by Walter Holstad

Created on: March 16, 2009   Last Updated: March 19, 2009

Like any of God's gifts, there is a time, a place, and a purpose for Marijuana. Websters New World dictionary c.1990 says: 1. Hemp 2. its dried leaves and flowers, smoked, esp. as cigarettes, for euphoric effects. That's a pretty basic and unbiased explanation of the plant. There is really nothing wrong or bad about the plant, apart from legal restrictions placed upon it by our present society, yet it does have some pluses and minuses as to what it is useful for.

For one thing, let's say I am sitting here at my computer reading up on how to use Linux or program in C. Let's say I smoke some marijuana at this point. Suddenly focusing on something as technical and structured as programming a computer may seem a little boring and difficult. I will likely at this point turn on some music, pick up my guitar, or go clean the bathroom. All very therapeutic activities that do not stress the mind in a difficult way but in an easy and relaxed way. A walk in the park at this point or down by the river would also be extremely pleasant as sights and sounds are magnified in their beauty as is my ability to notice them. Therefore unless you are working on your music homework you may want to be careful about indulging while studying.

The main draw backs to Marijuana usage are artificially created by society and its laws. People's paranoia and insecurity are heightened along with their other emotions sometimes and brought out by the fact that what they are doing is looked down upon by society. If society believed that using Marijuana was an excellent and healthy thing to do, Marijuana users would not feel so insecure and paranoid when they were using it very likely. Of course that is something we cannot really know because we would need a control group of people who lived in a society where marijuana use is not frowned upon at all and perceived as completely healthy and then we could study whether their use of marijuana made them feel paranoid and insecure.

One problem I faced with marijuana use in this regard was my tendency toward activism. I therefore would say things at work that would get me into trouble and I took people too seriously. I felt that conscientiously I had to quit because I said something off base when in actuality the laws of the United States are very severe but the actual people of it generally are not.

I said I didn't want the job I was doing, in passing, because of the drug test that would be required of me upon taking it. I was working through a temporary

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