Stevieslaw: Legalizing Catnip
I have never known Smokey Diamond to be slow on the uptake. In fact, she usually has an uncanny ability to “sniff out” what is important to her in every word or action. “Quick as a cat,” I often say.
So, it was a little frustrating to me when I couldn’t quite make her understand the importance of the push by Uruguay’s President, Jose Mujica, to not only legalize marijuana but to sell it. Mujica was quoted as saying that “while drug addiction is a medical problem, drug trafficking is an unwinnable police problem.” Uruguay would be the first nation to sell marijuana directly.
I was finally able to get Smokey’s attention by telling her that it was reported as news by our local newspaper, the CDT. “News, “she responded “In the CDT.” “Was Sandusky in Uruguay” she asked?
“Listen,” Smokey said, “What is the difference if you buy weed from the government or from the kid on the corner. It’s not like it’s illegal here or anything dumb like that.”
It took me some time to convince Smokey that in spite of the fact that all but nine people in the United States over the age of 10 have tried pot, it is illegal to smoke it here.
Smokey was stricken. I could see fear in her usually fearless eyes.
“What about catnip,” she hissed?