After reading the very disappointing blog post from Texas Cannabis Collective regarding how no Texas Republicans voted in favor of the MORE Act – or the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, a federal bill that would remove cannabis from Schedule I and expungement of prior convictions – I saw the same argument I’ve seen again and again: Cannabis is not like alcohol. Cannabis is dangerous. Alcohol is culturally accepted, regulated, and safe.
“It’s hard for a mom to tell her kids they shouldn’t be smoking marijuana or eating edibles at a young age when it’s been so normalized by society. It’s not a party. It’s something that has to be taken seriously.”
This was a statement said by Congressman Dan Crenshaw, a representative for Texas’s second congressional district. Crenshaw followed up by saying, “It’s not the same as alcohol…It doesn’t affect you the same. We don’t consume it the same. Also, alcohol is deeply regulated, so we’re used to it as a society.”
Damn right it doesn’t affect you the same. Alcohol leaves you completely mindless, a dangerously unaware zombie whose frontal cortex is no longer attached.
If you sense anger in my text tone, you would be correct. I was a full blown alcoholic for about seven years. At the age of 24, when I realized my life was either going to be jail time or death, I gave up alcohol. Cold turkey and definietly one of the hardest battles of my life.
Thankfully or not, my mind has blocked out most of what was happened to me when I was blacked out drunk, surrounded by other drunk people. But then again that’s what alcohol does – leaves you completely obliterated and you’re no longer in control of your life or your safety.
Turn on any pre-teen or teen show and you’ll be flooded with images of teens getting blackout drunk on alcohol. Take into consideration the amount of sexual assault and rape that takes place when you’re drunk and I feel like that argument should be ceased. But, alcohol is very much accepted in our society, so much so I think it’s the drug that may keep us from any true movements forward as a community of connected and healthy beings.
This quote from Bob Marley has always resonated deeply with me.
“Herb is the healing of the nation, alcohol is the destruction.”
A year after my sobriety from alcohol, I came across cannabis in Colorado, and my life changed. I was able to enjoy a plant that truly brought my inner being closer to my soul and the nature that is all around me. It’s made me a calmer and more positive human being, while alcohol left me violent and depressed. I know that I am in control of my life now. I know I can keep myself safe. But I couldn’t say those words when I was drinking.
So don’t fucking tell me to “think about the kids,” Crenshaw.
