Looking past the Weed

A few minutes ago while walking the dog I talked with a man walking along with a walking stick, someone who spoke to me last week also. Finns aren't very open to having random conversations with strangers and this guy is in his mid 60s, which isn't the typical, talk to foreigners type, especially in the suburb I live in. Lat week, I found it odd that he spoke and mentioned it to me wife. Today, it got a little odder but, it explained his openness.

He wanted to buy some weed.

 

This might not be a big statement to say nor unusual in many parts of the world but in Finland, there is still a massive amount of Stigma surrounding it and they are just starting investigating the medicinal possibilities of it here. When I first arrived in Finland 15 years ago, people spoke about weed as if it was an amphetamine and akin to crack cocaine or something. The fear that people had/have surrounding it is quite high. At least for some.

But, here is the thing.

A guy who struggled to walk up a shallow hill with his walking stick in obvious pain is no longer bound to the information of the community, nor their various prejudices surrounding various concepts and practices. Even a person in their 60s. When it comes to the legalization of marijuana for example, even though the decisions are made at a governmental level, the pressure will almost invariably come from the people, the masses and their demand.

These days, just about everyone has access to the same kinds of information and I am certain that with the prevalence of things like cancer, more and more people are searching for alternative treatments, no matter where they live in the world. Marijuana in various forms and strains can help many people who suffer from all kinds of ailments that are normally treated by pharmaceuticals without the side effects or, it can lessen the side effects like nausea of treatments like chemotherapy.

There is so much supporting information online now that it is impossible for a government to dismiss the possibility without appearing draconian or uncaring to the health of their population. Even if it takes decades of time-wasting, eventually most governments will fall into line due to an international peer pressure effect and in places like Europe, the ease of transport.

Now, I felt sorry for this poor guy because despite my apparent appearances, I couldn't help him out but, this is insane. I shouldn't have to help him out to get something that has less side effects than most prescription drugs, has less severe implications and is much less addictive than smoking or alcohol. And, if dependency does form, the results are much less severe, especially in comparison to alcohol related violence and smoking related illness.

The only real reason that the marijuana industry is largely illegal currently is that it is going to put a dent in the profits of the pharmaceutical industry until they find a way to regulate it better, which is obviously developing as I write. If we look at the alcohol industry as an example, even though most people could produce their own forms of drink, the vast majority will purchase the regulated forms because of practicality and of course, taste preferences. We can see that the marijuana industry is now doing this.

For the last few decades at least, even in the countries that it is illegal, various strains and forms have been branded for various reasons and now as legalization sweeps through, the professional marketers can put their skills to use. the continued branding and segmentation of marijuana markets is going to not only give consumers access to range but, make the industry much more scientific rather than anecdotal. Weed is going to go pro.

This means that the industry is going to explode with a whole range of new products and applications that were not previously possible while hidden from view. Research into possibility is also likely to grow exponentially for a time and not only will the medicinal uses be investigated, but other uses for the plant will be revisited like how it was used for sails and rigging for a few hundred years or, Henry Ford's car panels developed in 1941:

This video of a man with Parkinson's disease getting treated is another video that I find incredible:

Without the material uses of it though, the medicinal implications of it make should make it one of the most ubiquitous treatment bases on the planet yet, it is still largely hidden away, illegal and out of reach of most people. However, as people start to get even more into decentralized information, things such as marijuana possibility are unable to be hidden from a populace. Places like Finland will see increasing pressure from the community to investigate and enact change. This will also be further amplified by a government's need to reduce running costs and healthcare is a very large one.

If introducing marijuana can do things like reduce the pharmaceutical requirements of a patient, increase the independence of users, reduce violence from alcoholism and still provide tax revenue, it will get to a point where a government has to implement legalization to keep their expenses down. Of course, there are many ways they can do this.

My hope however is that one day, people like the guy with the walking stick don't have to go up to a stranger on the forest path and nervously ask if they can provide healthcare treatment as to me, that is an indication of a system that isn't working. I wish I would have been able to help him but unfortunately, I can't.

At what point does the suffering of a person take precedence over the legality of a plant? My Mother died of cancer and even though she didn't have chemo, would have benefited from the effects of a little marijuana from time to time yet, would not take it. I offered to get her some from a friend but her programming was so ingrained that it was something negative, that she suffered instead. Hoe many have gone and will go through the same as governments around the world deny treatment? At what point does a community say, enough is enough and openly rebel?

It is interesting isn't it as it would be entirely possible for a population in most countries just to say, we have the right to choose what goes into our bodies as adults and, Light the fuck up.

With the increase of decentralized platforms and broad dissemination of information that will be impossible to repress or censor, a whole host of questions are going to be asked of governments and answers will eventually be squeezed out. The world is changing and although it may seem very slowly at times, there are informational critical mass points that will break the banks and cascade into increasing pools of possibility.

It is because of things like this that decentralization of information is so important to drive forward and, centralization and censorship of information is so harmful. Not every question or whim of a population deserves approval, but asking the questions and opening them for discussion, investigation and consideration is vital for humanity to move past a system of segregation of people and information and into one of cooperation for global improvement.

I do not however think that it will be an easy road nor, one that is traveled quickly. It is going to be difficult and many people are not going to like many of the questions that will get raised and, many governments and industry aren't going to easily give up their hold over markets and populations.

But perhaps, one day, one day, one day...

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]