HEY MAN, IT’S DOPE
If there’s any one segment of this book almost hitting the chopping room floor, it would be this personal opinion piece I wrote on dope. At first, I thought it didn’t belong. Pondering things for several weeks, I decided it should remain.
I’ve had too many friends, co-workers, and acquaintances over the years have their lives ruined by drug use. Some lost families, and a couple lost their life. Pot, or dope as I call it, was an enabler, that them on to stronger junk.
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I recently read an article saying that some towns and cities are now allowing curbside sale of “cannabis products” during the Copid-19 pandemic. I had to laugh because this is nothing new.
Dope dealers and snake-oil-salesmen have been peddling their wares on street corners going way back. What’s even more humorous is that marijuana is now referred to as cannabis. That’s a more politically correct definition than weed, pot, reefer, or Mary Jane. Back in the day, comedians Cheech & Chong simply referred to marijuana as, dope.
Crafty marketing experts under the protection of new decriminalization laws, tout cannabis CBD oil as the cure-all for every ache and pain under the kitchen sink. One television commercial shows a person having an aching shoulder and neck. This young woman smears on a bit of reefer oil (CBD) on her skin, and she’s magically healed. I’m surprised some savvy entrepreneur, hasn’t hawked this liquid as a spray on lubricant for loosening tight knee and elbow joints.
In Needles, California, there’s a popular place where addicts legally get their product. The parking lot is generally filled with patrons. A stoplight at the intersection in front of the joint, pun intended, allows me on occasion to briefly sit and observe lingering clientele. I see the same stoner crowd going in and out of that place as I remember from high school and college days. If a politician or some highfalutin citizen needs a marijuana brownie or a fix, I suppose they send in a flunky to make the purchase.
Advocates claim that cannabis products are badly needed by folks having cancer and other debilitating ills. I’m not saying it isn’t. Medical doctors along with certified pharmacies should be the folks doling it out. What we have though are shady businesses calling themselves of all things, dispensaries. Some even go so far as to refer to things in a medical sense. A medical red cross symbol sometimes highlights their ads.
Unfortunate folks having serious illness are but a very small percentage of citizens actually in need of weed. On the other hand, as my late father-in-law often said,
“Potheads will be potheads!”
When I spew my thoughts on this subject some cannabis advocates will invariably bring up alcohol.
“But Mr. Hankins, whiskey and tequila are far worse on the body than cannabis.”
Those reefer experts conveniently avoid the marijuana word.
I have a well-rehearsed reply for them, and it goes like this.
“We aren’t talking about alcohol; we’re talking about dope!”
That always lights their fire. I could add serious panache by finishing off this statement with the words, “you dope”, but thus far have held back.
A friend recently purchased CBD oil to try on his aching back. The manufacturer guaranteed this salve would not register positive should a drug test be administered. Scott turned in an application for employment at a local prison after using the stuff. His drug test came back positive for THC. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the agent in pot that gives users their high.
Unfortunately, he was turned down for employment. When my pal reached out to the manufacturer regarding what went wrong, an agent told him he must’ve been drinking beforehand. The man doesn’t drink alcohol. What does alcohol have to do with testing positive for THC?
Had he asked me beforehand about trying a marijuana derivative I would’ve said,
“No way, Jose!”
Billions of dollars are being garnered in the cannabis industry through taxes. That’s one of the main reasons politicians allowed licensed dope dealers to sell it. Some people in this world have to have their high, and persistent lobbyists made sure they get it. Making dope legal keeps stoners out of jail, but does
Sadly, there’ll always be people needing some kind of addictive substance to get them through the day. Yes, marijuana is addictive. If it wasn’t, Willie Nelson, Cheech Marin, and Tommy Chong would’ve quit long ago. For those that disagree with me,
“Put that in your pipe and smoke it!”
I like to write junk... 