Hard work good, and hard work fine, but first take care of head.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/23/BAO416354C.DTL&tsp=1
So, a bill has been introduced in California to legalize recreational marijuana. Woot! I'm not from California and have no plans of going to California, but I think this is definetly setting an excellent precedent, especially since Michigan recently passed it's own medical marijuana initiative. I'm not exactly all Anne Frank about my use of Ms. Jane, I'm a pretty outspoken and 'adult' (heh) about my recreational substance use. Never before work, never while driving, and never around someone I dont know or dont trust. How hard are these rules to follow? (Ok, so I break the driving rule a little bit, but I'm paranoid about having it in the car so it's rare.)
I sincerely do not understand the opposition of this idea. I mean really, the economy is in the gutter, unemployment is skyrocketing.... people are poor and pissed off. And someone was giving booze to these goddamn animals! All Fear and Loathing references aside, if someone has no job and no prospects for a job, they're looking to feel better. These are not the people with the Zoloft / Paxil / Xanax perscriptions who medicate themselves with their insurance companies blessing, these are the people who wake up in the morning and want to punch a kitten. They wake up depressed, hopeless, apathetic, or angry... and that black cloud hangs over their whole day, week, month, etc. For those smugly cheerful types that advise to 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' or 'if at first you dont succeed.." I would bet you either have a bottle of Prozac in your pocket or a 5 figure savings account. Life just kicks the shit out of some people, and when you get kicked to the ground you need to catch your breath for a while before getting back up. So, these depressed people with nothing to do all day can sit at home and get drunk, and for a few hours, they feel better. Then they wake up feeling like shit and do it again the next day. If they could wander down to CVS, pick up a joint, go home and smoke, the cycle isnt there. You dont feel "bad" or "hungover" when you come down from a weed high, you just feel.. normal. Maybe a little bit tired, but normal. No adverse effects lasting more than an hour, and by adverse I mean general befuddlement and brain fog that slowly dissappates. I wouldn't recommend performing heart surgery or helping your daughter with her calculus homework during this time period, but go take a shower, go grocery shopping, read the help wanted ads, go cut the lawn, or go clean out your car.
I mean, every stereotype has an element of truth. It's true, stoners are giggly, hungry and just a lil on the stoopid side when they're high. SO FUCKING WHAT? The only danger we present is to snack foods. We dont get violent or crazy in any way. We chill, we think a little bit differently, usually get pretty introspective and figure out different approaches to things. At the very very least, we'll lay on the couch all day and watch TV or play video games. Leave us alone and stop making us criminals, or arrest everyone on anti-depressants. Legalizing it would provide billions in tax revenue and jump start the rural economy.
"It was estimated that 8.7 million marijuana plants were harvested in 1997, worth $15.1 billion to growers and $25.2 billion on the retail market (the wholesale value was used to compare marijuana to other cash crops). Marijuana was judged to be the largest revenue producing crop in Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, and one of the top five cash crops in 29 other states." quoted from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-284.html
Fuck it, I'm stopping at Cracker Barrel on the way home from work to pick up some Valomilks (www.valomilk.com, Cracker Barrel is the only place that I know of that carries them around here. Seek them out, they're AMAZING!) and I'm going to do some bong hits, watch Mythbusters, eat candy and fold laundry. I worked my 8 hours today, I'm entitled. I just wish it didn't make me a criminal.