One of the dumbest arguments for weed is that it smells good. Weed is sometimes called skunk because it smells… like a skunk, the disgusting scented animal people avoid because it smells so… disgusting; emphasis on disgusting. And people like this smell? I’ve never driven by a dead skunk and have my car fill with its sulphuric aroma and thought “Hmm, this should be bottled and used for perfume. It’s so calming.” No, it’s disgusting. The only reason it might smell good is because it’s connected to a happy memory. For instance, as a kid I liked how my grandma smelled. She smelled like stale cigarettes; another disgusting smell, but because I loved her, the smell reminded me of her and it made me happy. As gross as the smell was, I liked it because it was associated to something good, so my guess is people who like the smell of pot like it for a similar reason. I doubt these people who say they like the smell of weed are collecting dead skunks in order to rub against themselves later. Is this one of the truths promised by the title of this post? Nope, this is a bonus thought. Yes, I’m starting with the bonus, which is like starting with the encore at a concert, but I’m hoping to make a few people think ‘you’re going with the bonus first? whooooooooaaaaaaaa’ said like a stereotypical stoner. In this case, I’d even be fine with the ‘whoa’ being a ‘whoa, this guy’s whacked’. Don’t worry, the following points will be better. This was really just about me having fun. I don’t drink or do drugs; my fun is to delay what I’m really wanting to say because that can be annoying and it’s fun to be annoying sometimes… a bonus thought to the bonus; ‘whoaaaa’.
Marijuana is constantly making the news whether it’s for legalizing debates, medicinal purposes, drug busts, and general discussion. Many people are obsessed with it because they either love it or hate it. Regardless of your arguments for or against, I’d like to point out two important truths about it that typically get missed. These are not meant to be pro or no, but simply ideas to consider.
- A Way to Hide: When young people smoke weed there’s often this rebellious, exciting feel to it. You know you’re old when you’re smoking weed and you’re doing it alone as a way to just try to get through another day. As a former youth pastor who saw his share of young people who said they smoked it and now a therapist who meets a lot of adults who do – at least for recreational purposes – there is definitely a distinction between the age groups. When you’re young, smoking pot is something you do to connect with others and to try to be wild. Adults who smoke pot tend to seem isolated and broken in some emotional way. Perhaps smoking it helps to connect to perceived better times, which is before being a grown up, but generally, adults who smoke pot recreationally tend to use it the way the stereotypical labor worker drinks beer at a bar after work; to numb the pain of life away. Video games and binge watching TV shows are other popular activities to hide from life, but no matter the vice, hiding is never healthy and only perpetuates the underlying problem that needs to be addressed. If this is the case, you should consider journalling your thoughts and/or see a therapist.
- Legalizing It Might be Damaging to Users: Anger is a healthy emotional response (when used properly). It’s energizing and can push us to do great feats we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. Anger can also make us dumb and hurt others, which means we need to be careful how we use it. That being said, it’s amazing how angry some people get about legalizing marijuana. In reality, legalizing won’t ruin the world. In the same way, criminalizing it more won’t ruin the world. There is good in all situations. The only down side about legalizing it is it will mean that a lot of pot advocates won’t have anything to be passionate about; they’ll lose their source of anger, which means they’ll essentially lose their purpose. Legalizing it could be the most damaging thing to their world because suddenly they won’t have something to be angry about. It’s like on the show Survivor. I remember seeing an episode where everyone was angry at this one person, but after they voted him off, the connection everyone had disappeared and relationships fell apart. Losing their target of anger caused the rest of the group to implode and people turned on each other. Hopefully legalizing marijuana will lead advocates to find something else to be passionate about, and not simply cause them to become complacent and bored.
Regardless of your stance on marijuana, may it not be a source of hurt for you or those around you, and if you have bottled up emotional pain, may you have the strength to address it.
Rev Chad David, ChadDavid.ca, learning to love dumb people