There has been an interesting trend in Sweden lately. The legalization debate is blowing up. It is really interesting to observe the clash of the ”information age” vs the long since initiated ”age of indoctrination”. What's up for discussion at the moment is mostly the use of cbd-oil. Yes. You heard right. Cbd-oil. It doesn't (hardly) contain any THC. It does not get you high. One person in a pro-legalize facebook group shared his story. Apparently he had been stopped in a traffic control by the police. He had honestly stated that he had CBD-oil at home. The police proceeded to take his driver's licence and actually went to search his home. They found the oil and took it. A year later the man was informed (by trafikverket) that his license will be revoked. That is the level of progressiveness we have to work with at the moment.
Just to be clear: there are no registered deaths from an overdose of marijuana. According to the world health organization 3,3 million people die from drinking alkohol each year. Tobacco claims 7 million lives annually.
What’s been happening specifically in Sweden is that the police raided a herbal medicin company called Scandinavian hemp. They seized their inventory on claims of it being illegal despite the fact that the CBD-oil that they are selling is grown by licensed Swedish farmers and that they are using the male plant which has no or extremely little THC in it. The police seem to have done this in the hope of letting the courts try the legality of the product once and for all, even though hemp products legality has been previously confirmed in the Swedish supreme court. Needless to say - this has upset a lot of people benefitting from the natural medicin. In addition this seem to have stirred up some new found energy with the legalization crowd, myself included. The case swiftly passed through the first level of the Swedish justice system (tingsrätten). It is rumored that the prosecutor(s) intend to take the case to the highest level. They are pushing the line that using cbd-oil impedes driving and that using it while driving should be classified as driving under the influence.
At the same time discussions are blowing up all over social media. The Swedish police for instance has a tendency to publicly and proudly announce their capturing of home grown weed plants. This has instigated a massive amount of discussions on their facebook-pages. There are also several Scandinavian/Swedish facebook groups where discussions are going hot.
Since things are happening quite fast, a part of me feels that, there are people on both sides of the rope who really wishes to push the issue to light.
This is in all honesty somewhat of a personal issue for me. About a year ago I publicly announced in my podcast that I enjoy the use of certain drugs and that I strongly believe in the positive effects of some substances that we today label illegal.
Since then I have been shamed, questioned and guilt tripped by family and close friends. Most hurting have been to see a few of them distance themselves from me out of fear. I know they come from a place of love but I sincerely feel that uneducated opinion and un-based fear is utterly useless to me in this and most other life situations. Also, if you fear the path I am on - don’t exclude me from your life, instead talk to me about what scares you so we can come passed that fear. I still want to know about your life. I’m still the same person. I might not be physically present right now, but I still very much exist.
I did not put you through this of selfish reasons. This was something that I have been keeping close to my chest for years and ”coming out” was a big decision (and relief). I made that decision because I feel that the restrictions surrounding drugs, imposed upon by the state, are unreasonable and unjust. I spoke up about my side, to hopefully inspire others to do the same. Trust me - there is a grand mass of people who do drugs on a more or less regular basis, that would never tell their family or friends. Especially in Oslo, where I made my real debut into the roam of shifted perspectives. More importantly I will be actively propagating for a general legalization so -you knowing, was inevitable. I apologize for any pain my decisions have caused any of my loved ones.
Contrary to popular (Swedish) belief there are numerous benefits of recreational drug use. This might be a bit off topic but I write what I want. So - Magic mushrooms, oooh the shrooms… Taken in a proper setting with the right people, can do wonders for connecting with nature and the universe, working through personal trauma, depression and rerouting unhealthy thought patterns. Not to mention the trippiness of it all. I see no reason to fear this shifted state of consciousness. Because that's what you do. You turn things around. See them differently. Open and expand your mind. Same goes for LSD (acid). Smoking weed can alleviate anxiety, reduce stress, act as pain relief, help you sleep (a big one for myself, due to my somewhat overly active mind) and increase your appetite. Extensive research has been made on the effects of cannabis. The discovery of the endocannabinoid system proves our bodies are naturally compatible with the weed plant since we have receptors in our brain and nervous system whose specific task it is to respond to the THC and CBD that are the main active cannabinoids, affecting people when smoking weed.
DMT deserves a post on its own. Perhaps in the future. Let’s just say I believe it has great potential to unlock humankinds full capacity through it’s revolutionary ability to completely shift peoples world views. Drugs or psychedelics might not be a magical quick fix to the problems humanity is facing but I certainly believe it has its role to play, in the awakening of the masses.
So whats next? Well, start speaking your mind! Stop sitting quietly and see the changes or consistencies pass you by without affecting them. Comment on articles or in groups irl and online, plant a hemp seed in a park or have a discussion with a politician or a friend. The only way to move forward is by putting the issue to light by bringing it up for discussion! In any case it’s a first step.
Some of you might think this is just about letting people grow a plant and stoners being allowed to get high. But to me it represents something more than that. If we let it, this could be the start of something big. The start of a shift in mass-consciousness. Away from ignorance, truly entering the information age, connecting dots in seconds that would have taken years a hundred years ago.
Finally: I enjoy smoking weed. I enjoy getting high. And I am not ashamed.
Peace.
Ps: this is en excerpt from one of the cannabis discussions I've been having at one of the regional police facebook pages (for my Swedish friends).