Freedom To Roll A Joint And Enjoy It Out In The Open

I love smoking pot. Absolutely love getting stoned. The joy of getting high on pot is second to only a few things in life. I like smelling it. I like eating it. I like smoking it. I like spending time making it with care. And why not? It makes everything better. It makes food better, it makes music better, it makes shitty Bollywood movies better. It makes sex freakin¡¯ amazing. Not to forget, it also freezes cancer cells, stopping them for spreading. And I'm not even going to get into how it can help raise revenues and curb drug trafficking. I can, but I won¡¯t.

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Whether you call me a drug addict or not, depends on how educated you are on the subject. Most of the people, who stand against, do so because either they aren't informed, or like most in the country, are just pricks who can't see others living in peace.

In India, a haven for marijuana lovers, with one of the finest forms of weed being cultivated all across the country, there are millions living their lives in ignorance. They are the same lot who are happy to voice radical opinions at the drop of a hat. It's also funny to an extent, because I would often find myself in a soup of sorts trying to have this debate, because more often than not, it's with the parents (not my parents, my dad is coolest guy you'd ever meet that way). Have you ever been in a debate knowing that there's no point to it because they just aren't willing to be open to someone else's perspective? A common trait, if you notice.

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The funniest was a few years back. I was at a party with my parents, when a distant 'modern' aunt of mine told me how it was just yesterday that she used to see me do this and that, and how, now that I'm in college, I should be wary of a few things. When I asked her to enlighten me, she went on to tell me how it's fine as long as I'm ¡®just¡¯ smoking and drinking, but to never get into smoking 'marijuana'. I found that a bit weird. Even though I hadn't started smoking back then, I had been reading a lot, and knew for a fact that alcohol, and cigarettes were vices far more harmful than pot. That's exactly what I told her; she obviously didn't take it too well. Before storming off, she told me about how people start hallucinating, become psychotic, start having seizures, and basically get possessed by the devil. Sure, there are strains strong enough, that might make you hallucinate, but possessed by the devil? Really? From then on, whenever she would invite us over, I would make sure I get there stoned, and tell her that I'm super blazed, but still waiting for my rendezvous with the devil. Since she wouldn't hear my argument, this was my way of civil disobedience.

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My problem is not with people; my problem is with the hypocrisy in society. Are you seriously telling me that you're okay with people losing control after consuming bhang, but not okay with people lighting a joint? Is this country really independent? In a land where the most feared god is pictured sitting in the Himalayas, smoking a chillum, you're going to put people behind bars for the possession of a few grams of weed? Are you choosing to be that ignorant? Or are you going to realise that it's not a big deal?

Millions are smoking pot every day, and we will carry on smoking regardless. But I don't want to do it behind closed doors. I shouldn't have to go up to the hills to do it out in the open either. I should be allowed to light my joint, standing next to the guy smoking his cigarette. I shouldn't have to give an explanation as to why my eyes are red, or why I¡¯m laughing so much. I shouldn't have to think twice before going to the park to chill and smoke with my friends. It is still better than being drunk out of my mind, don't you think? This freedom blog is for you, the asshole hiding in the crowd, threatening to put me behind bars for being happily stoned.

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Just to put things in perspective, let¡¯s look at Uruguay for a moment. It¡¯s a small country in South America smaller in size than even Uttar Pradesh. There, private citizens are now allowed to cultivate up to six plants in their houses form private grow clubs that produce significantly more. However, all sales must go through the federal government, which is supposed to set up a network of dispensaries and determine prices. By regulating marijuana, they saw success in lowering the tobacco smoking rate among young people from 32% to 12% since 2005, apart from preventing users from smoking potentially far more dangerous things. Currently, just 14% of Uruguayans between the age of 16 and 64 have used marijuana.

But in India, we¡¯d rather be regressive. Unfortunately I don¡¯t even care anymore. All I ask for is independence from you, and freedom from your preconceived notions that have been stifling me since birth. You don't have to agree with everyone, you can choose to question things that sound absurd, and if there¡¯s something that¡¯s bothering you about the other person, you¡¯re free to ignore. But it's been 68 years of independence, and we still don't have the freedom to be.

Note: The views expressed in the article are writer's own.