Massachusetts’ new pot law
With only a few regrets, I voted in favor of the Massachusetts ballot initiative that decriminalized possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. That law went into effect yesterday.
I voted in favor of it for the standard reasons. And my reservations are also pretty much standard issue. But here’s my personal reservation.
It’s not because pot led to more serious drugs. I had friends for whom it was a gateway drug, although I’m not at all sure they wouldn’t have rushed through the gate, or hurdled it, or knocked it down, or routed around it, even if pot never existed. In any case, it didn’t lead to much else for me, beyond experimenting with the usual this and the scarier that.
No, my regret is that I wasted so much time. I smoked pot on a lot of my youth’s evenings because I was bored. But it’s not as if the world isn’t interesting enough. Being bored is your own fault.
For me, pot was artificial laziness. I regret the time I squandered.
I would have similar reservations if I was voting to decriminalize TV.
lol
I guess its a myth that pot makes you dumb. You seem to have turned out pretty well.
On the other hand, we don’t know how brilliant David would have been if he’d never smoked.
I might have been smarter, but I would not have been nearly so skilled in the appreciation of flavored potato chips.
If there’s any evidence that marijuana is really a “gateway” to use of harder drugs, then it’s very likely to be because both it and harder drugs are illegal. This puts users into a criminal, underground economy and culture which they would otherwise have no reason to be a part of. Decriminalize it and whatever “gateway” effect it might have will probably be mitigated.
I know you’re worried about having been lazy, but at least you weren’t so lazy that you didn’t even inhale.