Marijuana

I found this rehash of an older story about using marijuana as a substitute for alcohol in Cannazine, “the daily zine for the cannabis scene”. While I have always considered marijuana the lesser evil when compared with alcohol, still I see no great benefits to society from it's use nor any reason to push for legalization.

I think it is rather humorous all of the elaborate schemes and creative uses the pro-pot lobby promotes in the efforts toward legalization, but even a hemp sweater makes more sense than treating alcoholism by getting high. Been there, done that, and all I ended up was a chilled out drunk that was just a little bit more open to trying other drugs.

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I decided not to shortchange the answer by writing just a quick reply and promised a full post after being asked this question.

Hi I just wanted to get your thoughts on POT because I have a problem with Alcohol but not with pot. Considering that it could be a legal alternative to Alcohol in the near future I wonder if you would ever consider recreational pot use acceptable for people who don't have an addiction.
Thanks,
Christopher

My thoughts are very simple when it comes to any type of alcohol or drug use for those of us in recovery regardless of “WHAT” we were addicted to in the past. Don’t do it, any of it. Recovery is about learning to deal with life without mood and reality altering substances regardless of their legality or how they are ingested. Just the very fact that an alcoholic is trying to rationalize smoking a joint, or a junky is considering taking to the bottle means that their disease is influencing both thinking and decision making. Trying to figure out new or safer ways to escape reality and stress is not an exactly healthy exercise for someone like me.

Also, I have a problem with alcohol and pot even for those that are lucky enough not to suffer from addictions.

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As you can tell from this cartoon from the SC Morning Post, there was sort of a mix-up last week at the Narita Airport in Japan. Seems a customs official that had gotten lax with the rules and placed about $10,000 worth of cannabis in an unsuspecting passenger’s bag to give the drug sniffing dogs a “real world” test. Unfortunately the dogs failed the test and the agent forgot what bag in which he had hidden the dope. Especially in Japan, you can bet your yen there was more than enough embarrassment to go around.

But that’s not really the big story.

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Since the eighties the crash test dummies have taught thousands about seat belt safety with their spectacular head-on collisions followed by the catch phrase, "You Could Learn A Lot From A Dummy."

In a similar fashion Amy Winehouse has become one of my favorite crash test dummies for providing a graphic example of addiction and recovery issues with her usual hellbent acts of self-destruction. While I wish her the best of luck in what I hope will be an eventual recovery, I intend to take advantage of her high profile antics to raise awareness of the misconceptions and dangers of substance abuse.

Caught, once again on video, smoking dope; it doesn’t look like rehab took very well for Amy and she is probably barreling toward another spectacular crash.

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Researchers from John Hopkins University have released a study that links oral sex with with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (head and neck cancers). Of course most of us already knew of the link between cigars and Lewinskynoma, but now Dr. Maura Gillison and her colleagues have confirmed that alcohol and pot are just as carcinogenic when mixed with oral sex.

Head and neck cancers that were positive for HPV 16 (human papillomavirus) were associated with having more oral sex partners and smoking more marijuana… Head and neck cancers that were negative for HPV 16 weren't linked to sex or marijuana. Instead, they were tied to smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and having poor oral hygiene. CBSnews.com

Let’s get real here though, I bet if these “researchers” worked hard at it that they could also find a link between toothpaste and global warming. I mean this study sounds like they put a ninth grade urban legend under the microscope. Maybe I could get a grant for participating in a round of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon if I promised to submit it for peer review and share the funding?

I’m not going to waste anymore time trying to tie this story in with a recovery or addiction theme so I’ll just leave it up to Mr. Mackey to finish this out with an anti-drug message. Everyone have a safe and sober weekend.