Is it the drug or the person?

I’m looking at a pile of tapes about drug abuse and addiction.

The two sides tell TOTALLY different stories. One side says marijuana is not a big deal, or that it’s about the RELATIONSHIP between you and the drug--which can be okay, or fucked up. The other that MJ is that classic “gateway” to stronger drugs that will lay waste to your life.

On the, uh, far right side of the ring are John and Roger. Both work in prevention. John tells about how he was addicted to cannabis and other drugs; Roger about the tragedy of his two stepchildrens’ descent into abuse. Roger has a big loud dog that attacked my car when I went to visit him.

On the left side I’m looking at tapes of Rick Doblin, who directs MAPS, the
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies; Ryan (Tori’s teen son, who says marijuana is uncool, and that he’s not tempted by it being around the house); and Brittany, an astute 18-yr old patient.

It’s SO easy for me to dislike the prevention folks. They have a whiff of being Christian, of puritanism (if it feels good, it’s gotta be bad!), of being all the things I love to hate.

And it's SO easy for me to feel comfortable with the cannabis folks. Ryan, Tori’s son (you can see both of them in the trailer below), talks about when he and his mom break their vegan routine with a “dairy exception”, they get pizza from a great “family owned small business, way better than corporate pizza, Dominoes, etc.”

Somewhere in the middle, are two tapes with young women from ShaktiRising, a progressive treatment organization. ShaktiRising doesn’t demonize drugs, but takes a more holistic, almost New Age (yoga, massage, self love) view of treatment for their recovering addicts.

Watch for clips or a webisode on all this in the next few days. Aloha...