It was another beautiful day in Amsterdam so I decided to make the most of it. I rented a bicycle for fifteen euro a day and rode it to the Van Gogh museum, passing the Amstel brewery on the way. Amsterdam is, hands down, the best designed bicycle city in the world. There are separate lanes, as well as signs, signals, and traffic lights, designated exclusively for bicyclists. The bicycles far outnumber the cars in this metropolis. Coming from the Midwest United States, where having a large pick-up truck driven by a white trash hillbilly follow you down the road with the sole purpose of harassing you is a common occurrence, Amsterdam was a bicyclist's dream.


I smoked a fatty joint right outside the museum, sitting on a park bench facing the giant letters spelling out IAMSTERDAM at the head of a large reflection pond. I was feeling good. There is nothing like having the freedom to smoke pot in public with no fear of persecution. It is a beautiful thing.I had considered eating mushrooms before going to the Van Gogh museum, but once I got there, I was glad that I had not. It was a very classy establishment. It would not have been a good place to end up rolling on the floor. I spent the next few hours gazing upon original pieces created by one of the greatest artists that ever lived to paint.

The sun was still shining so I smoked another joint, grabbed a bagel with lox, and got back on my bicycle. I rode all through Vondel Park, twisting and turning back and forth through its many pretzel-like concrete paths. It reminded me of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, especially because I was so high. I found a tree, which hung out over a pond. I climbed out over the water and discovered an amazingly gorgeous view of the park through the falling vines of a weeping willow. There were pillows, indicating that I was not the only one to discover this ultimate chill spot. I made myself comfortable for another smoke session before spending the rest of the day riding back and forth throughout the park.


Every morning following my nights at the Bulldog, the first thing on my agenda was to have my breakfast - a big, beautiful joint - while sitting on the edge of the dike with my feet dangling towards the water. It was a fantastic way to start the day. Following this routine on Thursday morning, I got myself another space brownie and headed for the Marijuana and Hemp Museum. It was definitely one of the more disorganized exhibits I have ever had the pleasure of exploring. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the way in which the displays were organized, yet this set up seemed entirely appropriate with regards to the content in question. I saw old cannabis medicinal bottles from the days of yore, rope made from hemp fiber, and an assortment of entertaining propaganda books and posters siding with prohibition.

I learned how marijuana has been used medicinally, recreationally, and spiritually since the dawn of civilization. Records of its use had been chronicled by numerous cultures. In 2737 BC, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung noted that cannabis could be used to aid in "constipation, rheumatism, menstrual cramps, and absentmindedness" (Wishnia: 2004). In the second century BC, pioneer surgeon Hua T'o created one of the world's first anesthetic using marijuana hashish and wine.


At the same time in India, sacred texts praised cannabis for relieving anxiety. The Greeks and Scythians smoked marijuana as a part of funeral ceremonies. The Roman physician Galen commended marijuana for its ability to kill pain and limit flatulence. It was used throughout Poland and Russia to relieve the pain associated with toothaches and childbirth. Recreationally, Cannabis became increasingly popular in the Muslim world because, unlike alcohol, it was not forbidden by the Koran. Over the hundreds of centuries that millions of people consumed marijuana, not one single person ever died from its use. EVER.

A massive study of California HMO members funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found marijuana use caused no significant increase in mortality (Sydney: 2002).


It is common knowledge among potheads that it is scientifically impossible to overdose on marijuana. Cannabis is medicinally beneficial and recreationally safe. Its effects are relaxing and harmonious. Even today, it recognized by science for its medicinal value.

The White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana's medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, 'Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana.'While noting potential risks of smoking, the report acknowledged there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting (Joy: 1999).


In Amsterdam, marijuana is decriminalized and can be purchased in coffee shops throughout the city. You cannot purchase marijuana at a bar, and you cannot purchase alcohol at a coffee shop. The vices are kept entirely separate. This is because, unlike alcohol, marijuana use does not incite violent behavior or illness. Coffee shops are peaceful establishments that foster mellow atmospheres and pleasant demeanors. They provide relaxed atmospheres and amiable social environments. Meanwhile, bars and alcohol use can cultivate fights, aggression, assaults, and infirmity. That is why it is so surprising to see alcohol legally abused in nearly every culture around the world while marijuana remains criminalized.


If marijuana is so beneficial, then why is marijuana so frowned upon? The answer is because cannabis can be too beneficial and poses a threat to other industries. The marijuana plant was first used to make paper in China during the first century BC. In the early twentieth century, scientific publication hailed hemp as the cash crop of the future.

In 1938, hemp was called 'Billion-Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars. (Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938.) Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled 'The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.' It stated that if hemp was cultivated using twentieth century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world (Yurchey 2010).


The paper industry as we know it today saw hemp as a major competitor and aimed to eliminate it through anti-marijuana propaganda. It was not long before the tobacco and alcohol industries jumped on board, allotting billions of dollars towards advertising meant to demonize the plant and portray it as dangerous and immoral. The three industries used their political pull to lobby against marijuana and took advantage of the new medium of television to brainwash the public using anti-drug commercials and the conceptualization of the "War on Drugs". Then came the creation of the DARE program, which was aimed to turn people against marijuana at a very young age.

The problem with the DARE program, as well as the "War on Drugs", is that it lumps marijuana into the same category as other substances such as heroin, crack, PCP, and meth amphetamine. This misleads the public into thinking that marijuana is equally dangerous to these potentially lethal drugs. Heroin, crack, PCP, and meth amphetamine: these are substances that kill people. As stated before, marijuana does not kill; therefore, it is an exception among these other drugs. Marijuana is both natural and nontoxic.


Marijuana is not referred to as a "gateway drug" because it is inherently bad. It is called this because, due to marijuana's popularity and cultural prevalence, it is quite common for most people to try marijuana in their lifetimes. After experiencing the effects, some who do not know any better might say, 'hey that wasn't so bad, maybe I should try one of these other drugs, too'.

Marijuana is often called a 'gateway drug' by supporters of prohibition, who point to statistical 'associations' indicating that persons who use marijuana are more likely to eventually try hard drugs than those who never use marijuana – implying that marijuana use somehow causes hard drug use. But a model developed by RAND Corp. researcher Andrew Morral demonstrates that these associations can be explained 'without requiring a gateway effect.' More likely, this federally funded study suggests, some people simply have an underlying propensity to try drugs, and start with what's most readily available (Morral: 2002).


The approach to DARE, as well as the "War on Drugs", needs to be reconfigured so that marijuana is no longer a major player. The demonization of cannabis does not protect the general population who are left vulnerable to making uninformed decisions with regards to substance abuse due to most drug education programs' tendencies to promote incomplete and biased information. Currently, drug prevention education does not effectively differentiate the level of seriousness that should be taken with regards to: a) smoking a joint of marijuana, thus causing you to eat a bag of Cheetos and potentially destroying your waistline, versus b) ingesting hard drugs, thus potentially destroying your life and entire wellbeing.

Not only that, but cannabis criminalization leads to violence and destruction for anyone involved in the illegal trafficking of this otherwise harmless and natural substance. No fatalities have ever been reported from the ingestion of marijuana; yet, millions are killed in its black market trade. Therefore, marijuana's depiction as a public hazard IS a public hazard. In an article for CNN, clinical psychiatrist David L. Nathan explains,

I believe a better approach is to bring pot into the open, make it legal for people over the age of 21, and educate children from a young age about the actual dangers of its recreational use…Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, caffeine and refined sugar are among the most commonly used, potentially habit-forming recreational substances. All are best left out of our daily diets.Only marijuana is illegal, though alcohol and tobacco are clearly more harmful. In several respects, even sugar poses more of a threat our nation's health than pot.… Those who believe cannabis to be a gateway to opioids and other highly dangerous drugs fail to appreciate that the illegal purchase of marijuana exposes consumers to dealers who push the hard stuff…The consumption of more dangerous drugs could actually decrease if pot were purchased at a liquor store rather than on the street corner where heroin and crack are sold.… Pot prohibition has also greatly increased illegal activity and violence. Otherwise law-abiding private users became criminals, and criminals became rich through the untaxed, bloody and highly lucrative illicit drug trade….fix this mess through marijuana legalization (Nathan: 2013).


In the Netherlands, marijuana is decriminalized and regulated for the safety of individuals. Hard drugs are strictly forbidden. According to one study, the decriminalization of marijuana directly affects the prevalence of hard drugs in society.

U.S. and Dutch researchers, supported in part by NIDA, compared marijuana users in San Francisco, where non-medical use remains illegal, to Amsterdam, where adults may possess and purchase small amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses. Looking at such parameters as frequency and quantity of use and age at onset of use, they found no differences except one: Lifetime use of hard drugs was significantly lower in Amsterdam, with its 'tolerant' marijuana policies. For example, lifetime crack cocaine use was 4.5 times higher in San Francisco than Amsterdam (Reinarman: 2004).


Unlike countries where this substance is criminalized, there is no marijuana related gang violence in Holland. In fact, the prevalence of violence altogether is relatively low, with a murder rate that is eighty percent lower than that of the United States (The Medical Marijuana Magazine: 2012). Perhaps this is due, in part, to the calming effect of the drug itself. Marijuana definitely promotes nonviolence among users. In my personal experience, I never once felt threatened or suffered harassment while patronizing a coffee shop in Amsterdam. I wish I could say the same about the many bars I've patronized where alcohol was served. Diane Fornbacher, co-vice chair of the Women' Alliance at NORML once said,

Cannabis can influence people to be nicer to one another.You rarely find a story that says two stoners beat each other up outside of a bar (Binns: 2012).


And why wouldn't we want to live in a world where people are nicer to one another? The decriminalization of marijuana seems to promote a peaceful and benevolent culture where people can find escape and recreation in a safe and open environment. It is also in a decriminalized world where consumers can procure this natural herb without threat of conflict, from licensed professionals, and not from the hands of shady drug dealers.

The reason lies in the fact that various industries including paper, alcohol, and tobacco are fiscally threatened by the idea of marijuana decriminalization. It is absolutely atrocious that thousands of people are being poisoned, tortured, killed, and imprisoned just so that these captains of industry can retain larger profit margins. The beneficiaries of anti-marijuana propaganda are making millions of dollars at the expense of citizens. It is important that legislatures consider human lives ahead of corporate profits.


The War on Drugs must be fought with education, not regulation. It is crucial that industrial lobbying and political motives be removed from the drug education agenda. Individuals require access to truthful and unbiased data in order to form their own educated opinions, and everyone has the right to develop their own opinions. Don't deny substances through prohibition; instead, allow individuals the knowledge and freedom to make their own perceptive volitions.

This is an excerpt from the new book, Around the World in 80 J's, now on Amazon

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Binns, Corey. "Pot-Smoking Moms Tired of Being Judged by Wine Drinkers." TODAY MOMS. NBC News, 16 July 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. .


Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr. 21, 2006.

Morral AR, McCaffrey D and Paddock S. Reassessing the Marijuana Gateway Effect. Addiction. December 2002. p. 1493-1504.


Nathan, David L., and The Opinions in This Commentary Are Solely Those of David Nathan. "Why Marijuana Should Be Legal for Adults." CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. .

Reinarman, Craig, PhD. 2006. < Http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.source.ph… >.


Sidney, S et al. Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 87 No. 4, April 1997. p. 585-590. Sept. 2002.

Yurchey, Doug. "The Marijuana Conspiracy: The Reason Hemp Is Illegal." LewRockwell, 19 July 2010. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. .

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