A Gateway…

.....Out of Addiction....

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/marijuana-exit-drug-study-suggests-some-are-taking-it-substitute-prescription-drugs-and

While I have enjoyed, and willingly partaken, of the Noble Weed for “Recreational Purposes”…since I was 17, or so….it has never Led me, inexorably, to  “Hard Drugs”.

Being of an Explorational Mindset, I have, indeed, Tried various substances… but this was NOT due to Pot. (and the true “Hard Drugs”, like coke, crack, speed and Horse, I have rejected…having confirmed by experimentation, that they are dangerous and stupid)

Pot no more caused this Explorational tendency, than it caused me to Think outside the box.
Those Features of Me are inherent…they were present in my Constitution long before Pot.

The 30+ year campaign to convince folks that Pot is a “Gateway” to the Hard Stuff, is Stupid…and I understood this from the get-go.

What I have found, on the other hand, is just what this Study has found…Pot is a Therapeutic Replacement for the Hard Stuff…in my case, Alcohol.

While I still fall off the wagon…roughly Quarterly…but especially in December…I don’t Drink anywhere Near what I used to…
I firmly believe that Marijuana has helped in this endeavor.

AA, and most of the “Rehab” methodology, considers Pot as a mere Substitute…and, further, as an equally Evil Substance….despite all manner of research and anecdotal evidence to the contrary. The False Equivalency is reflected in the DEA’s Scheduling Schema…Pot, according to the FedGov is equal to Heroin, PCP, and Meth…equally dangerous, equally addicting, and equally irredeemable.

The War on Pot is an almost perfect microcosm, an analog, for what is Dysfunctional about our current Political Battlefield…dismissive of Science and other Evidence, if it disagrees with the Ideology; Based, instead, on Faith…in this case, Faith that Pot necessarily is Equal to Heroin, and that any relaxation of the War will lead, inexorably, to Chaotic Disaster ; the resulting manipulation of the Legal System; denying viable defenses, out of hand, all but prohibiting the Justice System to Function as intended…in apprehension of Truth.

 Vested Interests in the Status Quo, who cynically manipulate the Folks…use Fear and Hatred and Division to prolong their Regime, and reap the rewards of doing so (Prison Industry/Big Pharma/ Cops/ the “Treatment” industry; likely Big Cotton/Tree/other Textile)….

 These Warriors Bully and Threaten and Scare…and the War goes on.

It’s past time for it to Stop.