Pot Propaganda

Legalize pot. I'm all for it. But, I do not believe that pot is harmless. I say this from experience. The New York Times published an editorial yesterday in favor of legalization that omitted any reference to the negative effects of smoking pot. That's what you do when you are manufacturing political propaganda.

I've smoked pot since I was a teenager. At one point in my 20s, I smoked all the time. 

So, let's repeat all the cliches. No, moderate pot use does not drive you mad or strip you of your ability to compete or to cope with life. (I am one of the most aggressive, competitive people you are likely to ever meet.) I don't think pot has much effect on your ability to drive your car. Arresting and imprisoning people for cultivating, selling or using pot is an atrocity.

An honest pot user, like me, cannot help but notice the negative effects on one's health from smoking pot. I can't afford to buy enough pot to smoke on a daily basis because the shit is so damned expensive. So I don't smoke very much. When I smoke to excess, my throat and lungs ache for days afterward. So, yeah, smoking pot produces many of the same effects as smoking cigarettes.

Inhaling hot gases plays hell with your throat. Inhaling particulate matter into your lungs diminishes your ability to breathe and it makes your lungs hurt. This is just reality. Your throat and lungs were not made for this. Maybe the solution to this is edible pot candies. Doesn't appeal to me.

Sometimes this raspy voice is a positive for me. That raspy, gargling effect that smoking produces is a plus for a jazz or blues singer. That sound, for some reason, conveys emotional impact. But, it's a minus for my church performances. Vocal clarity is the key in church.

Take a look at that crap that accumulates in your pipe or bong... all that tar that looks like the stuff that roofers use to seal shingles on your roof. A lot of that shit is making its way into your lungs. That cannot be a good thing.

I'm convinced that, years or decades from now, we will acknowledge that there is a price to be paid for smoking pot. There's always a price to be paid for any vice. That's not necessarily an argument for refraining from vice. (Well, for some people it is. Good for them. I long ago learned to live peaceably with the reality that I'm a sinner.)

Political propagandists maximize the positive aspects of their issues, while downplaying the negatives. I have no political heroes, and don't want to be an activist for any cause. 

So, I can see the negatives of pot smoking, even though I agree that pot should be legalized.