Is Attorney General Jeff Sessions evil?
Probably not. I just happened to disagree with just about everything he does, thinks, says, or writes. That doesn’t make him evil, even if it is currently fashionable to demonize people one disagrees with.
Is United States drug policy evil?
Absolutely! And before you think I’m about to go on the usual liberal screed against Republicans and conservatives, let me remind everyone that no president since Richard Nixon did as much damage to society, to the African-American community, and the criminal justice system as Bill Clinton. That whole crack cocaine/cocaine sentencing guideline thing? Good old Bill…
Still, the policy is absolutely evil. Now, I have a love-hate relationship with marijuana. I used to love it. It destroyed my life. Now I hate it. Of all the drugs I ever took, marijuana ripped from me- or more accurately, my use of marijuana, ripped from me practically everything I ever loved, valued, or cherished. As in, I simply didn’t care about them anymore. I took the famous lyrics “you gave to me, a new belief. And soon the world, will love you sweet leaf” a little bit too seriously. I was psychologically dependent on that stuff pretty much the first time I smoked it.
There is nothing safe about marijuana. It’s just that the physical use of it, in moderation, is less harmful than taking an aspirin. Very few side effects, extremely low rate of physical dependency, low to moderate rates of psychological dependency. Limited hangovers, insanely wide effective dose/fatal dose margin, and surprisingly little interaction with other psychoactive medications.
On the other hand, there is increasing evidence that it is potentially physically addictive. It does have established, observed, and predictable withdrawal symptoms: loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and mood swings to name just a few. Oh, and don’t forget about the craving. There is a reason it’s called “chronic”, yo.
So yeah, it’s not a safe drug. And for the record, I never recommend anybody smoke marijuana recreationally. There are many documented incidents of it interfering with emotional memory, short-term memory, the ability to bond emotionally, and let’s not forget amotivational syndrome, in which a person simply doesn’t care about anything. Except for weed. Still, the rates of this happening have not been established. I personally, professionally, and academically am not certain on the thresholds in which these things happen, or the differentiation between a mild disorder and a severe disorder.
But that’s not the point of this rant. Because for all of the unknowns concerning marijuana, one thing is definitely known: a felony conviction can fuck you up. For life. Everything from gaining employment, to casting a vote, to obtaining Stafford loans, student loans, or Pell grants. The consequences of being convicted for marijuana are swift, certain, and life-changing. These consequences affect a far greater percentage of minorities, versus the Caucasian population.
So, is Jeff Sessions evil? Again, probably not.
But he sure is a mean-spirited son of a bitch who has no respect for anyone or anything that holds an opinion other than his. You don’t have to be evil to be stupid.
To be continued…
