The News Goes to "Pot"

Heard a variant of this today...

If the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos each win their conferences and go to the Super Bowl in the New Jersey Meadowlands on February 2, would it be known as The Marijuana Bowl, more easily known as, "The Pot Bowl"?

I didn't hear this on a late night Comedy Central show or an HBO comedy special. No, this was reported on Fox and Friends at 7am on Saturday morning.

At first, I found it funny because both Washington State and Colorado permit recreational marijuana, and New Jersey permits medical marijuana. Who would advertise? Magic Paper? Bong, Inc? Or, Betty Hines Special Brownie Mix?

But then, I realized there is a serious side to all this.  The laws surrounding marijuana in this country are outdated for our time, especially as it relates to med marijuana. Even if it helps only a small or moderate number of people medically, isn't it worth it? Every drug has a benefit when used as intended.

While I'm not advocating the legalization of heroin or cocaine, their cousin morphine is a great drug for post-surgical pain. And at one time, both these drugs were used as pain-killers, too. Natural drugs are actually better for us than synthetic painkillers, like percoset, vicodin or dilaudet.

So, marijuana is proven to have some real medical benefit, as well. Twenty states have recognized this since 1996, and ten days ago, Governor Cuomo of New York called for the legalization of "pot" for medical use. And, just this week, the New Hampshire state legislature voted to legalize its usage recreationally and, I believe, medically.

If a perceived conservative cable tv channel is willing to display a sense of humor about marijuana in a news report, perhaps it's time to have a grown-up discussion on this very important subject. By continuing to keep it in the shadows, it's like the ostrich burying its head in the sand.  If we don't discuss it, either it doesn't exist, or it will go away. 

Trust me, friends, it won't. It is here to stay. Even the President and the legislature of Uruguay get it and legalized it recently. And no joke was made of that.

And, by the way, have a cup of "tea".