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...

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Back to California

Back to California

I'm finally headed back to California to continue shooting "RxCannabis". I shot for three months last summer, getting over 80 hours of footage. You can see more about the project at www.myspace.com/harveystein. There is a full screen trailer at http://rxcannabis.blip.tv/.

First stop this trip was the ASA (Americans for Safe Access) Conference, in Burbank. According to their website, "the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research." Their website is full of information--political, medical, legal.

ASA is the largest service organization for medical marijuana patients, both in the 11 states where it's currently legal (for seriously ill patients), and in those where it's not, but people risk their freedom to use it medicinally anyway.

The Conference, at the Pickwick Gardens Conference Center, was inspiring and fun. Yes, there were some people who looked like stoners, but there were others in short hair, and even a few in suits. Workshops on activism and media messaging. Booths full of books, hemp products, bumper stickers.

Just like at any other conference, there was free swag, piled in the center of each table. Everyone's favorite--edibles! Before you laugh, remember that some medical marijuana patients must ingest their medicine several times a day. Smoking is the quickest method, but hard on the throat.

There were samples of rice crispy treats, peanut butter cups, truffles, and cherry-flavored tea. These are the edibles which people (usually law enforcement, or members of the "prevention community") freak out about--saying it's proof the medical marijuana industry is targeting our vulnerable children.

Which leads us to an article from yesterday's NYTimes, Anywhere the Eye Can See, It's Likely to See an Ad.If the article goes offline, I posted my two favorite images from it below. Ads for CBS fall shows stamped onto eggs, and ads for Children's Tylenol, printed into the paper sheets and paper pillow cases on pediatricians' examining tables.

The main ingredient in Tylenol is acetominaphen, which is in 100s of over-the-counter drugs, as well as dozens of prescription ones. The only problem is acetominaphen poisoning has become the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S. (about 500 deaths yearly). Many consumers don't realize they're overdosing on acetaminophen, because the FDA (the same FDA that refuses to acknowledge that marijuana has any medicinal uses at all) doesn't require that over-the-counter medicines containing acetaminophen to state so on the front of the package.

I think on a deeper, unconscious level, the prevention people freak out because a marijuana candy bar--even if legally available only to qualified patients--is the ultimate symbol that marijuana has been accepted into our "system". That it's been legitimized. And they're right in a way: If a product is allowed to enter the marketplace, then it's out of control, coming right at ya, from every direction.

That's the story. What do you think?

-Harvey