For this article, I go simply on faith and happily acknowledge that this is wholly unprovable, but I honestly believe that legalizing cannabis would be good for the environment and potentially could help to reverse the destructive course upon which humanity seems set.

I could go off on how, ecologically, legalizing cannabis (I am assuming hemp would be legalized as well), could lead to much more sustainable crops of construction materials, paper production and possibly even a source of fuel and food. I could argue that, with all the money freed up from abolishing prohibition, we could divert some of that abundance toward taking better care of our collective home (which we totally could). Or I could point out that cannabis (grown responsibly) doesn’t place much of a burden on the earth. Those points are valid, but I want to talk about something more intangible: the sense of reverence for the natural world that seems (at least to my experience and those of my friends) to accompany getting stoned.

Recent news stories, such as about the Louisiana sinkhole, a hundred whales dying as a result of sonar instruments used in underwater oil prospecting, and swarms of giant killer hornets killing dozens of people in China, are lingering in my mind. The logical (somewhat cynical) part of me wants to pass these events off as just phenomena that occur rather frequently and do not warrant further analysis. However, like Darth Vader, I sense a disturbance in the force. I cannot help but see these events as nature’s clarion warning that we are in disharmony with our planet.

The hippie in my heart likes to think that the repeal of prohibition would pave the way for a peaceful population to indulge in a truly green economy. There is only so much life and energy that can be wrested violently from the earth before we imperil our own survival. I do not subscribe to the dogma that we are “killing the planet.” The planet will be just fine (barring an exploding sun). We are, however, walking perilously close to an event horizon beyond which our species may very well be f*&#ed. The sphere we call earth will shake and shiver until humanity falls off. Then it will heal itself and perhaps try life once more without our meddlesome ways.

Some may call it a stretch to seek a connection between basically saving our own asses and cannabis legalization; but maybe not. There is something somewhat indefinable about imbibing cannabis and feeling that greater harmony with the planet around you. The border between “me” and the natural world dissolves to a degree and, at the very least, you become conscious of how your actions ripple into the ether. If cannabis was legal I think it’s safe to say that, eventually (after the stigma subsides), more people would smoke it and experience that sense of balance and peace. Hence, more forethought given and more informed decisions made by a more conscientious populace.

I can only legitimately speak from my own experiences. I can testify that being stoned helps me feel that abiding oneness and makes me want to try and shy away from irresponsible planetary stewardship. Basically, I feel that cannabis elicits feelings of peace and harmony that generally go contrary to destruction and aggression. I believe it could help us make our decisions in a more rational and far-sighted fashion.