Once upon a time, Western Society was faced with a crisis. It was so concerning that the leading societies of the day considered taking legal action, and wanted to pass laws making it illegal for citizens of their nations to use a certain drug. Governments Of The Day said that the large number of people using this drug had caused a breakdown in the fabric of society, and threatened the productivity of their nations, not to mention the detrimental effect being placed on family life.
The laws were never passed, but the debate did happen, and the arguments were sincere. If it had not been for the pressure applied to the law-makers by a certain sector of society, perhaps the laws may have taken effect, and our society would have been vastly different.
The drug? Tea.
When tea first arrived in Europe, tea-houses sprang up everywhere, and were so popular, and so all-consuming, that the scenarios described above really did occur. It was only the pressure applied by the wealthy tea merchants that prevented the stimulant being outlawed.
Later, of course, came coffee, with similar effects.
Both of which have nothing to do with Marijuana, except in one respect. It has also changed the societies into which it has been introduced.
Tea, Coffee and dope are all recreational drugs which are derived from plants. They are not particularly powerful in their natural form, but Marijuana is becoming more potent as hydroponic and genetic mutations appear in the product being sold. Potency is terrific if you want a quicker high, or a longer high, but these effects are not really useful when it comes to paying the mortgage...
Unfortunately, many people regard dope as a great way of coping with Real World problems. Let's face it, as progressive as we want to be, smoking dope will not fix your relationship, pay your debts, or bring you closer to God.
It is also worlds away from being effective in controlling strong symptoms of serious diseases, and this is where the current medical confusion lies.
There are certain natural therapies that recommend the use of herbal infusions to alleviate symptoms; Chamomile tea, Mint tea, etc., and they can be very therapeutic....BUT...
You wouldn't treat cancer with a cup of tea.
OK, maybe some people would, but the success/failure rate never seems to be publicised as a percentage for some reason...
Which means that the use of the natural product in its natural state (steeped or smoked...), is probably not such a great idea when treating serious illness.
And this is where the Real World comes crashing into the realms of Bureaucracy...
You see, Bureaucrats and Lawmakers have a problem with the Real World, and the problem is simple;
The Real World doesn't follow the rules that Bureaucrats make... it's really irresponsible of the Real World, but they're working on fixing that, don't worry.
The Bureaucrats have decided that all drugs need regulation, and the Lawmakers have been employed to make sure this happens. Now the use of Marijuana has a long history, and it has always been associated with working class people. Rich people tended to use Opium, Laudanum, or Opera, (depending on their taste), mainly because they were more expensive, and because everybody else was doing it.
Marijuana came from the hemp growers who used it to make rope (remember hemp rope? I do, you probably don't..). In the days of sailing ships, hemp was the biggest market in the world, even bigger than canvas for sails. Really.
So, when the slaves of Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, and the rest were planting/picking tobacco or cotton, the slaves of Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma and the rest of the Mid-West were planting or harvesting hemp. And yes... I realise that most people forget that almost ALL states of the Union had slaves until just before the Civil War. (Let's save that for another blog post, ok?)
Anyway, after the harvest, it is well documented that, right up until the 1930's, when most farm labour was still Black (or Coloured, or Afro-American... I genuinely mean no offence), the workers would gather the leaves of hemp left over from the harvest and make fires in the fields, and sit around them till late at night, laughing and singing.
Rope hemp is not very strong as a drug, but its effect is an indication of where the drug could go... and so the Jazz era discovered Indian Hemp...and away we go!!
Where would Jazz, Blues, Folk, Rock and Roll, and the entire 1960's be without Dope?? Nowhere, Man!!
The thing that puzzles me most about this whole thing is: Why do Advocates find it so hard to understand the resistance that The Establishment has to Marijuana?
We have spent 3 (THREE... 1 PLUS 1 PLUS 1) Generations telling society that dope is the drug of Rebellion. This is our way of telling them that we are going to screw their values. We don't care. It's all about smoking shit and getting wasted, and you can't stop us... You Bastards!! We'll rebel by getting stoned and doing nothing!!
Until someone discovered that dope might be good for treating disease.
So now we are all wondering why Society isn't saying "WOW! HOW GREAT!! LET'S GIVE EVERYONE DOPE FOR FREE"
Hmmm...
Now let's face it; no-one is saying that Marijuana is a cure-all that will end Man-kinds suffering. It can be used as a pain relief for certain conditions, when inhaled as a smoke, in its dried, leaf state. It is no good as a long-term cure when used in this way.
The educated among you (if you have come this far), will realise that what the experts are talking about is...Medical dope oil.
Marijuana oil, when properly produced and applied as a tincture (NOT smoked.. and look up the word "tincture", I am not your Year 6 teacher), can actually relieve certain symptoms of certain diseases, Cancer being one of them. I have seen this for myself. Unfortunately Society as a whole, Bureaucracy and Lawmakers in particular, have made it their business to make sure this drug is illegal, and punishable in the courts.
The truth of the matter is; we, the public, have made it our business to reinforce that perception.
Marijuana has been the drug of rebellion and resistance for generations. We have continually thrown it in the face of the Establishment as a symbol of our refusal to do things by the book. Wild parties, alcohol and dope during Prohibition. Free love and dope in the 1960's. teenage rebellion and dope in the 70's.
Now we wonder why governments won't legalise medicinal marijuana, just because we have finally found a way to help mankind.
Like your morning cup of tea,(or coffee), Dope will need to overcome the stigma we have placed on it ourselves, before we can be relaxed about how we use it.
You can toke that any way you like....
