In a message dated 12/13/99 6:57:53 PM EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << I just don't know what to say in response to that..I guess..get some perspective..is about all that comes to mind. I don't want to be like the poster boy for drug use, because drugs certainly aren't all smiles and rainbows, but the part they've played in society(not just music and the creative process) is immesureable. The first cultivated plant was Cannibis, for the simple reason that it made those long, boring days of hunting almost bearable. It also slowed down the nervous system, and allowed someone to remain incredibly still for long periods of time, which I'm told, is extremely important to hunting game which though they can't see you, can hear you move from quite a distance. Other than being the spring board for cultivation and civilized society, the part they've played in spirtuality, and in helping us to understand very complex abstract ideas, is also quite profound. Forgetting all that crap with which you may or may not agree, drugs can be fun. Whats the difference in paying ten bucks to see a movie, which last two hours, and is just as much a replacement of our dreary reality for another as compared to buying a dime bag..and having the effects last significantly longer? Your a product of society that has found it immensely profitable to demonize drugs, take a step back every once in a while. >> and likewise, i would ask you to get some perspective. i would be interested in knowing where you find cannabis to be the first cultivated plant, which, though possibly true, also sounds like some pro-pot propaganda. calling drugs the "spring board for cultivation and civilized society" is an incredibly silly contention, even if your questionable facts are true. . .learning to keep still while hunting, though advantageous, is hardly the concrete upon which civilization was built. as someone else said, i think i have quite a firm understanding of "complex abstract ideas" without the aid of drugs, and while it may be great to pseudo-philosophize on how drugs have "shown you the light" or "expanded your mind," it is a lionization of something that otherwise has created a lot of apathy or harm. and a lot of the shit that has come out of "understanding complex abstract ideas" through drug use (and this is a generic, somewhat stereotypical statement, and there are exceptions to the rule) comes off as very trite and superficial (akin to someone saying they're spiritual because they watch "touched by an angel")- if actual, physical and chemical inebriation is so necessary to understanding, then how much of a comment is it, considering that most of society, including potheads, don't spend the majority of their time inebriated? and, i don't want to even start on druggie and pothead humor, which is reason alone to get rid of drugs. another important thing to note is your mention of our "dreary reality." it seems pretty key in understanding your personal psychology. maybe, instead of masking your "dreary reality" it would do you good to affect real change. don't get me wrong, i get bored too, and i'm not offering some sort of pseudo-psychological self-help bullshit. lastly, you're watching the wrong movies for the wrong reasons. i watch bad movies simply to watch bad movies, but good movies stay with me for a long time, and do a hell of a lot more than offer two hours of escape from a dreary reality. admittedly, speaking as a film student. don't get me wrong. i'm not opposed to people taking drugs, when done so responsibly. i think drugs should be legalized, and i don't agree with government dictating choice (like outlawing prostitution, or enforcing helmet and seatbelt laws). but i think that sometimes the influence and products of drugs are way overestimated. likewise, sometimes it's underestimated. but, for as much good as drugs may or may have not done, there's an equal (and in all probability, greater) amount of harm done. no personal attacks meant, star
