Pubdate: Thu, 03 Mar 2016
Source: Langley Advance (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.langleyadvance.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248
Author: Matthew Claxton

WHO HAS TIME FOR LEGAL POT?

Later this year or sometime in 2017, marijuana is likely to become
legal in Canada. It was one of the Liberals' promises during the
election, and if they don't keep it Ottawa will no doubt find a horde
of cranky stoners standing in front of Parliament, under a cloud of
fury (and also a cloud of pot smoke).

I've never smoked pot or munched on a pot brownie, which makes me a
little unusual among people who grew up in the Lower Mainland in the
last few decades.

I don't know why I've never tried pot. Maybe it was the highly
effective anti-drug talk I was given when I was young. (Getting a
recovering crack addict to talk in blunt terms about almost dying is
effective on most eight-year-olds.) Maybe it was because I and my
friends were boring nerds - our drug of choice was caffeine and role
playing game sessions.

Part of it was that I distrust any product produced by associates of
the Hells Angels in mildew-infested rental housing. I mean, it's not
as if illegal pot is regularly inspected to ensure it's free of
pesticides, herbicides, fungi, spider eggs, and other random
adulterants. You can't call the Ministry of Agriculture to complain if
you think that "organic" pot you got from your friend's friend is
actually coated with Roundup.

But now, legal pot is on the horizon. And soon you will be able to get
organic pot, and government-inspected pot, and pot with relatively
well known dosages in measured quantities, bought from a store and not
some guy who smells like the carpeting in the back of a '78 Chevy van.

So I wondered=C2=85 should I try some?

I could buy a pot brownie at the Liquor Store or wherever it ends up
being sold, and then=C2=85

And here my idea started running into the rocks of
reality.

I wouldn't want to take any on a work night, of course. I get up
early, and I'm fuzzy enough in the mornings when I'm crammed full of
caffeine. I don't know how I'd react to pot, so I'd rather not try to
slog through a day of work if I was still even slightly fuzzy.

So that would leave the weekends. Saturday or Sunday.

But the days are getting longer and brighter, and I was hoping to get
out on my bike more often. Vegging out on the couch for half the day
isn't exactly compatible with a fifty kilometre ride.

And I wouldn't want any pot after I got back from a ride=C2=85 I've got
bathrooms to clean, and floors to mop. And then there are groceries to
buy, errands to run - I need to be able to drive for most of my weekend!

Vacation? Well, I was hoping to actually get away to the Island the
next time I'm off. More driving, there.

Honestly, I'm in awe of your average pot user.

I just don't know when they find the time for their hobby. I'm not
going to have enough until I retire.
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MAP posted-by: Matt