Back in May 2008 Owen a guy who had been my best friend committed suicide, week before last Nick somebody I had been friendly with also took his own life. In eighteen months I've lost two acquaintances one of whom I was very close too & on both occasions substance abuse was a contributed to them taking their own lives; however I still believe oppose drug prohibition & the war on drugs. Oh I'm sure the anti drug zealots will snipe how it is I can take the stance I do when I dknow drugs can do damage? Its because there's plenty of other stuff in this world of ours that can do damage & kill which isn't prohibited & the bottom line with these individuals was that they were adults & made their own choices.
I remember a decade ago watching Owen to sink to the bottom of a bottle & begging him too get help, but he refused & though I still cared about him, I realised he own his own life & what choices he made to do with his life even if I thought they were fuck awful choices. All I could do was stand back & possibly help when I could but as it goes for the last five years of his life I hardly had a conversation with him though he wasn't coherent or lucid enough to be able to have a conversation with.
Owen's poison was alcohol & I bet there's a few anti drug zealots who whilst spouting that marijuana or any other prohibited drug is evil will be sipping a large gin & tonic. If these anti drug zealots are going to bang on how drugs are evil they need to be a bit more consistent & they need to cut out caffeine, alcohol, aspirin & anything the doctor prescribes. But being the hypocrites they won't rather they'll hypocritically sip a glass of wine whilst slamming me for smoking spliff.
It does get me pissed when those who like a glass of wine & cigarette will say people who enjoy a spliff or two should be thrown in prison or forced into drug treatment. Beer, wine & liqueur are not my drug of choice but I'm not saying that alcohol should be prohibited even though I know from personal experience how alcohol can do can cause a great deal mayhem & death. Yeah why is it nobody has sued any distillery for all the wife beatings, deaths caused by drink driving & all diseased livers that the whiskey they've produced has caused. I could quite easily make the case that of all drugs alcohol is the most damaging of all & therefore should be banned; however I know that majority of people like the odd pint of beer or a glass of wine or a measure of whiskey, I know the majority of people drink in moderation. Why is it that though I respect the majority people who drink alcohol do so reasonably yet the majority of those who do drink responsibly seem to think the likes of me can't use marijuana or any other drug in a moderate or responsible manner. I'm definitely not one to advise anybody who's been smoking pot they should drive a car or operate machinery & the same goes for anybody who's been drinking alcohol.
But of course government prohibits marijuana & many will say there must be a good reason as to why they do. Oh yes there's a reason as too why government prohibits marijuana but it ain't good but it's the same reason as to an awful of the actions that government undertakes...its called special interests. Basically the alcohol industry has billions to lobby government which ensures it's kept legal & available as well as keeping marijuana on the whole illegal. The booze industry probably does fear the legalisation of marijuana because people won't be drinking up they'd be spliffing up & the booze industry has big bucks to spend ensure people can't spliff up legally but the marijuana lobby doesn't. Of course some still maintain that government must prohibit marijuana because it's harmful...oh so alcohol is not harmful? If the government banned everything which was harmful then just about everything including us human would be illegal.
Not all alcohol harmful just as not every drug is harmful but though there are drugs which are harmful on the whole the harmful thing is the manner in which individuals use drugs which is harmful. You can't have freedom without responsibility but though there are responsible marijuana consumers its often the attitude the majority who use marijuana abuse marijuana & yet the attitude with alcohol is different & its that hypocrisy which does my fucking head in.
As for Owen & Nick well they were owners of their own bodies & their own lives, they were adults & they were adults & intelligent enough to make the choices which they made & though ultimately I was sadden by the choices they made but it was their choices to make as they were owners of their own lives because they were the owners of their own bodies & its ultimately their choice what to do with their own property.
Back in May 2008 Owen a guy who had been my best friend committed suicide, week before last Nick somebody I had been friendly with also took his own life. In eighteen months I've lost two acquaintances one of whom I was very close too & on both occasions substance abuse was a contributed to them taking their own lives; however I still believe oppose drug prohibition & the war on drugs. Oh I'm sure the anti drug zealots will snipe how it is I can take the stance I do when I dknow drugs can do damage? Its because there's plenty of other stuff in this world of ours that can do damage & kill which isn't prohibited & the bottom line with these individuals was that they were adults & made their own choices.
I remember a decade ago watching Owen to sink to the bottom of a bottle & begging him too get help, but he refused & though I still cared about him, I realised he own his own life & what choices he made to do with his life even if I thought they were fuck awful choices. All I could do was stand back & possibly help when I could but as it goes for the last five years of his life I hardly had a conversation with him though he wasn't coherent or lucid enough to be able to have a conversation with.
Owen's poison was alcohol & I bet there's a few anti drug zealots who whilst spouting that marijuana or any other prohibited drug is evil will be sipping a large gin & tonic. If these anti drug zealots are going to bang on how drugs are evil they need to be a bit more consistent & they need to cut out caffeine, alcohol, aspirin & anything the doctor prescribes. But being the hypocrites they won't rather they'll hypocritically sip a glass of wine whilst slamming me for smoking spliff.
It does get me pissed when those who like a glass of wine & cigarette will say people who enjoy a spliff or two should be thrown in prison or forced into drug treatment. Beer, wine & liqueur are not my drug of choice but I'm not saying that alcohol should be prohibited even though I know from personal experience how alcohol can do can cause a great deal mayhem & death. Yeah why is it nobody has sued any distillery for all the wife beatings, deaths caused by drink driving & all diseased livers that the whiskey they've produced has caused. I could quite easily make the case that of all drugs alcohol is the most damaging of all & therefore should be banned; however I know that majority of people like the odd pint of beer or a glass of wine or a measure of whiskey, I know the majority of people drink in moderation. Why is it that though I respect the majority people who drink alcohol do so reasonably yet the majority of those who do drink responsibly seem to think the likes of me can't use marijuana or any other drug in a moderate or responsible manner. I'm definitely not one to advise anybody who's been smoking pot they should drive a car or operate machinery & the same goes for anybody who's been drinking alcohol.
But of course government prohibits marijuana & many will say there must be a good reason as to why they do. Oh yes there's a reason as too why government prohibits marijuana but it ain't good but it's the same reason as to an awful of the actions that government undertakes...its called special interests. Basically the alcohol industry has billions to lobby government which ensures it's kept legal & available as well as keeping marijuana on the whole illegal. The booze industry probably does fear the legalisation of marijuana because people won't be drinking up they'd be spliffing up & the booze industry has big bucks to spend ensure people can't spliff up legally but the marijuana lobby doesn't. Of course some still maintain that government must prohibit marijuana because it's harmful...oh so alcohol is not harmful? If the government banned everything which was harmful then just about everything including us human would be illegal.
Not all alcohol harmful just as not every drug is harmful but though there are drugs which are harmful on the whole the harmful thing is the manner in which individuals use drugs which is harmful. You can't have freedom without responsibility but though there are responsible marijuana consumers its often the attitude the majority who use marijuana abuse marijuana & yet the attitude with alcohol is different & its that hypocrisy which does my fucking head in.
As for Owen & Nick well they were owners of their own bodies & their own lives, they were adults & they were adults & intelligent enough to make the choices which they made & though ultimately I was sadden by the choices they made but it was their choices to make as they were owners of their own lives because they were the owners of their own bodies & its ultimately their choice what to do with their own property.