| COFFEEHOUSE CULTURE -- Issue 1 | ||
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PAGE FOUR; ARTICLE TWO; POLICY STATEMENT From Our Laugh-In Department ANTI-DRUGS POLICY -- SOME |
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| WHY IS IT THAT whenever we tell anyone that we have an anti-drugs policy, they fall about laughing? All right, so we know. But . . . . Ever felt misunderstood? We know that it looks ludicrous (not to say, hypocritical) for a publication called Coffeehouse Culture to say that it is 'anti-drugs'. How can it possibly be, when the whole coffeehouse thing is based around cannabis? So, if you could just stop laughing for a moment, we'll explain. Coffeehouse Culture is opposed to all drugs that have the potential to produce negative effects in the individual and society. Cannabis, however, is not such a ' drug'. At the heart of our anti-drugs policy is the belief that cannabis is a unique substance that should not be regarded as a drug. Compared with many more easily available substances, it is not only harmless but produces many positive effects. Due to small-minded, misinformed, megalomanic control freaks, cannabis has been forced into bad company. And, as was intended, its reputation has been tarnished by this association. Cannabis is not a harmful or particularly strong intoxicant, let alone a Class A Drug (as it is in England), so what is it doing in the company of such drugs as smack and speed? Even grouping it with alcohol would seem to be treating it too harshly. Let us remember that nobody ever went out for a night of smoking dope 'with the boys' and then went home and beat up his wife. Alcohol equals violence, crime, permanent physical damage and nasty stains on your clothes. With dope, however, you might need to lie down but you won't be wreaking much havoc or doing much retching. Everyone accepts that smack, speed, alcohol and tobacco lead to physical and mental degeneration and eventually death. Any inevitability about the end result is merely a reflection of the addictiveness of these substances. Stand that alongside the fact that there are NO recorded cannabis deaths. Well? The worst you'll get from dope smoking is a little short-term memory loss and a dry cough that can be cured by giving up the stuff for a few days. But still it is up there with the demons of 20th century society. The history of the prejudice, hypocrisy and self-interested manipulation that has been applied in placing and keeping cannabis use outside of the law is too big a subject for this shortish explanation. (It is not, however, a subject that Coffeehouse Culture will be hesitating to explore over the coming issues.) Except that . . . There is one aspect of this history that is overwhelmingly relevant here. And that is the way in which society has consistently chosen to ignore the many positive effects of cannabis use. We all know that cannabis is a good thing. Not only does it have many medical uses but it can turn animals into people and people into saints. Indeed, it produces so many effects that are generally considered socially desirable that it is incredible that it has not been made legal. But that brings us back to prejudice and hypocrisy. It is time for society to realign its views on cannabis so that they are more compatible with the truth. And, with its anti-drugs policy, Coffeehouse Culture is about to start that process off. |
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Or read these Page Four articles in Plain Text: Let the Good Times Roll |
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