Medicine, Merriment, Money, Mafia and Myth about Marijuana
By Dr Basheer Ahmed Khan
Garden Grove, CA
Abuse of narcotics by those seeking relief from their physical ailments and psychological distress has come to light at last and has drawn the attention of authorities as it should. Loss of productive life and the actual life by this menace is distressing, and the abuse of this potent drug is unconscionable. The remedies which are taken by executive actions and referendums seem to be falling short. The government, in search of revenue, seems to be succumbing to the same weaknesses of man which it suffered before.
Pleasure and pain may go hand in hand, but to assume that pain can be lost in pleasure is sadism. Feel good is not a substitute for real good. This is what we seem to be doing in our war against abuse of opioids and only replacing it with Marijuana; it may be a lesser evil as compared to synthetic opioids and their derivatives. Marijuana does not kill but it will surely push many more valuable lives into ignominy of its abuse by making them unproductive and a liability on families and societies while the cultivators, the peddlers, the stock market and the government will be making fortune.
Many a talented artist through their death in the prime of their lives have demonstrated to us the dangers of synthetic opioids and other modern medicinal narcotics. Marijuana and poppy are the oldest natural narcotic and psychedelics known to man and its use and abuse is well known.
The town where I grew up was a sleepy town with not much employment opportunities. The recreational avenues were also limited. Therefore, there were quite a few Marijuana and poppy addicts whom I had the opportunity to watch. As the people could not afford a relatively safe alcoholic beverage which they extracted from palm trees they were using some concoctions to kill themselves. I used to watch them too. I used to watch the operation of this whole menace by gangs controlled by the local mafia of rich and politically influential people. I have also seen how poppy was used by the jogis and malangs to molest young boys and girls during my practice of medicine. Often, we treated dozens of them who were victims of the orgy by these thugs.
One thing I observed in the behavior and outcome of life of different types of addicts was: those who used Marijuana were timid and polite immersed in their own surreal world. They usually jointed at makeshift graves and temples. Some of them lived around the wrestling arenas (akhadas) where they functioned as oracles and promoted betting on wrestlers. Withdrawal symptoms were not seen because of the cheap and easy accessibility of the substance. They were heedless about their food, health and other issues as a result of poverty and because of the stoicism induced by Marijuana. As it suppresses pain its users are unaware of what is going on and, therefore, they don’t trouble the doctors and health industry which may be welcomed by the industry for its own reasons. It is only the coroner who sees the underlying cause of death of these addicts or the student of anatomy who sees it as he dissects the cadaver. They were not a big problem to law enforcement except when they were behind the wheel, and there were not many cars and scooters in those days.
On the other hand, those that were addicted to alcohol were bold, quarrelsome and aggressive and were a law and order menace.
Looking at the above profile of the Marijuana addict and alcoholic and opioid addicts, and looking at the law and order and health care problem we face, promoting Marijuana might be an intellectually and economically sound alternative, but it is not morally good either for individuals or for society. It is only another experiment in social engineering and an exploitation of the gullible that are pumped high in the name of freedoms by the peers and press. There is no substitute to restraints on dangerous abuse of freedoms even if they are under the protection of law. There is no substitute to age-old morality of honesty, sincerity, truthfulness and fidelity.
Practice of these values at individual level alone is not enough. They should be practiced by the governments and industry and all those who participate in it. A society and an administration rooted in these values alone can give not just hope and promise but an opportunity to all to live a healthy, productive and peaceful life. The earlier we understand this, the better it would be for us and our society.
