stoned out of your gourd all the time can make it hard to notice if individuals are subtly behaving this way. It can also make you paranoid that people know about things that they might not.
It’s far better to be confident in how you feel around someone when you’re both sober… then you can enjoy hitting the bong together all the more.
Probably the worst thing about cannabis is that it makes you feel contented in situations in which it’d probably be more beneficial if you felt the distress and discomfort that you should be feeling, which ought to prompt you to do something differently.
There does tend to be an apathetic energy that comes along with the peaceful contemplativeness of cannabis, and it’s not always the best thing for every situation. However, tempered apathy does have it’s usefulness — there are some things we cannot control, and it can be better to say “Fuck it!” and light one up and just accept what is when you genuinely can’t do anything about whatever the problem is. However, it can make for too easy an “escape”, without actually resolving the issue, then you come down, and your room is still a mess, or dishes still need to be done.
Personally, I enjoy doing the dishes stoned. Know thyself, and consume responsibly.
