Last edited Mar. 05, 2011
A pause for awhile from my "Rite of Passage" series... I'm not finished with it. "
It's a long story, but the goal - to tell it.
A pause from that as we have real problems in our society that need attention and change. Most notably, DREAMS - and the Human Condition which includes our use of certain "dream-like" substances or characteristics, or activities.
To address all that, this post, a satire of sorts, but truthful, will I hope shed some light on our public Psyche, our fears, our actions.
The Dream Police, like DEA... three simple letters when arranged in that way, they can strike mortal fear into the hearts of every stoner; cannabis/marijuana user/for the uninitiated. How ironic all the comparisons in history to the "War on Drugs" today.
The origins of alcohol prohibition is a traditional starting point, but hardly the whole story:
Wikipedia Link: * In Mugler v. Kansas, 1887, Justice Harlan, wrote, "We cannot shut out of view the fact, within the knowledge of all, that the public health, the public morals, and the public safety, may be endangered by the general use of intoxicating drinks; nor the fact established by statistics accessible to every one, that the idleness, disorder, pauperism and crime existing in the country, are, in some degree... traceable to this evil." source - Wikipedia.org
The truth is, prohibition of one thing or another have deep roots in the history of humankind. It was and is akin to sacred sacrifice, or in modern day terms, conformity. Sacred because it is a prohibition in spite of God, and a sacrifice as we were legally bound to look away from something God had given us. "Conformist" as someone feels they have the right to direct our personal freedom.
Dreams will be or already are subject to the same rules of law.
The most notable prohibition is one you most likely never heard about: Self Abuse. Today commonly known as masturbation/act of masturbating. I have a official medical book that in great detail prescribes "cures" for what was - prior to the 1940's, known as a disease. Freckles was also a disease, treated with caustic soda, and other heinous concoctions... masturbation was not only considered a disease, but morally inept too. Like a woman who might actually want to enjoy sex, sex was a moral mandate under strict cultural and religious and political guidelines.
A young man caught "jerking off" (a euphemism these days for a personal "act of self pleasure") was harshly punished and subjected to ungodly acts of intervention, ie, prohibition.
A person who, in the USA today, for medical or personal reasons, desires, wants to consume cannabis, is subjected to very similar threats.
Did you know our own bodies produce natural THC? We are walking chem labs!!!
Recently the feds took the tobacco industry to task to admit they lied to US citizens. Time the feds admit they're lying too.
The dangers of marijuana (a euphemism), are simply threat of criminal prosecution, a criminal record, and other consequences, all unconstitutional, in my opinion.
The Eighth Amendment , US Constitution, spells it out:
LINK: "Legal Dictionary: The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
"The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, has three provisions. The cruel and unusual punishments clause restricts the severity of punishments that state and federal governments may impose upon persons who have been convicted of a criminal offense. The Excessive Fines Clause limits the amount that state and federal governments may fine a person for a particular crime. The Excessive Bail Clause restricts judicial discretion in setting bail for the release of persons accused of a criminal activity during the period following their arrest but preceding their trial."
That's quoted from the "Legal Dictionary". We should add one more interpretation - that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees us freedom from fear of bodily, psychological, cultural, personal harm, in Pursuit of Our Dreams, thus the title of this post... and that those three letters, arranged as such, "strike mortal fear, and the consequences of a unjust war on stoners, considering "facts", and I provide plenty and there are many out there. One being 47% of Californians believed it should have been legalized.
When considering safety, the fact is "stoners" are much more likely to cooperate with LE, in general, than compared to drunks. That the average person, and that would be based on the 47% of Californians that voted affirmative, to decriminalize cannabis. I bet if alcohol or tobacco were put up for "legitimate voting", the percentages would be much lower.
In the face of over 70 years of misinformation, myth, and propaganda about cannabis, making it the most "dangerous drug" ever, therein lies the problem. A problem once created out of fear and ignorance could not be broken.
Cannabis users should not need to live in FEAR of three letters because they choose to use a plant given to man, by GOD, "In Whom We Trust".
State and the federal government(s) depend on, and encourage tax revenue from alcohol and tobacco sales, "Sin Taxes". They also appear to depend on revenue and subservience due to violation of certain "Sin Laws". As I list in this post. Not only does this seem to represent modern day hypocrisy, but it's likely a danger to civilians and society, likely Unconstitutional, and plain stupid, in my opinion.
Dreams... many forms of dreams. I believe it's what makes us who we are - our dreams.
I've always been a good dreamer, and I expect others out there are too. Literally, I love dreaming. Occasionally I have nightmares, but more when I was younger... I also had great dreams when younger, flying dreams especially.
Dreams, dreamed by a life on Earth, is a God given adventure, or a glimpse into Hell...
I've been researching dreams for as many years as I've researched cannabis... the one problem, cannabis tends to nullify remembering your dreams. It does. I believe we still dream, it's the memory lost. For some maybe a cure, for others a trade-off... So it becomes a choice, very personal: to dream or not to dream?
BTW, did you know, Absinthe... is legal now. Or you didn't know it was illegal, or what it is, or was?
It's been illegal for decades allegedly because it was "determined to be hallucinogenic. Turned out it was, as expected, to be a myth, and it was legalized very quickly, about three years ago. No, not much in the news about it, but an important victory for sane, science-based rights, personal freedom while we contribute our best to this society and have just laws while we do so.
Wikipedia Link Absinthe - "A Ferocious Beast":
"Spurred by the temperance movement and the winemakers' associations, absinthe was publicly associated with violent crimes and social disorder. A critic said that:* "Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country."
Happy Dreams...
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