Over the years since our country was founded, there have been a number of movements that the populace has eventually rallied around and fought for. We’ve had our initial fight for freedom against Great Britain. The fight against slavery. The fight for civil rights. More recently, the fight for gay marriage. Each of these moments in American history had its opponents. Sometimes these opponents have attacked other constitutional rights in a balls to the wall effort to carry the day, no matter what freedom is infringed upon.
So it is with the legalization movement. More recently, in the state of Illinois, nearly two years after a decision was reached that medical marijuana users could own firearms, four residents and medical users were told by the state that their firearms licenses would be taken away. The agency sending the letters has spoken out about this and rescinded those letters. It also removed language on its website asking firearm owners if they were medical marijuana card holders. The state police agency responsible for this claims that this was all a mistake. However, Tyler Anthony, with the Canna Law Group states the following,” The opposite is probably true. Even taking their word for it, they shouldn’t be careless with citizens’ constitutional rights, especially when their position lacks any clear legal basis.”
The movement to legalize cannabis has its roots in our constitutional freedoms. It doesn’t surprise anyone that there are those opposing the will of the people in this area who would be willing to usurp other constitutional rights in an effort to win the day, or make sure that Big Pharma continues to be paid. The movement has made significant strides in the past few years, but the incident in Illinois reminds us that the struggle is still ongoing, that some are willing to encroach on our freedoms in other ways to influence final outcomes, and that we need to be vocal and vigilant. We won’t accept anything less than a final and full legalization without any retaliation or penalty elsewhere. Period.
Source- Associated Press, Chicago.
Lately I’ve been scanning different social media feeds and blog posts to get an idea of how people see Thanksgiving and their role in it. It’s easy to get used to business as usual around the holidays. I can get cynical and stress myself out. This year, I am trying to find ways to center myself, renew my focus and just basically chill out.
It can be hard to do. When I realize I’m heading down that pathway of busyness and over achieving, I have to force myself to stop, slow down and consider things from a different point of view.
I often let my mind wander into what it will look like around a Thanksgiving table in the future when we are all freed from cannabis prohibition and able to naturally calm ourselves and enjoy our moments and daily rituals, fear free.
I’m looking forward to getting together with the family and passing around the Fogpen while we cook turkey and laugh in the kitchen. After dinner, I’m sure I will be watching my master-mind joint rolling brother use the Stashtray and roll a joint with one hand. I realize people experience different things within their daily rituals, but one thing that has always impressed me about cannabis is its ability to help me slow down and appreciate things that I’ve missed daily. As busy as my life gets, as all of our lives get, I can easily long for those days and get impatient with where the legalization movement is today so everyone can enjoy this.
This year, I’ve decided to stop, slow down and take stock of where the movement is, and consider the strides that have been made, some of them surprising. When I consider the progress in Washington DC (we knew that was coming…no way anyone can work in the Congress of the United States and not need to light up daily). Or the progress in the Pacific Northwest, or the surprising support in some places in Texas, or Georgia. I read stories out of Colorado daily, and follow the news there constantly.
It’s taken a long time for us to get where we are. New people are joining the movement daily and letting their voices be heard. The flood of voices on social media outlets only grows week to week.
So, I guess I’ve started to realize that this year, I can be thankful for more than just the typical hallmark moments. Though it has had a frustrating history, I’m thankful for where the movement is today. I’m thankful for where it’s been and where it’s going. I’m thankful for the support I see in state houses nationwide and the growing support on Capitol Hill. I’m thankful that cannabis helps me to slow down and relax. I’m going to take these notions into our family thanksgiving feast this year, slow down, and dream toward the future.
Then, after the tryptophan has weaned its way through my system and I’m back to being stressed and over achieving, I’m going to quit my dreaming and get back to work. Because this isn’t over until we have our full freedom, rights restored, and we can move on the way that we were made to.
