by Chet Tucker
As we move into the stages of growth, I felt it necessary to twist one up a bit and reflect on how nature (plant medicine) and ourselves are mirrors of growth. We’ve covered the genetics, the soil, the medium,
the water, and the light and they all lead to the strength of the plant’s growth. With a wild year in 2020 that hit us all hard a year ago, it’s important that we look at the growth of not only cannabis, but it’s movement, and our own movement. What does the growth of cannabis and its accessibility represent? It represents freedom to cultivate, freedom to choose plant based medicines, freedom from government or societies that somehow believe that we must follow what they think is best for us and our bodies.
So, what growth have we made in Oklahoma? What growth and freedom have you made over the last year? What did you do to keep your freedom and health? Oklahoma has been booming in cannabis and some think it may be too much, others still say, “hit the throttle”. With cannabis making waves from west to east (mostly), we see the growing acceptance and a return to controlling more natural consumption practices to maintain our physical, spiritual, and mental health. Oklahoma sits in the middle of the world when it comes to cannabis. We’re breaking records and showing the rest of the US (and world) that we are about our birthrights and it’s quite simple, we should not be controlled by governments when it comes to accessing what can be safely grown anywhere on the planet. Losing a father over a decade ago to epilepsy, at ripe old age of 54, definitely created a rebellion to what pharmaceuticals and governments push into our bodies. Had CBD even been “legally” accepted back then, I know my father would be a huge promoter of cannabis here in Oklahoma. On the other side of the coin, it’s as much about our rights as it is about medicine and we should all be free to consume without judgement or harassment.
Moving into the growth section of how plants mirror us and how it’s impacted the state’s growth, what growth did you see in a world locked down and controlled for a full year of seasons? Personally, I did all I
could to break through the incessant fear and I sipped rum in a park parking lot, I walked the beaches of Santa Barbara, I explored Grand Lake, the Wichita Mountains, and hit the slopes of Colorado for my first ever snowboarding wipeout weekend. The point is, we should not take our birthrights for granted. We are free to breathe and not be seen as viruses. We are humans. We are friends. We are family. We should be leveraging the freedom of cannabis and what it represents to gather and share and build. Pushing back against the wind and the storms, just like the strong development of a budding flower, creates growth. No matter your position on the world, I feel it’s time for people to rethink with love and logic. To turn off your electronics and go hike, bike, road trip, camp, sit out on a patio, etc. Get out and live and breathe and make human connections, face to face, eye to eye, freely exchanging words of encouragement and peace. The only way to grow stronger is to overcome these frictions and enjoy every moment.
Freedom is here and we must continue to return to it. We owe it to ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities to set an example of pushing the right to cultivate, the right to produce and consume our own plant-based medicines. We’re retuning to an age of freedom and should govern ourselves with peace, kindness, and love for our neighbors. I’m certain that last year’s impact on the world has budded many with new visions and appreciation. Through the chaos, loss, confusion, and resistance of controlled force, we are here now and I hope we’ll continue supporting each other in this return to living freely. A big tip of the cap to all celebrating 4/20 and let’s keep Oklahoma as the example of what freedom looks like to the rest of the US and beyond.
