DO YOU SMOKE POT?

[Artie Greene]

I realize that I'm a little late with my responses (perhaps because my reflexes are cloudy from all the pot haze swirling around between my ears,) but Hell, I'll add my two cents.

:p


My pot consumption has amounted to one oz per year for the last 3 years. That said, I toke up with a drag on my one-hitter pipe almost every night.

My useage is akin to the business man who unwinds with a nightcap. It isn't a necessity, but it makes my very happy world even happier for a few hours. I consider my pot use an exercise in hedonism more than anything sinister, destructive or immoral. I don't really enjoy being TOASTED.

What I haven't been able to come to terms with is all of the negative publicity pot seems to garner. Would I want my kids to smoke pot? Never. Did I smoke pot as a kid? Never. Nancy Regan's "JUST SAY NO" campaign still echoes in my brain. Have I worried that I'm addicted? Yes. Have I voluntarily gone weeks on end without a puff just to test my addiction? Yes.

Have I ever succumbed to the oft-believed scare tactic that Pot is the gateway to other more ilicit drugs? Nope. That is untrue.

There's a line from the musical HAIR that says, "Anybody who tells you that pot is bad for you is full of SHIT," and there's a lot of truth to that.

I pay my bills, I honor my friends and family and have a very stylish apartment in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, CA. I sometimes earn my living as a musician, and career-wise, the benefits of my pot consumption far outweigh the negative aspects.

What nobody has commented on yet is how amazing it is to listen to a symphony when you're stoned. Or pop music. Listen to ANY kind of music while stoned, and you're hearing your FAVORITE piece for the very first time. Have you ever eaten a delicious meal when you're stoned? How about enjoyed pot brownies? Organized your closet while stoned? Had sex while you're stoned?

There is a time and a place for everything, and you're a dork if you let yourself turn into a lazy slob just because you've enjoyed too much of a good thing. Therefore, I believe the real problem here is the abundance of dorky, lazy slobs in our society, not people who have a healthy respect for the Earth, and everything beautiful contained therein.