The Vulchers Still Lurk
by James Bridges
HERBAGE MAGAZINE
“I was around 7-years-old when my cousin’s and I thought it would be a good idea to steal a joint from my aunt. Ever since then I have loved living with cannabis.”
Chris McCarley was the youngest in his group of friends. Naturally he was introduced to experiences in life that many would have to be patient and wait for their time. Not Chris. He was all in. He found something without even knowing it.
“Once I really got into smoking I liked the way I felt. It wasn’t just being high. Even as a kid it took a lot of stress off of me. My home life wasn’t necessarily the best life you know, but it’s what we had. I remember times with no electricity. Some nights I would crawl out my windows to stay at a friend’s house. You know, I was eating over there. My mom worked three jobs. I remember at one time she was working four jobs. She was coming home and getting two hours of sleep, you know?” He was recalling vividly. “As a kid I would stay away from home as much as I could. So, being over there with older friends, I really got introduced to weed and smoking a lot more. I was right around twelve-years-old when I really started smoking every day.”
I myself remember being that age very clearly. It was the age I began experimenting with all kinds of “new” things. Like Chris, it started off as something that was cool. I noticed my friends could step up and handle the strongest. I wanted to prove myself as well. As for Chris, it became somewhat of a best friend.
Chris teed it up, “I wanted to do exactly what they were doing. So yeah, it was more on the cool side at first. I also liked the way that it made me feel.” The animated gestures revealed his passion. “Whenever you get a really good sativa, I get that really nice head high, you know? It just kind of zones me in on the important things, you know? Then I’m not running around all confused and anxious. It just helps the day go by a lot faster. I’m not thinking about the stress at home. I guess it became more of a medication to me.” Chris seemed as if he could breathe now with that off his chest.
“I was diagnosed with ADD when I was about 10-years-old. Cannabis, even at that time, I noticed it really called me down. I had actually broken my back in the fifth lumbar before as a kid. I had a lot of back pain. I was given Lortabs consistently three times a day until I was about 16-years-old. So prescription medication was something and is something I very much want to stay away from. Cannabis has given me that opportunity.” Chris seemed at ease.
“Cannabis doesn’t take me out of my mind. When I am told by big pharma that Lortabs and their medications are the answer and I mistakenly follow directions, I don’t really know exactly what I’m doing, how I’m functioning, and things like that. So that was my choice. At the age of 16, to say no more.”
In close company with cannabis is jail time. Not anything new to the cannabis community. However, something very new to a far more superior holistic medicinal industry that does and will forever exist in this world.
“The first time I got in trouble I was riding around with my friends and we were pulled over. I had about 3/4 of an ounce of bud on me. That was the first probation. A misdemeanor probation. I got through that year of probation. I had literally just turned 18-years-old. So that gave you my first ‘strike’. Here, there’s a 2-strike-rule. On the second one it’s a felony.” We moved into the future of the timeline. “I was twenty-two and I thought I was a big shot. I got caught with about an ounce and a half of weed. I felt lucky they didn’t get me for distribution or anything. I wasn’t distributing. But because I had it in two different bags they could have charged me. However, I did get a felony.”
Chris was so nonchalant about his experience I wondered if desensitization may be a larger issue in the cannabis community than I previously thought.
“I know everybody wants to stay with weed, but systems make it so so hard for people to even get it. I mean you’re charging people $200 for a card that says they can now choose medication which is going to cost the patient money on top of that. I mean where does that make sense? Where do the people see that money? When do we see it coming back into schools? When do we see it back to fixing the streets? I mean there’s a thousand streets around here right now with huge potholes. We can drive right down the street,” Chris pointed East, “there’s a big hole right down here. I mean it makes no sense.” I could see the cavalry readying the horses.
“They are charging all these people getting caught with weed that don’t have their cards X amount of dollars. I mean $400 a ticket. It comes from the ground. A natural herb. They’re making a business off people’s downfalls.”
Chris’ passion could easily be mistaken as anger. However, in my opinion it goes hand-in-hand. Sometimes in order for those with enormous self appointed power to hear what you have to say it is a necessity to be both.
“I need help. We actually have a solution to help these people right here without it costing a dime to the government. Pharma wants the government to have their say in it.” Chris took a breath and sighed.
If you really want to know who would like to be involved in cannabis there are many ways to find the right connections. However, if you look at the traditional connections between the government and those that would like to control cannabis, just follow that little trail of money that’s falling off the fan leaves. That’s where all the vulchers like to hang.
