On October 17^th, 2018, marijuana became legal in Canada. This fall, my home and native land has become only the second country in the world to legalize the herb. Uruguaywas “the first country to legalize marijuana’s production, sale and consumption back in December of 2013.” The truth is that Canada has been tolerant of medical marijuana for many years. For more than a decade I have used medical marijuana, the dispensary I frequent is more like a bank than a den of sin and iniquity. Change has come. The general decriminalization of the product has already led to huge profits for those dabbling in the production and distribution. Government has stepped into it, of course. You will be “allowed” to carry up to 30 grams on your person in public. You will be “allowed” to cultivate and grow up to 4 plants for personal use. There will be an immediate $1.00 tax on every gram, heading straight into the Federal coffers. Marijuana must be purchased from “retailers regulated by provinces, territories or when neither of those options are available, federally licensed producers.” Changes to the impaired driving laws have been implemented “to address repercussions for driving under the influence of cannabis.” The entire world around us is evolving, even if we can’t see it. Change is usually slow but in this matter, things have taken a more rapid advancement. It took decades to become a reality but it just happened overnight. People now need the time to just get used to the idea and move past any moral consideration. After all, God Himself told us years ago that cannabis is okay to consume.

“Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.’”

(Genesis 1:29, NIV)

            I was the epitome of a good Christian, or at least I played one on TV. Camouflaging  myself in the Church just seemed like the safest way for this abomination to hide. My life as a teenager was in constant flux. The part of me that is Bi-Polar ran new and free and wild at this time. This part of my youth holds some of the darkest times of my life. I barely made it through. All the while, I managed to maintain the appearance of righteousness. I didn’t smoke, I didn’t drink. I most certainly did not partake in illegal drug use. I was boring by today’s standards. I dated good Christian girls so that I didn’t have to put out. Other than kissing a few women, I have never engaged in heterosexual play. Not once, not ever. I suppose based on Biblical criterion, I am still a virgin. In the summer of my 17^thyear, I had my first beer after cutting grass on a very hot day. It was well into my twenties before I tried it again. The same goes for my use of illegal drugs. The first time I smoked a joint, I was 20 years old. Ironically, the first time I got stoned was on the date I met my future partners. August 31^sthas always been a major touchstone for me. It is there that I began a life with Doug and then Ben, but it was years before either of them that I started a lifelong relationship with Mary Jane. I remember it well as I enjoyed it immensely. All that jumble in my head seemed to silence itself the more I consumed. I have no idea why I accepted the joint from my friend. I thought the hot tub was more than enough heat for one night. I reluctantly accepted the hand off. I have never turned back. Given the right strain, primarily an Indica, medical marijuana has literally stopped me from killing someone, including myself. I was not successfully treated for my chemical imbalance until my early 40s. All that time and I used weed to somehow stabilize the voices and the feelings and the impulses. It didn’t solve the problem but it helped. I do not need to over-justify the usage. The experiences I have had with cannabis have been nothing if not enlightening. We demonize those things we wish to control. In nature, there is no disease without a cure. What one claims as evil, another claims as heaven. A mistress can be better than a wife. When it can be too much, she is there. When it hurts so bad, she cares. She has never brought me harm. She has always been my nurse, since that very first time. She always leaves me on a high note.

“Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” (Genesis 9:3, NIV)

            Before what would become a decade of  higher learning, I took a year off at the end of high school and worked for my Dad. Working at Strathroy District Collegiate Institute provided me with a means of later attending university but also offered tons of cold hard disposable cash. I moved into a place with my friend Kevin and tried my hand at independent living. He was a pothead. I was soon to be. We smoked and smoked, then we smoked some more. One evening, Kevin called from a friend’s place in London and asked me to bring in a bag containing 4-5 ounces of primo shit. I gladly took the opportunity to head into the city. I had no idea that the license plate on that 1979 Dodge Magnum had expired. I also did not realize a police officer had discovered just that. I suppose, since the apartment was in downtown Strathroy, it figures that out of all the cars in the area he had to notice mine. I was just speeding up as I left town. The lights were not pretty and the siren’s sound was not sweet. With so much weed, sitting on the front seat, I floored the gas and sped away. Escape by flight. I managed to get far enough away from the chase to roll down the passenger side window and toss the treasure into a sea of grasses at the side of the road. I stopped the car the moment the coast was clear. I put the car in park, turned it off and I just sat there. The officer pulled up, got out of his vehicle and proceeded to draw his gun on me. He ordered me out of the car and down on my knees. I thought he might well shoot me. It’s a good thing I am not a black man or Latino. After searching my person and the car, he asked me why I tried to flee. All I could come up with is that I had a manic episode because I had never been stopped by a cop before. There was  no evidence to the contrary. He found nothing and I gave him nothing. The court gave me a 3-year licence suspension. I was more than glad to take this punishment considering that each count of possession would have got me 10 years in federal custody. It was the lesser of two evils. Two days later and we retrieved all that weed from the side of the road. I thought of Quick-draw McGraw (the cop’s last name and his real nickname) when I lit the first blunt. All these years later and I have never transported that amount of weed for anyone, including myself. Once bitten, twice shy. I try not to smoke pot and drive and I don’t like to carry a large amount on my person. 3 years of buses and walking has proven to be a great deterrent. It is now October and not much will change but for the distribution method and the reality that I will no longer go to jail for the pleasure of having a joint. I have even considered using edibles.

“The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

(Genesis 1:12, NIV)

            The dispensary I have used for well over a decade is located in the east end of  Toronto, Ontario in an area known as “the Danforth.” On July 22^nd, 2018, Faisal Hussain opened fire along the Danforth, killing 2 and injuring 13. Going back through the village again was surreal to say the least. I did not feel safe. This has never been an issue with my dispensary. Mounted external and internal cameras, heavy security and an entrance door that reminds me of a U-boat safety latch, have all guaranteed a sense of control. I’m not sure what will happen to them after October 17^th. All that weed and all those edibles have been part of my life for so long that I would most certainly miss them. Although I like to simply smoke it, occasionally my partner and I have tried some of those laced treats. They are useful on long hikes, or watching a movie, or roaming through a convention centre looking for more comic books. The most powerful snack I have consumed is known as a Ginger Snap. It certainly has one. We each ate a cookie after we parked the car. By the time we got up to the ground level, I was overcome. I was riddled with the stuff. I think it ignited a hypomanic episode, but it may well have just been the drugs that made me feel like that. It was one of the least pleasurable moments of my life and I have never touched so much as a morsel since. It floored me. I had to sit down before I started screaming. He was just fine. For over 3 hours, we sat waiting for that extreme buzz to pass. It seemed to last forever. Harboured in between several skyscrapers, the courtyard and fountain served as refuge from the rest of downtown Toronto. There were people and pigeons everywhere. I can’t be sure just what bothered me more, the birds or all the ugly city folk. I have always been grateful that it was a lovely late September afternoon that I spent in outer space. I didn’t have to bake just because I was baked. The temperature got nowhere near as high as I did. The state I remember experiencing the most was one of dread; a sense of chaos, a lack of balance and an exaggerated fear of doom. I was flooded with panic and almost drowned in my tears. I never want to go there again, even if I get offered another cookie.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, NIV)

            In the last years of her life, my Mother’s diabetes advanced greatly. She developed ulcers on her feet and lower legs and was constantly scratching away any chance of healing. It was often painful and hindered her mercilessly. I made a suggestion. At first she shunned the idea. She could not see past the moral implications regardless of the health benefits she well knew, having been a nurse. We had discussed marijuana as medicinal and she agreed that it had assisted when I was still untreated for my Bipolar disorder. She would not hear of indulging. I explained that she would not be smoking anything, just applying cream, much like Vick’s VapoRub but with a much more pleasant odour. As time increased the lesions, she begrudgingly agreed to try it. For all the pills the doctors had prescribed, it only got worse and worse. I would only purchase one jar and if it didn’t work, I would never bring it up again. We had a deal. She was surprised at the small quantity for the price. I showed her how so little goes so far. Finally, she was willing to put her preconceived notions behind her. For $25.00, I purchased a cannabis based salve. The ointment didn’t smell like weed or look like weed so my Mom actually gave it a chance. I paid for it so she really had nothing to lose. I think she expected to get a buzz and seemed a little disappointed there wasn’t more of a kick to it. The salve itself is primarily for pain relief but is also a topical, anti-inflammatory agent. The main ingredient is cannabis Indica. The ointment also contains extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, wormwood, chickweed powder, teatree oil, cayenne, rosemary oil and vitamin E. The results were almost instant. By the time I got home that evening, the balm had started working. She never again had pain in her legs from ulcers. Eventually, she had no ulcers. With no ulcers, there was no itching and with no itching, she was able to fully heal. It was a miracle, it really was. Not for me or my theology but for my Mom. If an ulcer tried to return, she simply used the cream I had replenished. I know it may seem silly but being able to relieve even one negative from her miserable life meant the world to me. She knew it and told me so. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have lessened her lot in life, even if only for a few years. Mom came to understand marijuana relatively later in her life. She never smoked a doob, she never got a buzz. What she did do was allow nature to heal in its very own way. She finally understood there was more to it than just “The Devil’s Harvest.” Her journey with medicinal pot filled in the holes.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV)

            I have smoked pot with my first partner Doug. It was more for entertainment value than anything else. My current partner Ben and I partake, we indulge. It serves a medical purpose, for both of us, but can be recreational. I’m not much of a drinker so a nice joint is always a pleasant surprise. I have smoked up my mother-in-law. I have smoked up with my Professors, a Rabbi and even an Oncologist. I have toked with a celebrity or two. Most of the people I have in my life have an open view on marijuana and its use. To most of us, it is just like drinking alcohol. I have always felt weed should be a controlled substance rather than illegal. Now that cannabis will be legal, the rules just got more complicated. Freedom always has a price. It may take a few years, eventually marijuana will be thought of in the same manner as other approved intoxicants. The medical and legal ramifications are exciting, as is the prospect of sitting on my front porch smoking a fat one. Not that I haven’t done that before but a new day is dawning. I could even ask a cop if he wanted a drag, as he passed me by. There will be absolutely nothing he can do to me now. I do not think of cannabis as a cure all nor do I think it does not have negatives attached to it. I only know that is has worked for me. It is an old friend that helped me through it all. Most people smoke up for the buzz. I have always smoked up because it took away the buzz. On October 17^th, we started again. Finally, instead of hiding, I can get what I need without fear of the repercussions. All I have to do is follow the rules and everything will be okay. I will never have anything to worry about again, well except for all those rules.   

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.” (1 Peter 4:1-6, NIV)

https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2017/11/14/the-lowdown-on-getting-high-in-canada.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/20/health/canada-legalizes-marijuana/index.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/health/campaigns/cannabis/canadians.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc_en&utm_content=cbd_1&utm_campaign=cannabis-18

https://www.ontario.ca/page/cannabis-legalization