And the Cannabis Drug War Continues...

Ending Reefer Madness starts with education.

I decided to post about this today because the drug war absolutely affects those of us who use external-use cannabis products such as lotions, balms, and spa, and those of us who advocate in our space.

Ironically, balms and support of balm usage was expressed by Trump recently, as noted in this article. Regardless of what you think of the sitting President, (and we do not do politics here beyond cannabis politics, so FYI for the comments section) support of topical, external-use, cannabis spa coming from this President is a pretty big deal, I’d say.

Some of you may remember the hullaballoo that was tipped off eleven years ago when Maureen Dowd went to a dispensary and found herself tripping balls after consuming cannabis candy. The article I just referenced also talks about this. Everything blew up about how “potent” cannabis is these days compared to the 70s, which is what Maureen was counting on when she consumed too much of that candy.

Potency isn’t what many people think it is. There were very potent cannabis strains in the 70s and 80s that rival anything found in dispensaries. But you had to know people back then. The average college student? Low potency dirt brick weed from Mexico or Canada that you had to smoke a lot of just to catch a buzz.

Today’s dispensary cannabis is the equivalent of “knowing people” back then. And if you knew people back then you also knew that the cannabis you had access to was very potent, “one hit” wonder stuff. No one in their right mind would have smoked a mile long joint of it or used an ounce to make a pan of brownies.

Just like no one in their right mind would drink a fifth of Jack Daniels.

But, here we are. The drug warriors blame cannabis for every ill in society these days just like they did in the 1930’s when Reefer Madness the movie was released.

In fact, in this article, head cannabis drug warrior Kevin Sabet, cites the correlation of cannabis with mass shootings. You know what else correlates with mass shootings? Coffee. Alcohol. And mental illness. And personality disorders. Hell, maybe even eating pizza the night before the shooting correlates with mass shootings.

It’s the nonsense of Sabet and this article that is the reason I wrote my last cannabis book.

Relying on a dispensary to dispense good sense about using cannabis in a moderate and graciously Epicurean way is like relying on the liquor store to dispense good sense every time someone walks into buy Bacardi 151.

Most Americans have had some sort of alcohol consumption education by the time they turn 21 years old. This is not the same for cannabis. But it should be.

What happened to Maureen Dowd eleven years ago is still happening today and it wasn’t her fault, and neither is cannabis to blame. Prohibition is the foundational reason as to why Americans do not have the same education in cannabis use that they do with alcohol. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Sabet.

And meantime, if cannabis education is important to you for whatever reason, whether it is for the cannabis spa space or to educate family members before they make a trip to the dispensary or try cannabis for the first time, my educational book covering a wide variety of topics from the ancient history of cannabis use, learning potency and moderation, basic gardening, and the recipes you’ve always loved are in this book. And it makes a perfect gift for grandma, your conservative uncle, your college student, or just a friend in need of cannabis education.