Off the Couch and In the Streets

Dear Reader:

            Pain, fear, frustration, anxiety, anger, confusion: emotions we all feel – consumers and non-consumers alike – when thinking of the adverse economic, environmental, legal, political, social, familial, and human implications of the detrimental policy known more commonly as the War on Drugs.

            Regardless, a minority of citizens, politicians, and national and international leaders insist on spreading, knowingly and unknowingly, fictitious “facts” as to the dangers of the marijuana or the cannabis genus plant, which only compounds and perpetuates the devastation to economies, environments, judicial systems, governments, societies, families, and humanity.

            The vast majority of the aforementioned are not intentionally or collectively conspiring to maliciously inflict great harms against citizens, consumers and non-consumers, for use of currently illegal substances; however, most fear these “facts” as posing a tangible danger to global, national and local economies, environments, judicial systems, governments, societies, families, and yes, even humanity.

            Correct though they may be about the destruction resulting from the use of illicit “street drugs” and licit substances such as heroin, Anorectics, cocaine, Methylphenidate, methamphetamines, oxycodone, crack cocaine, Fentanyl, ecstasy and a host of other chemicals produced and sold, pharmaceutically and clandestinely worldwide; however, they have lumped cannabis into this mix when its known medicinal properties are well documented.

            False rhetoric exposing cannabis’ supposed dangers to one’s career, well-being, health, family, life and fictitiously known hazards posed to communities, societies, economies, governments, nature and humanity perpetuates government policies of marijuana prohibition that are enforced through the “War on Drugs.” These falsehoods are, sadly, the real detriments, dangers, and hazards.

Confronting numerous challenges to ending marijuana prohibition requires education, vigorous debate, political discourse, and peaceful protest grounded in reality, transparency and honesty held publicly to initiate the necessary discussion that will lead to marijuana prohibition’s end.

Claim April 20, 2011 as the day in history that Earth’s concerned citizens band together by stepping out of the darkness of prohibition into the light of a better tomorrow, stand up and speak out against the oppression of marijuana prohibition and its ravenous pet – the War on Drugs.