There’s been some discussion about the piece regarding the “panic” over sound that gets you high.
Of course sound can get you high. And you don’t need special tones playing in static. Just listen to the right album when you’re in the right mood…
And somewhat lost in the discussion is the fact that we’ve unfortunately come to the point where some people think that getting high is a bad thing.
And yet, humans are always getting high. They like it. They get high from caffeine; they get high on sex (oh yeah, that definitely stimulates some chemical receptors); they get high on running; they get high on religion; they get high on chocolate and on smelling the roses. They get high on adrenaline. They get high on patriotism and team spirit. They get high on meat cooked on the grill. They get high on laughter or on poetry.
I guess we’d better get busy outlawing stuff.
It’s all part of the negative connotations that the word has built up over the years. It’s the same with marijuana.
It’s my wish that we (the anti-prohibitionists) would stop using words like “pot” and “weed” when talking about marijuana. They have a negative image (to most people) associated with them….I think it’s time we used either marijuana or cannabis instead.
Why would anyone want to get high we live in a post human utopian paradise of efficiency and progress. Buy more and be happy!
Can’t be happy. That would be considered another “high.” What all this shows is that “drugs,” per se, are not the culprit the Prohibs have made them out to be. It’s simply the act of being high or happy that they turn their noses up to. Anything that generates pleasure is considered a drug to them. And, as we now see, said “drug” doesn’t have to be covered by the CSA, either. They’ve now reached “out of the bucket.” And this is a sure sign of their failing foundation. They’re grasping at straws now.
Don’t you know that you’re only supposed to get high on God? Yes, the puritan spirit is alive and well. Culturally, while diverse, we are all supposed to be miserable and sedate. And definitely should not be participating in any festivities whatsoever that could exit any chemicals. Excitement, glee, outbursts – outside the realms of celebrating Glory are not to be tolerated. And even then my dears, moderation and simplicity – lest it all become a little too carnal. Oh my.
Did you guys see the Boondocks episode this weekend on the topic of medical marijuana? Hilarious and oh so true.. Heres the link
http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhN96ILaZLZ8o2QT6P
Oh yeah, absolutely — most people you ask will tell you that “getting high” is somehow intrinsically immoral. Of course, they’re talking about specific ways of “getting high”, which they do not realize and cannot work into their argument when you point it out.
It is all about legally defining the lines between acceptable and unacceptable methods of getting high.
The obvious problem with allowing people to draw these lines is the apparently-inevitable abuse of such line-drawing.
Such abuse of power is why we have the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and the specifying of liberty as a self-evidently naturally-given and unalienable right, always transcending any people in power.
Such abuse of power is why amendment nine exists in our Constitution to legally support liberty as defined in our nation.
Too many Americans fail to understand that liberty as a self-evidently naturally-given and unalienable right protected by supreme law (let us call it true liberty to simplify communication) is, without exaggeration, the most brilliant social construct possible.
There are three key factors supporting that bold claim:
1. Liberty is your greatest asset. You can have all of the money in the world, but if you do not have the liberty to spend it, you have nothing. Liberty defines what you can do with your life.
2. True liberty is optimal liberty in a civilized society. The only limit against true liberty is true liberty.
3. True liberty is nice and compact, making it easy to wield in public.
To the extent we realize true liberty is the extent we naturally realize every right in our nation (life, the pursuit of happiness, free speech, the right to bear arms, etc.)
No American generation has realized true liberty, despite our obligation to do so.
Instead of using true liberty to guide our nation away from the hypocrisy that has enabled the slippery slope against individualism, our nation ignores true liberty, dismissing it as a useless ideal.
The result is the real people in power in both the private and public sectors (our effective oligarchy) continuously battle it out to define liberty for us instead, wielding the public majority when they can.
The result is the greatest tragedy possible, and victims of the prohibition of arbitrarily-selected drugs are consumed by that tragedy.
There is so much more to say about true liberty, but this comment is long enough as it is, so I will end it with one last point.
True liberty demands that only acts that are directly rights-infringing can be banned or regulated. Why? The act of breathing indirectly leads to all rights-infringing acts. To regulate on the basis of indirect rights-infringement is to undermine true liberty.
the roots of prohibition are found in the church(es)
“I guess we’d better get busy outlawing stuff.”
I been saying this for years. Remember the old “gettin high on life” ? Well better get to outlawing life. Guess we should all dig a hole, crawl in and fear the bright orb in the sky.
“It’s my wish that we (the anti-prohibitionists) would stop using words like “pot†and “weed†when talking about marijuana. They have a negative image (to most people) associated with them….I think it’s time we used either marijuana or cannabis instead.”
They use those terms for that very reason,all the propaganda put out by NIDA,the DEA and the ONDCP has
been aimed at pot,weed and marijuana,and separating the lies and propaganda from these terms,terms of endearment for us,will require about 10 years of legal.
I don’t know what kind of biochemistry you guys have, but I have to say that the various “highs” I’ve ever gotten from life are nothing like drug highs. You have to earn life highs, whereas drug highs happen as a result of ingesting chemicals (well, I guess you have to earn a good alcohol buzz too… maybe that’s why it’s the one acceptable drug).
I’ve noticed that. Well, I’ve noticed something. Usually, but not always, if I use the words ‘Pot’ or ‘Weed’ when talking with a casual person about the failings of prohibition, then the conversation tends to stall on “how bad drugs ‘like’ pot really are”. It becomes a conversation about all drugs, or this specific drug (and their/its evils) rather then about prohibition, the drug war or the even more abstract notion of adult self determination.
Usually, again, not always, when I consciously call it Cannabis the flow of the conversation changes. Maybe this word reinforces the idea that, in the specific case of cannabis, we are talking about plants with multiple properties – one of them being psychoactive in nature.
Note that I’m not claiming the argument that ‘Plant = Natural = Harmless’. It’s just that using the plant name seems to bring our words down from the drug hysteria cloud that ‘Weed’ and ‘Pot’ and even ‘Marijuana’ float around in. And indeed, it’s gotten to be a massive, blinding, and choking cloud that makes it difficult to say much of anything.
In my experience, and granted it’s quite limited and occasionally awkward, the conversation can then rationally bypass the “drugs are evil” and “all the anti-prohibs want to do is get high” baggage that much propaganda has saddled upon people. Maybe the word bypasses a gut reaction trigger mechanism, at least for now? Yey, speculation!
That seems like one of the keys to this battle is to get past the propaganda layer and the assumptions based on a linguistic framework. Even our own. I’m not suggesting that we should always call it cannabis and never use the word pot, just reminding (myself as well) of that old communications standby – choice of words, in the context of audience & venue, can be important.
Anyways, sorry, this has nothing much to do with the beautiful, normal and much abused human urge to get high on all that life has to offer.
davidst,
There’s no more enjoyable high than puttin’ down the road with your knees in the breeze. People like me KNOW why the family dog shoves his head out the window of a moving vehicle. No chemicals needed. Young bikers pick a destination. Old bikers pick a direction.
@davidst
“You have to earn life highs, whereas drug highs happen as a result of ingesting chemicals”
I do not believe in equating drug use with “getting high”.
Drugs are mind altering, not mind replacing.
If you are having a really bad day, cannabis is not going to automatically correct that.
Now granted there are some strains of cannabis that can naturally produce a ‘rest your mind on this really nice “pillow”‘ effect, but there are also strains that are purposely grown in a way to produce a “tougher”, more exciting experience. And I am not talking about tougher in the lower-quality-producing-rougher-effects sense.
Drug use is a ride. When done right, it is a joy ride. When abused, it is a ride to no where good.
Good cannabis experiences are a “nutritious” part of a life high, if you catch my drift.
Good cannabis experiences are earned.
I get high on prohibitionists’ temper tantrums.
@maria — totally! a huge part of getting things fixed is to alter the dialog. there is far too much mindlessness bandied about in the discussion.
here’s one i know you’ve heard far too many people say: drugs and alcohol.
jesus! that’s like saying dogs and german shepards.
Some people just dont seem to understand. If theres something out there that makes you feel good , theres always someone or some group that feels threatened by it and trys to take it away from all, whether its good or bad doesnt matter…dancing for instance.
It doesnt matter. its your body, your life.
Makes me think of the movie Equilibrium. Drug the entire populus with uber-SSRIs and ban sensory stimulation. Good flick. The War on Drugs would make for a pretty believable prequel, no?
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“It doesnt matter. its your body, your life.”
If you don’t own your body then you are a slave.
Amen, brother!