Spliff

Today while channel surfing on this cold, gloomy January day, I came across a special on 60 minutes on the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. According to the special the legalization has had positive effects. Crime has gone down and the economy has been stimulated.

There has been much controversy over the legalization of marijuana. Currently, I don't smoke "weed" nor have I gotten high since way before the birth of my daughter almost 14 years ago...not that I can recall anyway.

Once upon a time I found great joy in smoking pot. I don't remember exactly the first time I ever smoked a "joint" but I do remember as an older teen spending many a weekend night in the early 1980's getting high with my best friend Anna at McNally Park.  Alas, those were the days when teens could hang out drinking beer and getting high in a park without being unnecessarily interrogated by the "Po Po". Freedom still reigned back then and we all managed to survive.

After getting high at the park we would then venture to the local McDonald's to order a .50 cheeseburger, and a large coke and fries. Was McDonald's GMO back then? Who knows. Those days we could eat a hamburger in peace without the fear mongers and health enthusiasts putting crazy ideas into our heads via Facebook and other various mind numbing news feeds.

After we we ordered our meal through the drive thru I would park my 1970-ish baby blue Dodge Demon facing the DI Parkway in order to be able to see what friends were headed to the park while we munched heartily on our grub laughing hysterically at our own lame jokes. Food never tasted so good nor was life ever more relaxed.

This was before the days of cell phones and texting. If you wanted to catch up with your friends you put yourself in the area you knew they would be or sought out a pay phone. It was always a hit and miss but it made life more interesting and challenging in regards to socialization.

Fast forward to my first marriage a couple of years later. Me and my husband Frank enjoyed partaking. It was our thing we did together to relax in the evenings. There was a little old black lady who lived down the road from us that sold joints for a dollar. Every evening after work Frank would drive down and get us one of Miss Hattie's joints and we'd smoke it while we watched a movie. Since I have never been a TV person pot always made sitting in front of the mindless TV more tolerable.

So how do I really feel about the legalization of marijuana?? I don't smoke it so I really don't have much of an opinion. Even though I'm a drinker, I do feel that on a general level smoking marijuana is the lesser of the two evils.

Why don't I smoke anymore? Because I don't want to get as big as a house in a munchie fest (bread and butter was my favorite), I have too many constructive things to do these days to feel "lazy", I don't need anymore bad habits that will eventually need to be broken, and the most obvious reason is my daughter is such a goody two shoes that she would probably turn me over to the authorities.

Sadly, I think most people have so much emotional baggage it's hard not to choose one or the other..or something even worse.