Re: “Take the ‘high’ out of High Prairie” [Clegg’s Corner, March 21, 2018 South Peace News]
Please understand at the outset that I do not necessarily approve of many of the incidents that I have witnessed, I am just aware that they are happening.
I think that cannabis should be sold through the local liquor outlets, or pharmacies in the case of medical cannabis; places that already have enhanced security because they handle products that need it. The liquor outlets do require that people be 18 which is the legal age for cannabis.
People who may have lived a more sheltered life than I have may not realize just how pervasive cannabis’s presence is already. Being upset about kids going back to class stoned is legitimate, but I am pretty sure it is already happening. It’s the same with people smoking and drinking in front of kids. Generations of children have grown up that way.
It is also true that not every present day alcoholic or pothead grew up around people who smoked or drank. The phrase that may best describe some people who did is stone cold sober.
I remember once many years ago I was waiting in the truck while my partner went into a convenience store. I looked down the street and saw two teenagers sharing a cigarette with the special j-grip. That town was a fraction of the size of High Prairie.
I actually cooked in a restaurant where I went out front to get a cup of coffee and smelled that bitter smell [life lesson here, sometimes you need your paycheque.]
I once went to Leduc and the guy in the truck next to mine opened his door. I knew that smell. It happened twice that day, once more at the Walmart.
Then there are all the times when the bathroom fan seemed to have a problem, or the stair well. Or I thought that a tomcat might have sprayed on someone’s shoe.
Some people may not have been around enough to recognize it.
High Prairie not allowing an outlet would keep the dealers in business. The thing about those dealers is that cannabis is not the only item in their inventory. That is how cannabis becomes a gateway drug, when the dealer offers free samples of stronger stuff. Take that out of his arsenal and it cuts back on his access to people who like their fescue.
Cannabis has very clear medical uses. I actually have a prescription for a gram and a half a day. I went to the city and saw the pot doc who gave me a prescription for a high CDB oil with about one per cent THC. That was probably as low as they could get the THC which is the stuff that gets you high.
CDB is supposed to help you rebuild and protect cartilage when you have arthritis and offer some pain relief. It is supposed to be a lot easier on the stomach than Arthrotec.
I figured it was worth a shot. The problem was that after all the hoops I jumped through to get that far and signed a paper saying I would not partake in anyone else’s cannabis, I found out that going through the cheapest company that clinic was associated with and utilizing their 30 per cent compassion discount, the cost for the whole dose would be a $1,000 a month. It was not covered by insurance so that was put on the back burner.
Cannabis has never been my choice for recreational purposes. But generally speaking, as a woman who has worked around a lot of people who drank too much, I found stoners easier to handle than guys who were shipfaced drunk.
I am not having fits about it being sold locally. I am having fits about how it was ‘legalized’ and how much it’s going to cost for people with medical issues. The governments got together with the ‘licenced providers’ and they decided to set it up so that they could make all the money they wanted and most of it off of medicinal users. They will allow people to grow four plants for their own use. That may be enough for someone who uses recreationally; but, for someone who has to have a certain amount of a certain cannaboid day in and day out, I don’t think so.
Will legalizing pot end the world as we know it? I think not. Some funds will flow in a different direction from illegal to legal, and taxed. Pot will be held to higher standards [pun unavoidable] in the manner that official booze is more consistent than bathtub gin. A few more may grow their own than do now.
I doubt there will be a sudden plague of stoners ravening their way through town in the throes of the munchies. Nor will the police will be at a loss about what to do with stoned drivers. They have been dealing with them already.
Eva Sartorius,
High Prairie.
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Weed a gateway drug I think you guys need more training my god it’s nay be a gateway to the macs or fast food alcohol IS more of a gateway then weed ffs