Almost everyone I know who smokes pot feels the need to hide it from someone. Until recently, I had never been around a family who was out in the open about cannabis consumption, but I can honestly say, it’s so nice to see a family be authentic and not afraid. I’m not sure what goes through everyone else’s mind, but I can recall what used to go through mine. “Oh shoot, they can tell I’m high? I probably smell.” Then there’s all the guilt that sets in like you’re the worst person in the world. “What is everyone going to think?” It’s no wonder people experience paranoia while high on pot. Those kind of thoughts will certainly get anyone’s heart racing.

I became a Medical Marijuana patient in 2007. I remember my first visit to a cute little dispensary located on Sunset Blvd. in Silverlake. There was a sign on the door that said no cell phones were allowed and other instructions on how to conduct yourself including a list of words not to say while inside. Basically, it made me feel like I was being watched by the CIA, the FBI, the LAPD and the DEA! Once inside, the aroma was intense and the selection of medicine in different forms was astounding. I was definitely was blown away and remember feeling super giddy, just like a kid in a candy store. I knew however, that I did not want to medicate with anything that was too potent and I can recall asking for medicine that would not “kick my butt.” I loved being such a “light weight” back then! Then I discovered that there were basically 3 types of strains, 1) Sativa – which is a daytime/upper head high effect, 2) Indica – which is a much heavier, sedating body high strain, and 3) Hybrid which is a combination. Wow! This really was medicine!

After getting over the excitement of being introduced to cannabis in all it’s different forms from popcorn to soda, it really concerned me that I was feeling so uneasy and nervous. When I got back to my office, I was researching California’s Proposition 215 when I came across Jack Herer and his book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes.” I started to read the chapters online then immediately decided to purchased the book and his video. I was hooked! I could not believe all this time, the only reason marijuana has been illegal was because of industrial greed and there was rock solid proof in Jack’s book.

Hemp For Victory

I was never big on conspiracy theories but after watching Jack’s movie, The Emperor of Hemp, there is an instance when a reporter accuses Jack of fabricating the movie, “Hemp for Victory” and showing it to students on college campuses. Apparently, this reporter had checked the Library of Congress for records of the movie Jack had claimed had been made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but no record existed. So Jack and a few other activists actually took a trip to Washington D.C. to find proof for themselves. After several days and almost giving up, they found it in a dingy old closet. There it was in black and white, written in a book, proof that Jack was not a fraud, but our government was!

Five years later it is pretty obvious that I found my calling by discovering this deeply hidden truth. Now I can’t help but want to share it with everyone. It bothers me to no end that people naively believe that alcohol is okay and pot is wrong, just because it’s culturally acceptable. The truth is, there is no toxicity in pot. It is impossible to overdose on Marijuana, but how many people have had alchohol poisening? I know I have! Now in my 40’s, this body is telling me that it just can’t handle alcohol anymore and I tend to believe it. With so much evidence to the contrary, why do so many still subscribe to beliefs that were based on lies?

If you can wrap your head around the real reason Marijuana is illegal, perhaps you can start to make sense of your fears and realize that the monster in the closet is just a shadow afterall. I am not saying that there aren’t consequences to smoking pot, but those consequences have everything to do with the fact that it has been deemed a criminal act and not really a harmful one. So yes, it is difficult to be open about cannabis use. I get it. I really just want people to understand that marijuana is illegal, not because it is dangerous, but because it was poised to make a huge industrial comeback that would have led us away from petroleum based products such as nylon and plastic to cleaner, more earth friendly products made from hemp. Can you imagine a world where plastic bags from the super market would biodegrade? The technology is there with hemp plastic, it’s just being suppressed so we remain reliant on petroleum.

Our compromised information has not only cost us human suffering by forcing people to go to prison for such a ridiculous crime, but our planet is suffering as well. I think it’s scary brilliant how the media has managed to keep us focused on the medicinal aspect of this plant, even to this day. There are so many people that forget that besides medicine, you can make paper, fuel, food, clothing, etc. Hello? We can stop deforestation! Did you know it takes approximately 4 acres of trees to create the same amount of paper as one acre of hemp? Do you also realize that cotton, which represents only 1% of our agricultural crops, requires 50% of pesticides and herbicides that are used in our country? Hemp, on the other hand, requires less water and no pesticides, and as for herbicides? Well, it’s a weed, remember? You see, we can start to reverse so many of today’s problems and the answer can literally be grown right under our feet. It’s just conveniently illegal.

So while we are all being regaled by those Budweiser commercials and feeling super trendy at those wine tastings, I long for the day when everyone will wake up and finally figure out that the substances that they consider to be the cultural norm are way more risky than pot will ever be, and so much less useful in the long run!

The sad truth is, this whole guilt/paranoia song and dance was choreagraphed a long, long time ago and I think the tune they were using was “La Cucaracha.”