It is Independence Day! The Glorious Fourth! And here in Thailand it is appropriate that
marijuana has recently been legalized (perhaps) and we can now smoke high-THC
weed recreationally. Cannabis was taken
off the prohibited drug list three weeks ago on Jun 9, and free-enterprising
sellers have set up shop throughout Bangkok.
And very high-potency ganga is offered.
I didn’t expect this, and neither
did most people. There were no plans in
place for regulating it, except for “public nuisance” prohibitions for smoking
in public and a THC-content limit on extracts.
It is a sudden rush of freedom.
Yet, it is suspicious that such a reactionary
society could take such a libertarian step.
Some speculate that, because of the enormous profits from the weed trade
and the great stimulus this liberalization will give to the foreign tourism industry,
many of the power-brokers among the elite establishment here have their fingers
in the various money pies. Corruption is
endemic everywhere here.
I am skeptical about how long this
free market era of freedom will last without stupid regulations from the
political class. A committee is now drawing
up new regulations (due around August), and I predict a slew of nonsensical laws
from politicians, bureaucrats, and their cronies.
But in the meantime, I’ve visited two
dispensaries in Bangkok to buy the legal limit of 3 grams from each. One shop was staffed by mostly Americans and
the other by Thais. Each shop was
consumer-friendly in the best traditions of free-market capitalism – offering a
great product at competitive prices along with very supportive advice. (As my father always explained to me, as we
sold our farm’s milk and eggs to the public, the customers’ preferences and
satisfaction are of the most importance.)
I intend to visit several more of
the weed dispensaries in the city, out of curiosity but also from the desire to
stock up a decent personal stash in case the government goons decide to crush
this renaissance of free-market cooperation between buyers and sellers.
This stuff is powerful, far beyond
our 60s and 70s experiences. I always
tend to micro-dose, limiting my indulgence to two or three tokes, enough to get
a buzz and still be able to be energized and motivated. This mode of usage gets me to exercise, to
move out, and to heal. It especially
gets me to have much more intense Tai Chi sessions.
I have been quite crippled for the
last several months with severe hip pain.
I had not fallen, and I couldn’t explain it. Last week, my doctors speculated that I have
suffered compression of the lower spine due to lifting heavy stuff at home recently. The pain has been so bad that I must walk
with a cane, and only short distances at that.
I am curious about how marijuana (the THC-high smoking type) affects
this recent episode of pain.
The pain is always uneven,
inconsistent and unpredictable. But after
two weeks of intermittent toking of weed, I no longer have to use my cane for
large portions of my day. Grass doesn’t
relieve pain, but I’ve always thought of it as allowing me to “climb up through
the pain”. It kind of forces me to pace my
movements carefully.
I am going to observe this personal
use of cannabis more thoroughly and try to see to whether it actually does have
consistent healing effects on me. On the
plus side, it does make music sound so much more intense.
-Zenwind.
.
