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Members of the Mensa IQ Society
have a clever little slogan: "eschew obfuscation." Eschew" means
"forgo," "don't do it". Obfuscation" means to "becloud the issue" A
perfect example is the debate over deregulation of marijuana.
Pro-pot smokers have a point. Marijuana appears to have some medical
properties. It doesn't promote aggression in users like alcohol. Law
enforcement officers tell me they would rather arrest pot-smokers
than drunks, they are more laid back. But proponents use
obfuscation in their arguments. Thy are always saying George
Washington and nearly all our founding fathers raised and used
marijuana, equating marijuana with hemp. This is obfuscation big
time. It is true they raised hemp, it is not clear whether they
raised and used marijuana, perhaps they did. But the point is that
hemp and marijuana are two distinct plants. Both are members of the
cannabis family, though cousins they are very different. For
instance, hemp is much larger than marijuana, the size of bamboo.
Pot has been hidden beneath stalks of hemp. Hemp has very little
THC, the psychoactive drug that makes you high, while marijuana has
lots. If you ate a ton of hemp you wouldn't get very high. Hemp is
valuable for its many industrial and other uses. It shouldn't be
forbidden because of it's kinship with marijuana. This is the only
country that has made it illegal to raise hemp. Hemp was once
a mandated crop in several colonies. Some intelligent legislator (an
oxymoron?) should push that today. Meantime, let's keep the
legalization debate honest and open. Eschew obfuscation! |
