I just read Diana Somerville’s insightful article “Going to pot: Growing our economy, protecting our environment” (Sequim Gazette, March 12, page A-13) and would like to add that almost all the problems cited with growing marijuana are due to society’s foibles. If marijuana was treated with the same excitement that nutmeg — which can be smoked for intoxication — garners, we would have no problems.
People who use it recreationally or medically would have a plant or two in their gardens or homes and all of society’s fuss would be non-existent. We have many less popular legal intoxicants in our homes and gardens which rightfully do not promote the unscientific hysteria that cannabis brings, so it is the special interests who gain monetarily from its illegality and attention, and are at the cause of the potential problems cited by Ms. Somerville.
If all laws regarding marijuana were to disappear, we would see a time when it became as exciting as nutmeg, dandelions or daisies and it would be perceived as no more of a problem than nutmeg. Isn’t it time that society refocuses on people’s irresponsible behavior instead of which particular intoxicant they might have ingested? If a person becomes aggressive and assaults another, we rightfully focus on the assault, not whether he had ingested alcohol or other intoxicant. If a person is intoxicated behind the wheel of a car, do we care WHICH intoxicant they used or the fact that they are intoxicated and exhibiting dangerous and irresponsible behavior?
We love to demonize things in lieu of behavior, but people’s ACTIONS should be the focus, instead. If your home is burglarlized, do you really care whether the burglar was sober, intoxicated, and if so, by what? No — we focus on the burglary, the crime. Our distraction by things instead of behavior detracts from solving society’s REAL problems.
Sometimes, I think society creates more problems by misfocusing on everything BUT the integrity and responsibility of the individuals causing society’s problems, and it is individuals’ behavior that is at the heart of it, not the clothes they wear, what they ingest, own or use. Isn’t it time to refocus on the problems?
Bobbie Piety
Sequim
