AN INTERVIEW WITH THE WEASEL ABOUT GANJA

With the election now over, it's time to take a look back and see what
happened. We saw Referendum C pass while D failed; everyone knows this was
the most discussed issue on the ballot. The most discussed issue now,
though, seems to be Initiative 100. I-100 passed with a 53 percent vote
"legalizing" the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.

I know the legalization of cannabis (let's see how many different terms I
can use today) is a high-priority grassroots issue for Coloradans (pun
intended). With this in mind, I decided to write a column about the issue
after interviewing a prominent member of the weed community here in Fort
Collins who smokes "copious amounts of ganja" and also happens to be a good
friend, known as the "Weasel."

I asked the Weasel about his thoughts on I-100 and the legalization of
marijuana and he thought the I-100 measure would do little to help legalize
marijuana other than making the issue a hotly discussed topic right now.
The initiative hasn't done much more than that, because although the voters
in Denver have spoken, state laws supersede city laws. Denver police will
continue to write citations for the petty offense.

On the issue of the actual legalization, the Weasel said the hypocrisy at
hand is that the state looks down on cheeba, but has no problem with
alcohol. Indeed the I-100 campaign even raised these same talking points
about being high versus being drunk.

The Weasel asserts being high is different for everyone, but it's not near
as debilitating as being drunk. He also told me the government clearly has
an alternate agenda with pot because of the propaganda they put out against
the substance.

The examples he points to are the ads of a kid wrecking his dad's car into
a tree and someone shooting himself as a result of being high. These are
gross exaggerations of a high experience, says the Weasel. He did caution
the legalization of Aunt Mary would indeed have to come with some sort of
legislation regarding the use and abuse thereof.

"I don't want Woodstock in the street man, I just want to smoke some
ganja," he said.

Public use of yandi would be a bad thing, the Weasel told me, but it would
be a hard thing to enforce as there's no "breathalyzer for Buddha." He said
it does make sense to limit people's interaction with something that alters
your state of mind and a car, which I fully agree with.

What I don't agree with is the legalization of marijuana, even though I see
a very convincing argument for it. Indeed, alcohol is a much more harmful
substance with addictive properties - there's no question. The issue I have
with it is that I just don't see any good that could come from it. There
are obvious economic gains that could be derived from legalizing the
substance, but I don't see anything of importance after that. I don't smoke
reefer and if I ever drink, I never have more than two drinks.

I'm not saying I never drank or anything, but the point is that I don't
now. All that to say, I don't promote the use of one substance over the
other; I think you're better off not using either of them. The Weasel told
me a strong culture exists for grass-smokers, and a government that ignores
them and oversteps their boundaries to outlaw it is not doing what it
should be doing. I recognize the Weasel's arguments as valid, even good,
but I think whether you're going to smoke some bud or drink some Bud,
you're better off just staying sober. I know this is a daunting reality for
many of you and yes, it's a brave new world when you have to actually use
your personality to socialize, but I think every one of you could do it if
you wanted to. I'm not advocating prohibition, I see nothing wrong with a
glass of wine here or a beer there, but I do see plenty of things wrong
with getting drunk. While getting high is not as debilitating as getting
drunk, the point is it still is debilitating. People do drink not to get
drunk; I don't know many people that smoke without the intention of getting
high (someone out there might but I've never met them). Being that as the
case, I think we should keep it illegal. The Weasel thinks differently. Now
you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Tyler Wittman is a senior speech communication major. His column runs every
Tuesday in the Collegian.