The last gasps of prohibitionism in the 5th Dimension

A flavor that is no longer strange in my mouth

The year 2023 ended with an agro flavor for all supporters and defenders of cannabis and it is hypocritical to say the least that we are more than halfway through 2024 and do not have the plant regulated like anything else in Portugal. Yes, I'm starting an article like that. No introduction. Did I wake up with my feet hanging out today? No, dear readers.

Frankly and openly, I think I speak for everyone when I write that we are all tired of being deceived by successive parties, from the left to the right, from the center, to the “alternatives”, about proposed laws that never pass, sometimes due to lack of knowledge in the matters that the inhabitants of the hemicycle present in the matters they discuss, sometimes due to their voting discipline and more recently with new elections after a new dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic / fall of the António Costa government.

Still, on my daily trips between videos, I see an advertisement for alcohol, among many others that are allowed on the internet, with cues like “Come, between us there is always room for one more” as a well-known beer brand presents in its latest wave of online advertisements. For the most unwary, this quote from the aforementioned advertisement is neuro-linguistic programming, taking advantage of the common citizen's sense of belonging and identity. If you drink, you belong to the group. Right below, whether it was not mandatory by the Portuguese state, I read “Be responsible. Drink in moderation.” Ajavarda, but try not to kill anyone on the road ahead.

“It is our right not to have to go to dubious stores to purchase synthetic cannabinoids, of which we know so little, compared to a product of natural origin that has extensive literature”

Seemingly mundane situations like this demonstrate not only hypocrisy, but also a lack of respect on the part of successive governments towards the hundreds of thousands of citizens who pay their taxes, do not cause any nuisance in society (except for stupid moralists) and who frequently consume cannabis in their most varied forms in Portugal. It is true that ignorance kills. In this case, it continues to ruin the lives of families, relatives and friends who just want to live a decent life in society and who, even after more than 20 years of decriminalization, continue to have their lives turned upside down by a simple plant. This plant, after more than 10.000 years of use, continues to fail to victimize anyone, other than the stock the pantry and the refrigerator.

Photo: DR

Santa Maria Pray for Us Smokers

So what options do we have? We can wait and become a living stereotype. Alternatively, we can initiate and maintain a process of civil disobedience on several fronts. May direct activism continue on the streets and various social networks. We applaud the return of the march that returned to the streets this year! Still, there is a border never before broken by our neighborhood. The right to assembly and religious worship. Yes! Cannabis is used as a sacrament by different sects and ethnicities around the world. And not wanting anyone to convert to a pre-existing dogmatic religion, why not create an institution that protects ordinary citizens? With assembly and communion of the sacrament that is our Holy Mary? We are talking about a topic that, despite being divisive, is specifically based on the inalienable rights of each citizen, because life is a school, but never just duties.

Because it is our right not to have to go to dubious stores to purchase synthetic cannabinoids, of which we know so little, compared to a product of natural origin that has extensive literature, even though it has suffered, in various forms, from prohibitionism over the last few years. thousands of years, which now appear and disappear like a spotlight on the stage. The plant remains there, on the stage, waiting for the day when they see and treat it as a sacred spirit that contains wisdom and powers and not as a demon that came to corrupt humanity.

And although the end of prohibitionism looms as these words are written, as Germany and Spain, one the strongest economic power on the continent, the other the agricultural center of the European Union, have begun discussions of tight regulation and taxation of a natural herb, and even though these major milestones dictate the end of the witch hunt, other new struggles begin for true normalization at a cultural level and in the social fabric of the plant. Without stigmas, nor prejudices that took a few generations to eradicate as the forms of xenophobia that they are.

“Enough of asking “please” for something that, more than driving us crazy and in delusional paranoia, helps so many to be better citizens, to live with a better quality of life and humanity”

Regardless of each person's personal opinion, we are done hiding with the medicinal value of the plant, which exists and is certainly undervalued, the result of decades of persecution of a plant. If there are studies proving that there is no long-term damage, if we even have a recent case that tasks such as driving are not negatively affected when administered alone, what are we waiting for? Of ceasing to be on the side of logical and empirical reason?

Enough of asking “please” for something that, more than driving us crazy and in delusional paranoia, helps so many to be better citizens, to live with a better quality of life and humanity. It doesn't matter which party you vote for and regardless of who is in government, it matters that you demand, as long as they sit in S.Bento's chair, what is rightfully yours, in this and other socio-economic matters. Full stop.