Editors note :This piece was written by a couple of TGS members who wished to remain anoymous due to the controversial nature of the subject matter.
Cannabis is as popular as it’s ever been, legal in some capacity in more US states than in any time in recent history, and also probably more argued about than ever too. It’s been blamed for a lot of things, and claimed to cure just as many, but it remains relevant in our culture. It’s not a miracle plant and it’s not a demon, but does have good points as well as bad.
The Worst
5. It doesn’t work for everyone
Weed isn’t for everybody. Scientists haven’t really been able to control for enough variables to prove definitively if cannabis is a symptom of some kinds of mental illness, but it does seem to bring forward issues faster. People can have bad short term reactions to it – while there are still zero (0) cases of cannabis ingestion causing death by overdose, even after several states and countries around the world have legalized consumption – that doesn’t mean that it’s all great news. It’s still a bad idea to drive while high, even if stoners do have better reaction times and overall driving than drunk people. Ingest enough, and eventually one will get the spins, puke, and go to sleep, which is unpleasant. Overdosing on edibles is an issue that needs some additional thought, because decision making is impaired and some people don’t know what the hell they’re doing and hurt themselves. In some cases, people just don’t like how it makes them feel. (Totally fine, BTW. People who pressure others into smoking are the real worst.)
4. The munchies
It is extremely possible to eat healthy options, but not everybody has the willpower, especially with that impaired decision making we talked about. The munchies can lead to weight gain, because guzzling down orange soda, gummy bears, and Doritos and then getting locked on to the couch like a spitter at a jail gets locked in that security chair like on Cops is too real after a couple of bowls. Has anybody watched that show while high? It’s like a surreal nature documentary.
3. Hippie Jam Band Festivals
Peace. Love. Wandering 20 minute jam sessions in the middle of songs that all sound the same. People buying and selling useless products and services as far as the eye can see, and decrying capitalism at the same time. Someone getting petitions signed. Someone getting their tarot read. A woman dancing barefoot by a trash can. A naked, muddy child outwitting an obviously intoxicated parent. Teenagers making out. Old people making out. Hemp necklaces, vegan fair food, a guy in business casual dancing like he’s making love with a lot of enthusiasm but not much talent. Its always either too hot or too cold, the music is almost always poorly mixed, and for the privilege of the experience you get to pay at the gate. You can do better, Hippies.
2. 420BLAZEITFA****
For some, weed consumption becomes cult like. Everything is better when high, but these are the ones that take it to the extreme. Being a stoner is their brand – they are constantly high, they constantly talk about how high they are, were, or will be. Their clothes, collections, social media accounts, and entire personalities revolve around weed. While its good to have a hobby, its bad for any one thing to become a person’s entire being. On top of that charming personality, they also usually have shitty taste, suck to hang out with, and are unusually stinky. (Just say no to bathing in pot and patchouli!)
1. It’s still freaking illegal
US Attorney General and resident Gollum impersonator Jeff Sessions wants to double down on the war on drugs, rather than reform or end it. There are huge issues in this country with addiction, and cannabis is part of that. Nobody is trying to sell that it isn’t addictive anymore. But treating the symptoms of addiction includes fixing the root cause, and that doesn’t mean filling up privately owned prisons with nonviolent people who are only outside of the law because of racist and darkly capitalist political motivations from generations ago. They’re fighting the battles of the 20th century and that doesn’t look to change, at least for a while. States, however, still have rights. The court battles will be interesting, but the personal costs will continue to be high for those who get caught up in the system.
The Best
5. Sex
Sex is amazing when high, even Carl Sagan said so. Feels receptacles in the skin are on high alert (heh) and everything is more intense. It also can slow down orgasm, and make them more intense as well. Touchy, tangly, satisfying physical encounters happen with application of a little tree, and its clear that we have been taking advantage of this property of the plant for thousands of years.
4. Food
See above, but for the face hole. Intense flavors and textures become really interesting. People will work their way up – Cheetos on the couch are good and all, but there’s NOTHING like dessert at a fine dining establishment after sneaking into the bathroom with a vape and a couple friends and getting blazed as shit. Cheesecake becomes otherworldly. Chocolate cake is like sinking to the depths of a delicious ocean. All food is better if eaten while high. Full stop. That’s why pop culture stoners like Shaggy eat such a strange range of food – somehow, if stoned and hungry enough, things like grilled peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich are incredible.
3. Creativity
The best art of our age was most likely influenced by some kind of substance, and weed is a popular one. Music, visual arts, dance, crafting… you name it, the idea or part of the execution was probably done while baked. Colors are brighter, movement more fluid, light and shadow more pronounced. It sounds corny as hell but the innate beauty in everything just stands out more. The green stuff is a muse amplification device. Getting high won’t bring motivation or talent, but it will bring ideas.
2. The Connection
With the way that everything feels magnified and slowed down while intoxicated, it makes sense that personal connections and empathy are also at their highest in most people while high. People who are on only THC are people who rarely fight. Most just want to sit around and tell stories and explore the universes of each others brains while the shields are down. God, The Universe, whatever we pick to call that energy that binds humanity to the planet and the rest of the living things are also, logically, more available to us at this time too. Even in religions in which cannabis use is banned, someone uses it. 1 in 8 people admit to partaking in a recent poll. I would estimate that there are at least an equal amount who either use so rarely that they report that they just don’t, or that don’t admit to it to anybody who asks who aren’t trusted. There are a lot more folks who toke up out there than is understood clearly, and the connection that it provides them to others and their surroundings are a huge reason why.
1. It’s medicine
We have enough data to understand that cannabis’ compounds CBD and THC play an important role for managing various medical conditions for a lot of people, but not enough to truly understand why. It allows patients to feel less pain and be able to hold down food, sleep, and gain strength during battles with major health issues where treatment makes people as sick as the affliction. It helps some to manage mental issues without the harshness of anti-depressant or anti-anxiety meds. Being high lets some of those who suffer from PTSD or CPTSD redirect their thinking and relax out of fight or flight mode. It helps people with epilepsy to not have seizures. The cannabis plant is a positive that has been vilified, and its an interesting theory to think that as we outlawed it and its compounds stopped being absorbed into the soil and water as much (hemp production ramping down was the major contributor, but wild plants becoming more scarce didn’t help matters) we have seen an increase in things like autism, cancer, and even ADD. Granted, this has not been studied that I could find, but it would be interesting to find out first what scientific effects cannabis has on the medical world once and for all, and then if by allowing it back in to the natural cycle and farming it, we can resolve some issues for future generations. It took 80 years of slowly repealing prohibition to get here, who knows what will happen in 80 more?
Weed is like, totally awesome, but has drawbacks and isn’t for everybody. If it is for you, its party time! 420 blaze that shit! If you’d like to learn some more, this is one of the best videos to demonstrate the effects of the compounds of this plant on humans that has ever been made.