Think Again
If I am to teach my children the way of life that calls for the most happiness, I’d say the way is through two words: Think Again.
What I notice in all of my travels is how “programmed” people are. Very few truly listen to what their deepest informed self speaks to, but instead respond with the thoughts that have been implanted by external sources.
I do a lot of press appearances, whether it is on national or local radio or TV, I run across a full palate of different media personalities. Some are “old school” DJ types who are devoid of true character and merely recite from the script they were given by their superiors, who listen to their bosses – all of whom practice out of fear.
The other day, we’re doing a radio show, and I brought up the motivation behind the movie I produced, “Totally Baked.”
I mentioned the word ‘marijuana’ and watched the hosts do a mental pucker up, as their beings became inhabited by aliens – the strangers from Planet Panic.
Instead of listening to my story about my son asking me a question about pot, their internal thoughts gave way to the voices from their program directors. They pulled the emergency break and stopped the train.
Why do people become so visibly and audibly distressed when they hear a mention of anything to do with Marijuana?
I do not smoke ganja, but that is not a moral choice. It’s actually due to the fact that pot does not do to me what it seems to do for many of my friends. I have friends who sleep better, screw better and fill in the New York Times crossword puzzle with great ease after a few bong hits. There are many who become more intellectual and thought provoking and are the most interesting man at the party.
I turn into a paranoid idiot who actually believes he is creating some of the funniest, wittiest and earth shattering ideas known to man when in fact I am clueless to reality. It’s while high that I have come up with beer bottle openings in the shape of lips called “Kiss My Glass” and diapers made of saran wrap. “Poop-See!” seemed like a winner under the influence of Columbian Gold.
Those are a few of the big plans that never made it to the patent office and stayed in the all purpose room at my smoky frat house. And you will be happy to know very few of the comedy bits that had the Phi Kaps roaring ever made it to a stage.
I do know however, that aside from over staying my welcome occasionally, I never caused any harm while stoned. I knew enough not to drive and it made me mellow. We’ve all seen bar fights, but no one ever starts a brawl at a Cannabis Cup Concert.
If I had brought up a story about my son inquiring about my first under age drinking story, you can bet the radio personalities would have added their own drunk-a-logues to top mine. In this world, we go with what the folks in charge tell us to do, even if it makes no sense.
After producing the movie “Totally Baked,” I learned so much about the hypocritical and illogical choices our government has made regarding the laws for marijuana. There is only one conclusion we can make – the weed should be freed! And once the media and others start to truly find the truth, that the only reason it’s illegal is from corporate greed, we will start growing it in our back yards.
Tax it and produce it for all kinds of hemp products. It can help us with the economy. It can calm down the criminals who are jacked on crack. No one is breaking into your house to find a dime bag.
Think Again
I concur, but before I get into my beliefs about pot, which are the same as yours, a little story. I was an regular pot smoker from my freshman year in high school 1973 until to around 1988. In that year my wife and I were living in a very small house, making little money but thoroughly enjoying life, as we are now, five children later. One night I rolled my myself a joint (the term doobie had long since become obsolete or uncool), and I took two hits. Well those two hits for some reason made my little buzz get bigger, and bigger and BIGGER until I got panicky. My heart began to race, my pulse quickened, I was breathing erradically and my finger tips were getting numb and tingly. I thought I was having a heart attack at age 29. I thought maybe it was a "bad batch" so two days later I tried another joint. Same thing. Needless to say, I quit, thinking, "My body is telling me something and it's not fun anymore if I am going to feel like this". Two years later my band The Trip played The Alaska State Fair in Palmer, Alaska. At the end of our 7 day gig, the road crew came to our rooms, stoned out of their minds, red-eyed and happy and bearing a bag of the most KILLER green bud, skunk weed I'd ever smelled. They called it Matanuska Thunder F*#k, after the area which it was grown. Great name, huh? After some convincing by the crew, I tried some, only to have the same reaction I had in 1988. My days of smoking pot were now officially over, and have been since.
My point is here is that if it weren't for that "heart attack" feeling I got and the fact that marijuana is illegal, I would probably still be doing it, albeit sparingly. Maybe not since I do have children, but I truly believe that marijuna is in the same class as beer or wine, except it's illegal. I work with mental health therapists, young ones right out of grad school mind you, who firmly believe that pot IS the gateway drug which will eventually lead to cocaine, crack, heroin and eventually DEATH!! Pahleeese. I smoked pot for nearly twenty years and although I did dabble in coke and some speed, I never felt that I needed to increase my high by upgrading. I was smart enough not to. Granted there are kids out there you DO upgrade and eventually wind up being heroin or meth addicts, but it's an individual choice or perhaps even peer pressure, NOT marijuana that drove them to that level of addiction. Timothy Leary once said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that "Anything can be considered a gateway drug, meaning that if someone drank a lot of milk one day and the next week became an alcoholic, some would say the milk drove him to it". Again, it is all up to the individual. If you're the type of personality that is going to get addicted to something, then you probably will. I agree with you that marijuana should be total, unquestionably legal in all 50 states (it is still 50 right?.....just kidding) and to put marijuana in the same class as coke, crack, speed, heroin, methamphetimine is utterly absurd. They are more people out there addicted to "legal" drugs like morphine, Vicodin and Oxycontin, yet they are distributed in ENORMOUS amounts daily. I myself do take Vicodin and Carisoprodol for a chronic bad back, but trust me, if pot were legal and it helped ease my pain AND I could take it where my kids could not see me and get ideas, you can bet I would not take another pain pill or muscle relaxant.
Just some thoughts, thanks Craig.
Mike Golden
Comment on "Think Again"
All I can say is cigarettes are more addictive that weed. Take that for whatever you want it to mean. (I agree with Craig, if you didn't understand my meaning!)