MARIJUANA IS NOT MEDICINE - PART THREE - POLITICS OF POT

Posted by: The Culture of Life on 27/10/2010

There seems to be one final issue that could benefit from clarification regarding the use of marijuana. This blog will address the political aspects of marijuana, drugs in general, and their legalization. Ultimately, the position of my last two blogs is not political, although it may be perceived this way from a low and limited perspective.

My critique is scientific and spiritual. For spiritual reasons, I do not support the use of marijuana, as it is a physical, social, mental, and spiritual toxin and functions as a numbing herb. Exonerating it because it is a plant is shallow. Not all plants are good for human consumption, and I would never support the use of datura, wolfsbane, hemlock, and atropa belladonna. These may all be organic plants, but they are poisonous to the body and mind as well. Over the last 40 years I have seen many people hurt themselves because of marijuana abuse. Most of these people never imagined the amount of damage they were doing to themselves.

On a political level, I am staunchly against sending anyone to jail for marijuana use, as many people’s lives have been damaged by such social abuse. However, we cannot deny the impact that this substance has had on our society. When I lived in Mendocino, Calif., I had patients who were in major marijuana production. These people lived in paranoid states that adversely affected their lives. Many carried submachine guns with them to protect their marijuana – ironically not from police but from civilian thieves. The issue of the legalization of marijuana has obviously created a social controversy that needs to be addressed in a broader nuanced fashion, than to say it should be legalized because it is healthy.

The larger all-pervasive drug issue debates should not be held on the grounds that these substances are healthy, superfoods or medicinal. It would be better if governments made broader social efforts to educate and empower the public, and to dis-empower the large drug cartels, including the central agency behind the mafias.

Between 1967 and 1969, I was living in Harlem. It was well known amongst the general population at that time that drugs were a tool being used to repress the health, social coagulation, and spiritual evolution of these citizens. (This included marijuana use.) Our arguments for marijuana need to be social and political, rather than panning it as a health product. This is ultimately a band-aid over the deeper issue of political domination and manipulations. Marijuana incidentally undermines our drive toward political and spiritual liberation.

We need to deal with the central issues here, rather than skirting them and touting marijuana as beneficial to health and spirituality.

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9 Comments

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- oct 27 2010, 7:25 p.m.Clarissa Kussin
- Thank you for this post. It was informative,positive and full of truth. I used to be a daily smoker from the age of 17-29 who used to preach about the medicinal purposes of marijuana. Through much work on looking at myself and why I smoked so much I found actually what you have shared- "marijuana, as it is a physical, social, mental, and spiritual toxin and functions as a numbing herb. Exonerating it because it is a plant is shallow. Not all plants are good for human consumption". Thank you for continuing to educate others on such an important and relevant topic in our society and for reminding me why I choose not to "partake" anymore.
- oct 27 2010, 10:03 p.m. Rob Gnarley
- I'm sorry, but when you wrote "Ultimately, the position of my last two blogs is not political, although it may be perceived this way from a low and limited perspective." That's pretty damned condescending. We spend our time formulating intelligent responses and we get insulted. Leave it to the people who preach spirituality, yet use it as their main vehicle for money to come up with drivel like this. So what did we get out of this? Empty promises and pseudo-science based on paradigms of extremist religious views. Programmed to the extreme. You are nothing, a bag of wind, blowing against the truth. You live in an ivory tower and you've reached the point where the little people do not matter, yet you have no problem indoctrinating them with your semi-pagan belief system. Time to burn some Cousen books!
- oct 28 2010, 1:38 a.m. paul
- It is still by defintion a medicine! It may not be the best medicine, or one you might use. It may not be a good spiritual choice in your opion,but by definition it is a medicine.... so will you quit saying its not!
- oct 28 2010, 2:16 p.m. George Niculescu
- Rob, I feel for you. I know what it's like to be angry. Gabriel hit a chord with you. I hope you face it. Rather than attack him. Did you click on the links in part two? They are not pseudo-science. I challenge you to read Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. I used to smoke pot, never heavily, and never for a long period of time. However, I can honestly say, it did have an impact on my memory. Even to this day, 4 years later of being straight edge. Yes, Gabriel is rich, so what? He is not just about spirituality, he has broad views, and can speak from a multitude of perspectives. The tone in Depression Free For Life is totally different from the tone in Conscious Eating. Peace and Love!
- oct 29 2010, 9:23 a.m. Yehoshua
- George, I appreciate your perspective and completely agree with you; however, I should correct you on a point (that others on here have been using as a personal attack). I work with Dr. Cousens, and I can tell you that the man is not "rich" conventionally speaking. He drives a 20 year-old beat-up Volvo that loses its tailpipe now and then. He rents his home - does not own one. He gives 20% of his earned income to charity, and dumps all the money his rejuvenation center makes into his foundation, which serves to spread the message of spiritual nutrition all over the world. He easily works 16-hour days, 6 days a week, tirelessly writing, teaching, corresponding, researching, praying, and meditating for global awakening, and he has been maintaining this schedule since his work began, some 40 years ago. I don't understand where these assumptions come from, but they are completely inaccurate.
- oct 29 2010, 2:07 p.m. Rob Gnarley
- Well, apologies to Dr. Cousens then. I feel that when one speaks from absolutes, ie; Marijuanna is not a medicine, that you tend to polarize the argument, and ultimately garner rebuttals that may take a personal tone. (like the label vegan) The data supporting cannabis is there, it does help people. I have an acquaintance who has a severe spinal cord defect, effectively crippling him for his entire life. He has never had anything stronger than ibuprofen. Never any opiates, however all he would have to do is walk into any clinic, they would probably take 1/16th of his medical history and just stop him to ask him what he would like. Yet he chose cannabis to help him get through the day for chronic pain. While the effects on his body, mind, and spirit are debatable, we can't rule out the fact that this plant, like any other can be used as a tool or a spiritual weapon to desensitize the individual or create relief. It is interesting to note that chronic pain, in and of itself is more deleterious to the body on all levels than the absence of pain is when dealing with injury. Healing can occur more speedily in a hospital setting when opiates are administered for example. These three treatises by Dr. Cousens are about freedom of choice. In summary then, marijuanna is a medicine, when used properly as indicated, and marijuanna is not a medicine when used improperly to mask problems in our lives. Given the information provided by both medical and cultural sources, it is easy to deduce then that cannabis is potentially a panacea and a curse. Chose your side wisely.
- oct 30 2010, 12:05 p.m.Robert
- While smoking cannabis is harmful, eating or taking hemp oil under the tongue has it's benefits. Caring for my 95 yr old Mother, I saw OTCs do nothing to relieve her arthritic pain and the prescriptions upset her stomach to the point where she was admitted to the hospital 3 times. Using hemp oil has brought significant relief. Cannabis is an amazing plant - cannabis sativa is more uplifting / cerebral, actually helping focus mentally and is useful especially for physical issues; cannabis indica is more relaxing, producing a restful sleep and is useful especially for emotional issues such as depression and anxiety. If You're truly interested in exploring... the 1 hr video Run From The Cure - The Rick Simpson Story is excellent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0psJhQHk_GI Rick Simpson gave away hemp oil and is now living in exile in Amsterdam; if he returned to Nova Scotia he be thrown in jail! That's what happens when people tread on the toes of Big Pharma.
- nov 08 2010, 1:27 p.m. Christa Lund
- Dear Dr. Cousens, Thank you for providing such thoughtful insights to health, nutrition and food. After a 6 year detour, I have found myself back in the lap of academia studying holistic nutrition. I am thoroughly enjoying the process. However, I am realizing daily that while I love nutrition, my ultimate goal may not be to help people apply nutrition to their lives for true, lasting health, but to get to the heart of the problem instead. I have a fight in me that I believe would be best applied to policy and analysis, but I'm not sure where to start. I am in the process of contacting many of the leaders whom I have looked up to for the last decade to find out what resources or suggestions you have in mind where I may apply this fire I have in me to make a change. My fight: I believe there should be no reason to have to alter our water via filters and distillation because the water in the tap shouldn't be coming to us in such contaminated form. I believe we shouldn't have to seek out organic food. There is no reason for it to be coming to our plates in any other form, so lets eliminate chemicals and GMOs. I believe having an intimate and direct connection to out food is more paramount in our nourishment than actually what that food it. This means knowing where it comes from, what the original form of the food looks like, how it has been prepared and maintenance of the maximum vitality of the food. I believe that through proper nutrition, nourishment and well being, vaccines should become a last resort at worst, and a thing of the past at best. If you wouldn't mind taking 1-2 minutes to send me links to a few of your favorite policy or advocacy organizations, I would love to connect with them to find my place in this transformation. Thank you for your continues guidance. Christa Lund
- dic 10 2010, 12:12 a.m. Dionysis 69
- Hello Dr. Cousens....I believe there is a lot of wisdom and science to what you are writing about. I think one of the problems with Pot today and perhaps our ancestors use in religious context is that 1.It was used in highly ritualized settings instead of just getting wasted. 2. I read that with the over hybridization of pot today that their is a over saturation of THC in the plant that is not balanced with other components. When I used to smoke I would sometimes get angry and belligerent, not at all the feel good and mellow vibe one would expect. Kind of like Cocaine vs the Coca plant. Personally I believe that plant medicine do have a plant in religious and spiritual awakenings. They must be put in perspective to one relation to their community, tradition, and place on the Earth. A lot of great awakenings have happened with substances like pot. To deny that is not the truth of millions of people throughout history. It might not been your path to oneness but it has opened the door for many. Also all edible plants have a mind altering ability. If one eats sprouts, or Kale, or a herb like Astragulas their mind, body and spirit will change. Pot does so in a extremely intense way. BUT I do agree once the spirit door is opened it is time to stop doing extreme plants/substances and explore consciousness on a more subtle level. I love how in the Teachings of Don Juan there is a moment when "drugs" are no longer used nor talked about. As I recall it came about when Carlos found out that his teacher had another apprentice. He was jealous but found out the the other apprentice only had one experience with the entheogen. Carlos had 50 and he started that he was superior to the other student when Don Juan said that "...he only need one experience but you were such a asshole you needed 50." (LOL) Two more point Dr. What do you think of this article? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226004546.htm And lastly I would love to read your thought on industrial hemp for fuel,food,clothing,paper, and building materiel. http://tinyurl.com/26rhwwn

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