By Chet Tucker, The Lettuce Bar
One has to wonder what our health and medicinal world would be like had we not fallen into a century long campaign to smear so many of Mother Nature’s remedies. To launch the idea that these “snake oils” were unproven, and even unhealthy, was the beginning projection of demonizing cannabis. And why? Well, we all know that one reason is the fact that you can’t patent Mother Nature and there’s no monetary imperialism if you can’t patent and claim your products as the superior healers.
So, the “science” of man then becomes influenced by the influence of money and control. The “snake oils”, ironically, are exactly what the pharmaceutical companies have produced and they’ve never hidden their agenda. Western medicine stamped its caduceus crest (two snakes wrapped around a winged staff) as the superior way to health and healing … at a price. We have paid both monetarily, but more importantly, and physically with disease, addiction, and death. But wait, cannabis is dangerous.
As we move into a continued fight to justify Mother Nature as the dominant health protector, we continue to pay with our tax dollars for big government to approve, control, and exhaust our monies in political and corporate coffers. The fact that we have fought to make cannabis medicinal legal was the first step and many believe that it shouldn’t stop there and that “recreational” (which is a soft word for independent choice) use should be allowed.
However you see it, why aren’t we seeing it as a completely ungoverned plant? Like do we manage tomatoes, cabbage, or carrots the same way? Sure there’s no psychoactive properties in those fruits and veggies but at what point do we have a right to cultivate and choose what we consume … WITHOUT the taxation?
Yet, here we are again facing a billowing smoke and mirrors with petition 820 making the ballot and then not making the ballot, only to make a special ballot. Do we think it our grass roots’ petitions of 818 & 819 would’ve made a special vote? There’s so much education that comes with all of these but in the end, we have to gather to fight the excessive taxation and control.
There are plenty of funds to monitor those not producing acceptable products but the monies earned from taxes should be used to eliminate the more dangerous pharmaceuticals that are so easily obtained and far more dangerous than this “Schedule 1 drug” we call cannabis.
It’s far past the time to “deschedule” cannabis and remove the racquet of ridiculous taxation and oversight. We have a universal right to grow and consume what we like. It’s time we stop treating cannabis with a broad stroke of it being spooky addictive drug. If we have a responsibility, it’s to focus more on the manipulated cannabis processing that alters the basic chemistry of a wonderful plant; a freedom flower.
