Gone to Pot

With Colorado’s voters passing the historic Amendment 64, is this further proof that the country is going down the drain?  Or have we just begun to realize that our power lies within the freedom to make our own choices?

Marijuana has long been considered the gateway drug, meaning that it leads to harder drugs and a life of crime and dereliction.  This point has been argued by many, with little progress in proving or disproving its validity.  I could, from my own experience, argue it either way.  What I have realized on my own spiritual journey of recovery is that all choices lead us to a higher place, eventually.

The legalization of pot for adults over the age of 21 is vital to point out here.  My first experience with pot was when I was 12 years old.  I believe that for most people with addictive personalities the first experience with pot comes well before they are of legal age.  What is not common knowledge is that an addictive personality exists long before the drug ever is introduced.  The disease of addiction is a genetic condition passed down from generation to generation.  I do not use the term “genetic defect” as some would because I do not believe it is a defect.  In my case, it has been my greatest asset.  God would not create a being with a defect, nor would the soul make a mistake.

Do I believe that the smoking of pot unleashed my craving to be high?  No, I do not.  My first drug was attention, the getting of people’s attention any way I could. I had the strongest desire to be the center of attention in my family from my earliest recollection, and if I didn’t succeed in doing so,  I would quickly try another method of achieving my goal.  Failing to achieve the attention only gave my addictive personality reason to act out, seeking louder and more brazen behaviors.  By the time my first drug (cigarettes) entered the picture, I was merely nine years old.  I first began using them to seek the approval of my peers, while at the same time unconsciously still looking to be noticed by my family.  Negative attention is better than no attention in the mind of a person with addictive traits.

What happens now in these states that have decided to legalize marijuana?  Do we care if someone drives high?  How do we administer drug tests when accidents have occurred?  Is there going to be a legal limit?  What about contact highs?  Although I do not fear the occasional smell of pot sending me spiraling back into the darkness of active addiction, it certainly wouldn’t be advised that any recovering addict be exposed high concentrations of secondhand pot smoke.  It took going to one indoor concert to realize that was no place for me to be.

What about employers?  Will they be cited for discrimination by not hiring someone or firing someone who openly smokes pot?  How will society deal with the open use of marijuana?  Imagine yourself sitting at the beach with your family and all of the sudden you are surrounded by a group of people who choose to get high.  Do we want that as a society?

The list of issues that will need to be addressed will keep the lawmakers busy for quite some time.  The personal effect cannot be determined until some time has passed to see what other consequences may pop up.

I do believe that pot use is less harmful than alcohol, and statistics certainly back that up.  It is almost unconscionable that society makes legal alcohol consumption.  The damage that alcohol costs society is mind-boggling and the personal destruction that can occur in families from drinking is beyond pandemic.  Yet the past tells us that it is easier to accept the consequences rather than stand for what is in our best interest.  Yes, denial is alive and well in the human species.

So let’s hear what you think about this.  Take this time to be open about your thoughts and feelings regarding the legalization of drugs.  Should they all be legal?  Do we allow people to make choices that we see as unhealthy and let them learn from their mistakes?  Does legislation make a difference?

Conversations with God states, “Obedience is not creation, and thus can never produce salvation.”  It would seem obvious to me that this statement is proven to be true over and over throughout the course of history.  What say you?

(Kevin McCormack is a “Conversations with God” Life Coach, a Spiritual Helper on www.changingchange.net, and an Addictions Recovery Advisor.  To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@theglobalconversation.com)