Oh, bloody hell. I’m unlocking the rant box.
I’m not going to argue with the hordes of intelligent, thoughtful, Ivy-educated, witty, sharp, active, ambitious, [praise-lavishing adjective goes here] students/past or present friends/acquaintances of mine/human beings who smoke pot and aren’t the widely-advertisement-campaign-stereotyped-and-sometimes-misrepresented delinquent, unshaven, bleary-eyed scum of society. I freely and fully admit that marijuana has medicinal properties and that you’re not going to kick the bucket from smoking it once or twice.
I am not going to admit that smoking pot is less harmful than smoking cigarettes or that it doesn’t have long-term effects, because I am more than willing to argue that it can be equally-if-not-more harmful in some respects and less-so in others than cigs, and that it does have long-lasting consequences, but arguing either of these points with someone who’s firmly on the side of marijuana is pointless, as they’ll dig their heels in, close their ears off, and refuse to concede anything. I still believe that some of the benefits they tout can be countered with sheer scientific evidence (smoking is, physically, no better for your lungs than cigarettes. There is tar, there is smoke, there are no filters, and all of your contrary evidence is very, very waffle-y. This is one aspect– marijuana has been shown to ease the suffering of cancer patients, and other such cases. But I digress.)
What I will say is that, hearing all this, I do not claim the right to say whether smoking pot is good or bad because I concede to the universalizable “don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it” rule but I reserve the right to not be pressured into trying it out of people’s obstinate dumbassery. It is my personal conviction that I retain control of my own consciousness, and as such I don’t like being under the influence of any outside substance, or placing myself under the influence of a substance. It is for the same reason that I don’t like being drunk and, indeed, don’t much like alcohol at all. (I’ve tried it, and I quite firmly knock it.) It is for the same reason that I don’t have much respect for those who automatically resort to pill-popping (in their own case) or filling their children with medications (in the modern ADD-meds case) at the earliest sign of difficulty without first trying to address the problem at hand within their own power. (People with genuine conditions that are dire enough to require medication? I have the utmost respect for, and wish them well; I have friends in these situations, with anxiety or depression so severe that it impedes them without medical assistance. People with so-called problems that wouldn’t even be identified as problems if not for the fact that medical terms for such conditions have been invented in recent decades? No dice.)
And so, it is for the same reason that I acknowledge those who would smoke. I disagree quite damn wholeheartedly with their reasons and their intentions, but I would unhesitatingly go out of my way to respect their right to do so.
I don’t respect them as much as I otherwise would, though. And that is simply my personal stance.
So if I respect your rights, please, for the love of skies and deities, respect mine and people of the world, stop trying to convince me of the merits of smoking, because my stance remains the same regardless.
(Disclaimer: No single person is trying to pressure me into smoking. This was a camel’s back broken by a straw when someone once again asserted that all of the pot smokers they knew were smart. That might be true. But it is by no means a blanket rule. In recent months, I’ve been finding that more and more people I know turn out to be pot smokers, and the pressure does exist. I see no reason to have to try it just because I haven’t. “You can’t knock it if you don’t try it!” Yes, well, I’m not supporting it or knocking it. So can I just not have to try it? Thanks.)
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 15, 2008 at 11:35 am
alice
I [mostly] agree with you… But I actually do think that smoking is “bad”. It’s like what you said about people who automatically reach for the pills before fully understanding what the problem really is and if there are other ways to deal with their situation. And in most cases, I really don’t think that people have much reason or excuse for relying on other substances to “deal” with their depression/anxiety/whathaveyou, -especially- if it’s not prescribed. And pot/ciggs are usually not. And addiction – no matter what it is – is just not a good condition to have. I mean, food or exercise aren’t inherently bad (and in fact necessary), but even if you were addicted to either, it would still be detrimental to your health. Too much of anything is bad. In the case of pills, I know a -lot- of people who are on medication for various emotional/mental reasons, and while my respect for them does not depend on such a state (and for most of them, I honestly think that it does them well), I also realize that pills alone, like all medicines/therapies, have their limitations — they do nothing for the spirit (well, if you believe in one). I’ve had to struggle with this personally, in fact — my parents and I have seriously considered whether or not I should take medication / see a psychiatrist multiple times throughout my life. I never have, because I really think that depression (and other such problems) is not simply physical/mental. Often, it’s at least partly a consequence of being spiritually lacking. And no substance – pills, pot, alcohol, TV, whatever – can fill that void.
I also disagree with that “You can’t knock it if you don’t try it!” statement. Umm, do I have to kill someone before I’m allowed to tell someone else that murder is not a nice thing to do? Seriously now, there is such thing as acquiring knowledge or opinions from mere observation. Not everything requires that you participate in order to become enlightened.
Anyway, good for you for taking your stance! I’m with you on that!
January 26, 2008 at 12:31 am
Lil
Marijuana ie pot smokers are at much higher risk of developing head and neck cancers, which is what I’ve learnt in my occupation. As to usual smokers, depending on their frequency and number of cigs, well… that’s kinda self-explanatory.
As to constant smoking, I tolerate their lifestyles. But in terms of smarts? If the person knows the many harmful effects and they don’t consider reducing or quitting, then regardless of how ’smart’ they are, I’d still consider them somewhat dumb for such russian roulette and probably irreversibly fucking up important parts of their body. Not to mention the expenditure which could go to other things.
Of course, sometimes they are in such pain that well, who could begrudge them a ciggie? Ah, smoking, one of those debatable topics that never end.