John Hardin
We have a show on KMUD called “Cannabis Consciousness.” Kerry
Reynolds hosts the show, which covers cannabis-related news, pending
legislation and reports on the cannabis industry in the Emerald
Triangle. That’s not what I mean by “cannabis consciousness.”
Personally, I don’t like to think about any of that shit when I’m high.
When I say “cannabis consciousness,” I mean, “how I think and feel when
I’m high on cannabis.”
That’s why we smoke cannabis, right? We consume cannabis because it
alters our consciousness in some way, and the way cannabis alters our
consciousness differs from the way in which alcohol, or caffeine, or
nicotine, or any other drug, for that matter, alters consciousness. In
all my explorations of altered states of consciousness, I find cannabis
unique in its ability to predictably produce this unique state of mind,
which I call, “cannabis consciousness.”
It’s funny, I think, that for as much as people around here talk
about cannabis, and people do go on and on and on about cannabis around
here, I hear very little talk about “cannabis consciousness.” It
surprises me that so few people around here seem interested in cannabis
consciousness, even though they smoke a ton of weed. Instead, they
prefer to talk about cannabis as a commodity or a product, discussing
how it looks, how it smells, its genetics, how to grow more of it and
especially how much money they can get for it. I tire quickly of that
kind of talk, and it has nothing to do with cannabis consciousness.
Personally, I don’t like to think about money when I’m high. When I
smoke cannabis, I realize the wisdom of following my natural
inclinations, and the importance of distinguishing between what comes
naturally, and conditioned behaviors, cultural expectations and media
projections. When I’m high, the high-tech trappings of modern life lose
their appeal and reveal themselves as traps.
Instead, when I get high I identify strongly with the natural world,
and feel a deep connection to every living thing. That feeling of
connection to the rest of creation provides tremendous comfort. It’s a
comfort people desperately need, especially in our capitalist society
that alienates and exploits us so thoroughly and heartlessly. Feeling
like part of the natural world imparts a subtle change of aesthetics as
well.
Mass-produced consumer products seem especially ugly when I’m high,
and I become acutely aware of the environmental damage they cause. Cars
seem impossibly destructive and insanely dangerous when I’m high. Mass
media comes across as crass, manipulative and offensive when I’m high,
and watching it often leads to feelings of paranoia and dread.
Listening to music, on the other hand, becomes a profoundly moving
experience. Listening to music while high reminds me of the amazing
sensitivity of the human ear, and leads to a sense of wonder about why
music feels so much more satisfying than random incoherent noise.
Listening to a good band while high on cannabis reminds us of our
amazing capacity, as human beings, for collaboration and communication.
It reminds us that we have a long history of working together in small,
egalitarian groups with almost magical coherence.
Getting high reminds
us of who we are, and what makes us human. That’s why people like
getting high on cannabis so much, and why we feel so righteous about it.
That’s also why cannabis has become so popular despite prohibition,
and why cannabis users, even heavy cannabis users, don’t suffer the
debilitating health effects associated with other so called
“recreational drugs” like alcohol or methamphetamine. Cannabis doesn’t
just help sick people; cannabis is a natural part of a healthy
lifestyle. Everyone needs cannabis whether they know it or not, and the
people who think they don’t need cannabis probably need it the most.
Cannabis prohibition is cruel. Prohibition forces people who
recognize the benefits of cannabis consciousness to violate the law,
take undo risk to their health and safety, associate with undesirable
people and pay ridiculous sums of money to buy it on the black market,
while those who do not know the benefits of cannabis consciousness
simply do without.
Doing without cannabis consciousness leads to a whole slew of
maladies, like depression, obesity and drug addiction, which plague us
in epidemic proportions, and at enormous cost. The culture that
dominates our lives today, treats greed and exploitation as sacred, and
relies on increasing levels of human suffering to maintain economic
growth and political control. Living this way takes a tremendous toll on
humanity.
Without cannabis consciousness, few of us would survive in
this meat-grinder for long. Even with cannabis consciousness, we know
it’s killing us all.
In truth, cannabis consciousness is antithetical to our culture of
greed and exploitation. That’s why cannabis consciousness poses such a
real threat to our educational system, our political system, and our
economic system. For capitalism to endure, people must necessarily
remain sick, helpless and vulnerable. Nothing threatens this system more
than healthy, aware people, who feel a strong connection to each other,
as well as the natural world.
Politicians, cops, banksters and drug dealers alike, fear abundant,
cheap, legal cannabis. They know that their greed, not cannabis
consciousness, sickens humanity. Their greed, not cannabis
consciousness, impoverishes society, and their greed, not cannabis
consciousness, destroys the environment. They know that the rest of us
would be better off without parasites like them, but they also know that
if they can wedge themselves between us and cannabis consciousness,
they can use that leverage to manipulate us.
The battle over the legalization of cannabis is a war between two
opposing world views. We have cannabis consciousness promoting health,
freedom, creativity and a strong connection to the natural world on one
side, vs greed consciousness, which shamelessly exploits people and the
environment for profit, on the other side.
Cannabis consciousness says
“safe, legal and cheap marijuana will do the most good for people and
the environment, so plant it everywhere.”
Greed consciousness says, “OK,
prohibition doesn’t work, but we can’t afford to lose this valuable
piece of our horrifically destructive economy, so instead, let’s concoct
a new gentler way to exploit people with it.” Put simply, it boils down
to this: Which do you value more, your money or your life?
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