215 And All That Jazz

Fifty Five, as I've been discovering, can feel like things other than a chronological age....and when it comes to 215, there's definitely more to it than the sands of time!
For this moment, so early in the morning that I should still be sleeping through from last night, Fifty Five shall reflect the struggles faced and overcome with the passage of Proposition 215, also known as the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
I know there may be some out there who just plain don't and/or won't accept cannabis as a qualified medical agent. Although a majority of American citizens feel it should be available for medicinal use, there are some who just can't get past the lies we were told.
Truth is, cannabis NEVER should have been taken out of the U.S. Pharmacopia. Truth is prohibition does not curb crime-it creates crime. Truth is nobody has died as a direct cause of being under the influence of cannabis. However, as the war against cannabis increased, so has the violence. Truth is truth.

During the Prop 215 campaign, Jack and I rode around California hanging posters and singing about medical cannabis. We were not always met with open arms...to the contrary, we were harrassed and chased out of a few neighborhoods, some of them even in San Francisco!

I am outraged and offended by the media's portrail of the people involved in the cannabis issue. Be it medical use or adult responsible use, there's no reason to demean users and their supporters as being lazy, shiftless, unreliable, uncreative, irresponsible, unwashed and unconscious. Heck! If we were all those things, Proposition 215 would never have seen the light of day, let alone influence 13+ states to examine and enact similar legislation.

But tabloid journalists must have their way....and easy jabs make for comfortable sponsors. I dare any reporter of any major network news agency to truly study and report about Cannabis prohibition, the history of Cannabis and Medical Cannabis and its proper legalization.

I talk about cannabis here...it's part of my life. It helps with my medical conditions and makes me feel okay. I am not addicted to pain pills or anything because of cannabis. So for today, in honor of Proposition 215 (which actually passed November 5 1996), Fifty Five will be the new 215...in the hopes that - NO! in the assured belief that the war against cannabis will end.