Cannabis

This post isn't really going to be about the legalization of cannabis/marijuana/weed/ganja/pot etc..  The drug is perfectly safe (zero overdoses ever), is not physically addictive, psychologically addicted simply means you really want to do it all the time (like being in love, or listening to music, or watching tv).  While smoking marijuana seems like it should cause cancer because of the smoke, apparently it seems that the cannabinoids are cancer reducing (which makes sense as the resin that is smoked is there to protect seeds from the mutating effects of sunlight as marijuana is a high altitude plant and more subject to the sun's rays).  A study of decades long pot smokers actually found a slightly lower rate of lung cancer than in the general population (I was as surprised by this as anyone).  The prohibition of marijuana throws tens of thousands of people in jail and causes an illegal trade that results in the deaths of innocents, police officers and drug dealers. 

The most reasonable arguments against marijuana are driving impairment and it being a "gateway drug".  Marijuana reduces concentration, reflexes, and coordination, all important things for driving.  However, drivers under the influence of marijuana (which is different from testing positive for weed, the effects of marijuana last for a few hours but the metabolites can stay in the blood for weeks) are aware of these impairments and drive more cautiously.  Police are given lists of clues to tell if someone is drunk (weaving, excessive speed, sudden changes in lane, late braking etc.) and the ones for pot are slow driving, early braking, early signals for turns etc..  In other words pot smokers drive like old people.  They have poor reflexes, concentration and coordination but drive very cautiously.  In statistical studies drivers with marijuana in their system are no more likely to be in a crash than those who are drug free.  The reason why marijuana is a gateway drug, to the extent that this makes sense at all, is that kids are told that marijuana is an evil drug that causes harm, even psychosis.  When kids then smoke marijuana they discover it is essentially harmless, and lots of fun.  This tends to make them think that what they have heard about other drugs is also bullshit.

So, marijuana is essentially harmless, the prohibition causes lots of damage, and people really like to smoke marijuana.  Basically, if you are in favor of marijuana prohibition for consenting adults you are either really uninformed, personally don't like it and think therefore it is bad for everyone, or are a complete moron.  I think a more sensible question, and I mean this quite seriously, is whether we should put THC in drinking water.  THC makes people happier, more aware of their surroundings, and less prone to violence.  I don't actually advocate drugging the general population, but it would make more sense than prohibition.

So, I didn't want this post to be about the first bit above.  I wanted to talk about what marijuana has done for me.  That's right, I smoke pot.  Is there anyone who either didn't know this or is surprised in any way by this revelation?  It is actually rather like coming out as a gay person.  Almost every enlightened person doesn't have a problem with it, but people still keep it secret, as if it was seedy in some way (pun intended).  Most of the people in my life either smoke pot, have smoked pot, or regularly hang out with people who smoke pot.  I have smoked pot in Costa Rica, Mexico, Ireland, the USA and the UK, without a moments trouble (other than being sold oregano once).

Why do I smoke pot?  Well, 95% of the best, most beautiful, most wonderful experiences in my life have been while high.  I have meditated at times consistently for more than a year, studying mindfulness, the art of being here now and appreciating this very moment.  At my highest peak of this work it was mostly like being stoned on good pot.  Time slows down, things are more intimate, beautiful, complex, fascinating.  The sky is literally more blue, and the grass more green.  The breeze is not just wind but a caress.  People are truly astonishing when high.  Just complex and interesting, and funny, and I love them so much more easily.  I don't get angry when stoned.  My thoughts (while far more disorganized) are free-flowing, creative, artistic, and free from the mundane.  If I am blue, getting high cheers me up.  If I am happy, getting high cheers me up.

I have thought repeatedly while staring intently at a shrub, with a beaming smile on my face, that I live separate lives.  One involves chores, and work, and news, and politics, and bills etc..  This isn't a bad life, just usual, normal, mundane.  The other life is the interspersed, but always connected, moments of being high, full of beauty, laughter, companionship, and joy.  It literally is very difficult to overstate how importantly wonderful getting high has been in my life.  Short of love (and weed has been around far more constantly and faithfully than love) I would say that getting high from smoking marijuana has been the best thing in my life.  My favorite thing to do (yes, even better than that) is to get high and then ride my bicycle around in the sunshine with my MP3 player set to random.

Here at the bottom comes the warning label, with advice.  Marijuana works by essentially increasing the activity of the brain, largely through the increase in serotonin.  This means it intensifies your experiences.  If you are experiencing stressful things it will make them more stressful.  If you are generally anxious, smoking pot will generally make you more anxious.  Smoking pot is not for everyone.  If you hate the idea of smoking pot then actually smoking pot will probably be awful for you.  If it sounds like a good idea then it will probably be better than you expect.  The paranoia that people talk about is simply the intensified anxieties that you experience normally.

The increase of serotonin production while high means that after you are high you will have a drop in serotonin.  If you smoke weed all day long you will get tired, dull, drawn out.  If you smoke weed all day every day you will feel like this most of the time and after a while your brain will think being high is normal (not through physical tolerance but through getting used to the experience).  Going to work high just makes it feel longer and more like work and therefore is a stupid idea.

The first time you smoke pot you should find a friend you trust who knows how to do it.  Being high properly is a skill, and how you start will influence how you proceed.  Don't just smoke a ton of weed and go to the mall.  Getting high is an intense change in mental experience and so large amounts of stimuli can be frightening.  Find that friend.  Go to a safe but pretty place, I highly recommend a park or meadow.  In fact I recommend eating a meal right before you get high (to prevent munchies) and then going outside as your default method for getting high as outside is much more fantastic than inside.  Smoke a little bit of pot and wait fifteen minutes or so.  If you don't feel anything (very common for the first few times, my friend in college actually gave me fourteen water bong hits to get me high the first time) try some more, but slowly.  Look around at the beautiful world, relax, and just let it happen.

My final few words are a paraphrased quote from Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and philosopher, and a lyric from a song by the Beastie Boys.

"I have never met anyone who smokes pot every day who wouldn't be better served by smoking less, or anyone who doesn't smoke pot who wouldn't be better served by smoking more."

"Phone is ringing, oh my God!"