Story Of A Marijuana Lover

I am…

I am a brother, a son, a husband, a father, and a friend. I am an artist, a musician, an athlete, environmentalist, an explorer and adventurer. I am spiritual. I believe in a higher power or force that many of us call god. I am logical. I am a scientist, a physicist, a geologist, an astronomer, and mathematician. I love this world and I am dedicated to making it a better place for everyone and generations to come. I have dedicated my career to cleaning up the environment so as to create a safer place for future generations. I take initiative, I have drive, I give attention to detail and I always hold safety as my number one priority. I can admit that there are a lot of things in my life that I can improve upon but I know in my heart that I am a good person. I believe that the United States of America should be proud and thankful to have me as a citizen of this country just as I am proud and thankful to call the United States of America my home.

I smoke Marijuana…

I have been a regular user of Marijuana for about two decades. I have no doubt that by any standard I would be considered a heavy user. I recall a semester in college when I was averaging an ounce of pot each week while still maintaining Dean’s List Scholar status for my Physics studies. In the real world (employed adult life outside of college) I try to keep it to about a 1/8 ounce per week. In my experience, marijuana can have different effects for different people much like alcohol or just about any other substance that is put in your body. For me, I generally experience a calmer mind, a relaxed body, and perhaps a healthy appetite. After smoking pot I am able to relax and let go of anxiety. In some cases it can even help me focus when I have too much on my mind. Does pot make you smart? Of course not, but it will not turn you into a ‘stoner’ as popularly portrayed in TV and movies. I cringe when I see the classic ‘stoner’ portrayal in movies and even more so when I see ignorant people perpetuating that stereotype. There are plenty of upstanding citizens who smoke marijuana in this country, however, you may notice because we are all forced to hide behind closed doors for fear of criminal persecution. Even today in states that have legalized medicinal or recreational use, people can still be fined, arrested, fired from their jobs, or have their families taken away, simply for possessing marijuana.

I was expelled…

I was expelled from my high school when I was only 15 and was charged with a simple possession for probably about a gram of marijuana. I had only smoked pot a hand full of times but the school system determined that I was a risk to other students and kicked me out of school. At the time I was taking advanced classes for my age. Immediately after my expulsion I was sent home without any exposure to school for more than 3 months!!! When I requested to keep up with my assignments and education remotely from my home I was denied. In my mind, societies punishment for using marijuana was clear NO MORE EDUCATION. In addition to removing me from school which had lasting effects on my educational and social development, I was required to complete extensive drug classes and submit urine samples up to 6 times a month. These classes that I attended were full of serious drug users and criminals. Luckily, at this time of personal disarray, being pulled out of my social environment and put into social groups with criminals I was able to avoid falling in with the wrong crowd. Looking back I am surprised that I didn’t… after all, I was one of them.

I smoked marijuana…
Recently my job has instituted a random drug testing policy which, of course, includes marijuana. Because of this I have had to quit smoking pot. I have worked very hard in my career, I take my job seriously, and I have been very successful. The fact that I have been so successful is due to the high quality products that I have developed, my attention to detail and my efforts to complete work in the safest and most efficient manner possible. My professional success has been based on my work and my expertise as I believe it should be. I personally believe that everyone adult should have the right to do with their body as they want as long as it doesn’t cause harm to others. I do not think that Marijuana is good for you but it has very minor health risks. If I believe that it is worth those very minor risks for me to enjoy the calming effects of marijuana I should have every right to do so in this “Free Country”.

Is testing fair?In the eyes of our federal government Marijuana is considered a class 1 substance and is treated the same as heroin and LSD. Marijuana, unlike any other tested substance is stored in the fat cells in your body which allows it to be detected anywhere from 1 week to 3 months depending on various individual factors. Other substances such as heroin, cocaine, crack, opiates, and amphetamines are water soluble and are only detectable for about 2 days. Because of this natural way that marijuana is stored in the body compared to other substances we are inadvertently holding marijuana to a much higher standard than any other (dangerous) substance. I believe that these testing programs can give ‘snap shot’ into a persons drug use which is important when working on a safety sensitive job, however, an extended look into an individuals past, as in the case of marijuana, is an unreasonable search and I do not believe it should be legal. In addition, as I mentioned, marijuana is detected anywhere from 1 week to 3 months depending on various individual factors. These factors are mainly body fat content, metabolism, and physical activity but could include family health history, sex and possibly race. My point is that because of these factors affecting how long the substance is stored in an individuals system we are not able to hold everyone to the same standard. If we are not able to enforce a law or policy fair equally to everyone involved I believe that we need to change the policy to adjust it so that everyone is held to the same standards.

I am not…
A CRIMINAL.

I want to thank you for reading this. Although I mentioned my beliefs that our current drug testing system is (by design) unfair, my main motivation for posting this is to introduce myself to people who may have the wrong impression as to what marijuana is and who uses it. Even if I need to do so anonymously I think it is important for those who have no exposure to marijuana to realize that there are people like me out there. More people than you probably think. Responsible, hardworking, taxpayers who contribute to a great deal to our society. For those of you upstanding citizens who use marijuana, I encourage you to speak up and let the world know. For those of you who do not use marijuana and have a negative view of it, I would encourage you to rethink your opinion. I am not asking you to go out and try it. I am not asking you to fight for it. All I am asking is that you understand that our country’s current laws and views on marijuana are hurting good people. Hurting your friends and neighbors.

Sincerely,

Marijuana Lover & a Stoner