The New NORML

It’s been a long time coming (as the song said) but finally, The United States (or parts of it) have come to the realization that marijuana isn’t the horrible evil our ancestors viewed it to be.

In a quest to fund government, several states have found it convenient to legalize the “Evil Weed” and collect taxes on its consumption, much as they do with alcohol.  As it is with a lot of things, it’s a bad idea until we run out of ways to collect taxes.  Then, things that were once considered horrible - alcohol, gambling, and cigarettes - are now wonderful because the states can tax them.  Resistance is futile, and the resistance has met its match with marijuana.  States have run out of ways to tax us, so now, marijuana is no longer considered vile.  It’s a revenue source, which makes it ... well, a good idea.

Today is April 20.  Once considered an inside joke among pot heads, it has now become a national media day of recognition.  As it is with a lot of things, once the media attaches itself to something, it is no longer hip or relevant, and becomes a horrible “outside joke” that is a tongue-in-cheek version of what was once kind of cool.  Guys in suits joking about pot.  Yeah, that’s funny.

We are forced to endure the stupid pot references and jokes that border on sexual innuendo because ... well, it’s drugs - and drugs are bad, right?  I liked it better when it was in the background.

One of the great things about following unpopular bands is that you can go to small venues like the Electric Factory, Theater of the Living Arts, Underground Arts, and Union Transfer to see them.  Once they become popular, it’s harder (if not impossible) to get tickets to larger places where they don’t sound as good and are forced to pander to their popularity.  The “inside joke” has vanished in lieu of the popularity.

It will happen - sooner than later - that marijuana will go from the inside joke to the popular choice.  Be prepared to go through the jokes, innuendo, and snide remarks about being high, even though it is legal.  They’ll tax the shit out of it, and you’ll be able to get it from a local dispensary, but at what price?

You may find that you were better off when you had to hide it.

What’s next? The sex trade.  More on that later.

It's Not All About Starbucks

The events of the past week are ridiculous on so many levels that it's almost funny.

When I read Tweets about it, I had no idea what had happened - only that something shitty happened at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.  Being a scant 20 minutes from the location, I felt odd that I didn't know what was going on.  Well - we all know now, so there's no need to recap.

The finger was pointed at Starbucks, but the real finger should have been pointed at the Philadelphia police department and the individual who called them to quell the so-called disturbance.  You see, Starbucks owns and operates 19,300 locations in the United States alone, and singling-out one for some racist behavior (so they say) is both unfair and ridiculous. Whether or not the two men violated store policy by asking to use the rest room without purchasing anything is minor.  Refusing to leave is the issue, and the cops needed to be sensitive to the problem.  Arresting them was the worst-case scenario.

As it is with today's society, activists jumped on the story.  Partly because it involved two black men, and partly because there is a genuine hatred for Starbucks, akin to the Walmart hate and the Facebook hate.  It's hate, and when something happens to one of those hated franchises, activists are quick to jump on the bandwagon because it's fueled by the attitude of, "See, I told you they were horrible" idea that permeates big corporations in America.

The Big Picture, however, has been lost in the protests and the hate and the racism.  What is the Big Picture?

Pooping and peeing.

Yep.  That very thing that all of us do, and we have to either hide, hold in, or find a place to do it.  When we are out in public, the second thing that crosses our minds is, "Where can I pee?"  I put it second because there's probably something more important than that.  Otherwise, when we are out in public and do not have to pee, we feel like we dodged a bullet of sorts, because there isn't always a McDonald's, Wawa, or other such public place where one can dodge in and grab a quick rest room break without having to purchase a product or plead, "Can I PLEASE use your bathroom?"

It's odd, in this century, to have to worry about such a thing.  After all, it's the one (or two) things that all of us do - even though we don't like to talk about it.  We all pee and poop.  C'mon, America. Admit it.  And generally, we're happy to poop, because it's one less thing we have to think about.  There's nothing quite like a good bowel movement, and the older you get, the more you appreciate it.

It's not like we can duck behind a building or run into a back alley, drop our zipper (men) and pee someplace.  In today's world, there's a camera posted that will likely run your public pee video on YouTube for all to see.

So yes, the issue isn't Starbucks, or racism, or the cops, or whatever else you want to march against.  The issue is public rest rooms, and why there aren't more of them, given the fact that it's the only thing we really need when we're out someplace.

If you want to protest something, start there.