Author and activist Norman Mailer makes an excellent and timely point here. Using cannabis can often put you into an existential condition. It can slow down time, allow you to consider each moment singularly, and put you into a heightened (or at least altered) state of mind that can allow you to think critically and creatively about existence.
Mailer also states here that marijuana can make you aware of the war between us, and this is the timely point. The United States just went through an election whose result surprised many/most. For some, that surprise was pleasant, while for others, it was not.
But regardless of the degree or nature of your surprise, it is likely clear to you that the people of the United States are at war with each other. Though most elections peacefully resolve, others do not, and this one has not, at least so far. However you feel about the results of our presidential election, it is important to remember that much progress was made on other fronts.
Indeed, of all the states voting on a marijuana measure of some kind, EIGHT passed those measures. California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voted in support of recreational marijuana. Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota all passed initiatives legalizing medical marijuana. Only Arizona failed to vote yes on cannabis, and there is still some slight hope that late returns could still change that outcome.
We’ve written on how marijuana is not a partisan issue–it’s an everyone issue, a freedom issue. No matter how you view the presidential election cannabis still won.
So if you are in one of the lucky (skillful?) states, take a break. Put your weary feet up and give the war a rest, at least for now. Then decide — likely with a clearer head — whether and how you want to go about making things better in this country. Will it be by trying to understand “the other,” by fighting against “the other” or just moving on, or some combination of these or something else entirely?
What will you do now? Where is our country heading? Does cannabis have the potential to unite?
Please share your thoughts as a comment below. Let’s start talking.
