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I Don't Smoke
North Miami Beach, FL May 17, 2001 Aaron H.
Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on issues, ideas and reflections on the times. Published now and
then, Opinions pro or con are welcome.
I DON'T SMOKE
I don't smoke. I did up until 1957 and only for a period of ten years
before. I have never smoked marijuana and I hope I never have the need for
it. I seriously avoid smokers and their careless spewing of the product.
This is difficult for after being expelled from many public places smokers
practice their habit in front of doors through which non-smokers must pass.
I don't drink - either beer or hard liquor. I am uncomfortable around
drinkers. They smell of alcohol in much the same way smokers smell of the
tobacco they burn. Alcohol consuming people often are loud, erratic and
chummy.
I do think, however, if through smoking someone wishes to court emphysema,
lung and throat cancer and constant coughing and is aware of the dangers let
him or her do it - but far away from me. I would include in these pursuits
any behavioral choices such as cigarettes, pipes, cigars and the even more
untidy chewing tobacco leaf and use of snuff.
These are particularly odious habits and foul the air breathed by all. I
would wish the tobacco growers would switch to corn or other organic
renewable vegetation that can be converted into food or fuel.
But, marijuana, as a medicine, should be encouraged if it helps to relieve
pain in seriously debilitated patients. I believe it is not folklore but
proven in laboratory and hospital tests to be an anodyne for unrelieved
pain. Despite the non-threatening use of this product (although if someone
legally smoked it I would wish him or her far from me) Justice Clarence
Thomas, speaking for the Supreme Court, wrote the decision that disallows
even medicinal use. The reason is that Cannabis is a federally prohibited
drug.
In my opinion it should be legalized for this purpose. Drinking of alcohol
was once a crime but today is allowed and the abusers of alcohol are legion.
What if the drug trade were made a Federal monopoly so that the profit that
is the engine of drug traffic worldwide is regularized. Bring the price
down and remove the forbidden thrill that intices users. What do you think?
Carol's Evaluation: 8 out of 10.
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