Let’s get high!

Fri, Oct 5, 2012

Editor: Let’s Get High!

Translation: Let us weed out the intoxicated cynicism and political rhetoric to raise the level and tone of the debate.

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a documentary called “The Union – The Business Behind Getting High.”{{more}} While I was initially apprehensive and did not support all of the views stated in the film, I thought it was one of the most objective approaches to cannabis I had seen in a long time. To the open-minded viewer, its content provides useful information that could serve as a platform for intelligent discussion on the issue. To make the film appropriate for all audiences, whether in schools or otherwise, I would highly recommend and like to see an edited version (only to bleep out expletives) since, as far as I know, cursing is neither lawful nor edifying — Ephesians 4:29.

Make no mistake. Let me state for the record and make it emphatically clear that I do not support the recreational use of any drug. Consequently, I do not drink, smoke or use any narcotic for non-medical purposes. While I believe that each and every person has the right to make that decision for themselves, I do not believe that it was our Creator’s design that we be under the influence of any substance (legal or illegal) whose debilitating effects do not lead along the path towards an abundant life — I Corinthians 6:12.

In like fashion, I would like to state for the record and make it emphatically clear that I do not support the wanton destruction or eradication of any naturally occurring form of life, be it plant, animal, and especially human. At its extreme, the result of this form of thinking ultimately gives justification to despicable human acts such as deforestation (for plant life), extinction (for animal life) and abortion and other forms of murder (for human life). Though we may be wary of them, weeds, rodents and all other perceived nuisances have an important part to play in completing the ‘circle of life’. Let us not forget the ‘all’ in the opening line of the chorus “All things bright and beautiful, that states, “…all creatures great and small. All things wise and wonderful”, the Lord God made them all.” — Psalms 139:14.

Having done much research myself and observed the blatant double-standard that exists between hemp and other more damaging substances like alcohol and tobacco, I believe the time has long passed for us to take an open and objective look at this socially sensitive and politically incorrect issue. Equally politically incorrect is my belief that with our fertile soil and dwindling agricultural revenues, the cultivation of hemp, for non-recreational drug use of course, could provide economic benefit for our tiny island. The viability of such can be researched and realized through the sourcing of raw materials essential for the production of alternative bio-fuels, paper, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and a host of other industrial uses. A related shortcoming of the film that I observed, was that it did not cover the role played by powerful companies, such as DuPont, in the criminalization of hemp in the United States — a position that informs, or rather, misinforms much of our public policy. A look at that connection would help to bring some historical context and shed even more light on the unfair influence that multinational corporations are increasingly having on the democratic and political processes of many countries, including our own blessed islands.

iThink Different!