Pubdate: Fri, 04 Mar 2016
Source: Quesnel Cariboo Observer (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Quesnel Cariboo Observer
Contact:  http://www.quesnelobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1260
Author: Matthew Claxton

IN AWE OF THE AVERAGE POT USER

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... should I try some?

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

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... 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: Jay Bergstrom