Weed pot grass

So there is a big push out there to legalize and tax marijuana. The reasons are many fold. “It’s less damaging then alcohol which is legal” and the “tax revenue / lower law enforcement costs profits” arguments seem to be at the top of the list. Google it if you don’t know what I’m talking about, but if you know me then you have probably heard it from me or someone I know. There are lots and lots of reasons to legalize the stuff but there is an argument that is used by D.A.R.E. and it’s like which actually should be an argument for legalization and not one opposed to it.
Before I explain let me just state that there is NO major anti-drug organization that is actually anti drug. They are anti-non prescription drug. D.A.R.E. and its like are funded by prescription drug companies. They WANT you to use drugs, but only the ones they control. They do not care about kids staying off drugs, they in fact want your kids on the anti-“whatever thing they made up to sell you stuff” drugs and they will distort the truth to get it.
So with that mini-rant out of the way let me dissect a statement that the Anti-MJ crowd has used for years. I can feel those of you who were forced to sit through grade school programs wondering which statement that you only half listened too I speak of. The Statement is; “Marijuana is a gateway drug to harder drugs”
Now the “gateway drug” comment has been argued about for years. I have heard both side of this argument. Those who want pot legal say that the numbers show that while this can happen statistically those who use pot as an excuse for harder drugs would have used those drugs any way. Those who want it to stay illegal bring out ex-crack user and ex-heroin user who claim to have started on pot. Well let me state that the “gateway drug” thing does happen at least often enough to create the stories, maybe they are the norm, maybe they are the exception but I have also met these people. Three times in my life I have met people who claimed that pot was a “gateway drug” two were ex-users and one was a really annoying tweeker-meth head who wouldn’t shut up, all claimed to that pot led them to try other drugs.
“Wait a moment here Mr. Bradelyman” I hear you say “doesn’t that mean your own experiences give validation to a reason to keep hemp illegal?”
My answer to that question “No” because I talked to (or was talked at by) all three and I listened. All three had nearly identical stories with the same 4 steps. 1) Try pot 2) realize that pot is not that harmful (they all used a phrase like “not that bad”) 3) decide that if pot is “not that bad” and is illegal then the other illegal drugs are not so bad either 4) tried harder drug and discovered they were addicted to something really nasty. See the problem. Pot was a gateway ONLY because pot was illegal.
See thing is when you say pot is just as bad as crack or meth (which is a LIE), then when someone tries weed and it’s harmless they will assume one of two things; either that you are telling the truth and crack is ok since you said pot and crack were equal OR that you are a liar since weed was OK therefore you lied about meth and it’s ok too. The gate way is caused by treating the harmless like the harmful.
As long as we teach kids the lie that it’s “all the same” they will be hurt by that lie. All it takes is one friend with hippy parents who hold down good jobs (and I know lots of those and so do you) to prove that weed isn’t an instant killer. Once that is proven D.A.R.E. becomes a group of liars. The school that the program was presented in becomes a place where lies were told. The parents if they support it become part of the lie as well. Why should they believe any of you when they know that weed didn’t mess up Tommy’s parents? Now Tommy is going to be OK, his parents tell him he can’t smoke until he is older, and that they would rather he was around them the first time. He knows that speed, crack and heroin are bad because his parents were truthful with about pot so he believes them when they say that stuff is bad. However the kids whose parents support the D.A.R.E. lie have no leg to stand on. He or she is now going to use the “gateway” caused by the lie.
I obviously am arguing from the point of view of someone who supports legal weed. Even if you disagree with me on that, I beg you to stop teaching your kids that it’s “all the same”. It’s not “all the same”. As long as you teach that you are teaching a lie. The lie is what creates the gateway so stop blaming the lesser drug or plant or whatever. Also understand your kid will see through your lies eventually, and then you will be a liar. Good luck getting respect from your teenager once they know you lie to them.
So remember dare to stand up to the gateway D.A.R.E.’s lies create.
Bradelyman

Excuses

So I apologize for the lack of blogging to the few of you who read this. My lap top died a slow death that caused MS Word to load painfully slow and I started making excuses rather than blogs. Old comp did a noble thing and blue screened me enough to get a replacement (with dads help, Thanks dad). The trusty thing then let me get the unbaked-up pictures off its hard drive on one last activation. I honor its noble end and wish it a speedy trip to the computer after life of its choice.
The new machine, The Bradcomp, is wonderful. I have spent the last few days making it mine and playing games. Yes it was a colossal waist of time, and it was wonderful. The thing I am most enjoying is the ability to move my comp without losing power. Oldcomp’s battery died about a year ago so it was tied to a wall for use. It was still mobile so I didn’t think I was missing much, I was wrong. Being able to write, play games and plot stories ANYWHERE is really nice.
As cool as all this sounds the one problem is now I have no excuse for a lack of productivity. I could blame the hard time doing on line job searching on a slow machine, or an inability to make the old ting load the web pages in a timely manner. Now if I don’t get any of that done it is quite obviously MY fault not the computer. Word now loads quickly, so I can’t blame my unrecorded ideas on a slow machine. The machine is bight and new and its keys are still shiny so any problem lies with now with me.
“But Brad” I hear the more enlightened of you ask “surely you know that those excuses were false reasoning, and just a way for you to slack”
Yeah, well I do now. I honestly believed my excuse, until they were removed. Then I came up with a dozen reasons why the slow wait was NOT a good excuse. I could have simply shown a bit of patience and discipline. I could have borrowed a different computer, it’s not like MS word is a rare program. What amazed me was once the excuses were gone was how much I believed them. I never even question my actions (well actually lack of action). I am ashamed I let excuse slow me down, but more then that I am amazed at how little I questioned my motives while I allowed it.
The other shock was how emotionally devastated I was when the Oldcomp did the third blues screen of death. I actually nearly cried and had to remove myself to the desert to get control of my emotions. I was shocked at how attached I was to a material object. Once I was over the initial wave of emotion, I was angrier with myself for being that attached to an object. My lovely lady has since pointed out that Oldcomp had been a constant source of information and entertainment for several years and that I was only being human. She is right of course. Part of why we must balance heart with mind. If you are all heart you WILL break down over stuff like this. Being all head in this case wouldn’t be good either, I wouldn’t have been upset but I wouldn’t have properly enjoyed the computer during its “life”.
So out with the noble Oldcomp, in with the new Bradcomp. A process that caused far more self realization then I really think it should have. I am told it shows I am able to learn a life lesson from any situation. I know that’s a good thing, a really good thing even, but sometimes it’s a bit shocking, and just a tiny bit annoying. I wouldn’t stop it from happening, I just want the annoying part noted in a public forum (and now it has been).
Love and dog licks
Bradleyman