Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots...!!! Part 2
Cannabis, Cannabis, Cannabis... Just as with alcohol, there are many different types and forms of cannabis and they vary considerably in appearance and strength. They come from many different parts of the world but plants are also grown and harvested covertly in this country. In the olden days this form of cannabis was simply known as homegrown and wasn't particularly potent or especially nice tasting when compared to natural cannabis grown in exactly the same way from warmer climate countries. Some would be cultivated outdoors but if grown indoors, the conditions and the lighting were usually fairly crude and the end product reflected that. Consequently, homegrown grass was always regarded as a bit of a last resort and a cheap second class option when compared to cannabis from other parts of the world.
People Always Find A Way: Due to the unavailability of good quality cannabis in the UK, people looked for a new approach. Traditional homegrown had never really been up to it, however, in all this time cutting edge techniques were being developed in Holland to produce a new type of genetically strained cannabis, known as skunkweed, or skunk. So called because of its extremely potent smell. Its potency was capable of being well in excess of anything we had previously ever known in the UK. The concentration of THC, the main psycho-active ingredient, was far in excess of natural cannabis and this in itself would in time come to pose a serious problem. Using hydroponic nourishment and modern lighting, electronically controlled to simulate the natural daylight cycle, the plants could be grown indoors and stimulated to flower ready for harvesting by shortening the daylight cycle by a few minutes every day, as if approaching autumn. Skunk became very attractive because it was pure and strong and anyone could now grow it.
The Rub: The problem is that smoking skunk, compared to nature's average cannabis, is a bit like drinking moonshine, instead of a couple of beers. Consequently, rather than just having a few beers, smoking skunk on a regular basis is a bit like hitting the moonshine everyday. It's not hard to see that this in itself could yield certain problems. Had the politicians had a bit more respect for freewill and individual human rights, they would have at least decriminalised cannabis a long time ago, when it was, as nature intended, relatively harmless. Instead, society's drug laws and associated problems are a mess. One of the major problems all over this planet and the reason we fight wars is people interfering in the lives of others, backing it up with force, and taking away their freedom. Deny people their God-given rights and they will rebel. Mankind has got to learn to respect individual choice and it is very important to do so! We must learn to live and let live!
The Hot Pot-ato: Given that people like to, and choose to, smoke cannabis at times, allowing them access to a reasonable quality form of resin, hash or grass, would mean they would have options other than skunk. Even many hardened age old smokers don't want skunk because it is too strong, and yet it is now generally all that is available in this country. It is true to say that, just as with wine, there are some wonderful varieties of cannabis in the world and yet we never see any of them over here. This should be lesson enough to society, but if we do not heed the warnings, even tougher lessons may hit society in the near future in the form of other home baked products such as crystal meth or similar, as in the United States. We have had our own problems here recently with legal highs! These too are far more dangerous and so we should be warned! Politicians need to get hold of this hot potato and deal with it!
Prohibition Does Not Work! The fact is some people like to use alternative drugs, some of which are ok and some of which are not. They may not do it all the time, they may not do it all of their life. However, it is an experience and an education as well as an individual right. Prohibition does not work. It did not work in America and it does not work here. It simply removes quality controls and diverts the enterprise underground. You cannot stop people doing something they believe in and if we are really concerned, we must properly educate and make sure that people have a reliable product. In other words, make sure that controlled substances are properly controlled and quality controlled. That's what we do with alcohol and then people don't have to resort to home brewed moonshine. Perhaps some things should be outlawed, because they cause indirect harm to others, and funnily enough, even alcohol perhaps falls into that bracket, but many of us like a drink and, used sensibly, it's fine. However, poison for poison, it is hardly fair to penalise those that prefer to smoke cannabis rather than drink alcohol and where natural cannabis is concerned, especially, perhaps it is time for society to light up. Sorry, I mean lighten up!