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Tom O'Brien
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12/31/2012 9:32:10 AM
---- Updated 12/31/2012 9:33:03 AM
Do you get high?
We just legalized marijuana in my state of Washington. We never talk about marijuana here at IAC, but I imagine there are a few of you out there who indulge.
I used to smoke when I was younger - mostly at concerts and parties, but it was never a daily thing for me, and I never even purchased any. Flash forward to about 6 months ago, and my girlfriend and I decided to get some just to experiment with making our sex life better. Lo and behold, we found that we loved it! So we have become regular users and it is definitely affecting my song-making as well as my painting and writing. I can't believe I went so long without discovering how it enhances your senses when you're making art!
So I wrote this song to celebrate it being legal here. The people really did take the power.
Listen to it here:Legal High
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Stoneman
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12/31/2012 2:49:37 PM
Nice song Tom, Love that Reggae groove about the ganja! I smoked my first joint when I was 8 years old. My older cousin got me high. He thought he was helping me to nurse my pains from a severe beating I took. It did. Yeah, I smoked during my childhood and then quit for many years while I was a prison chaplain. But then around about 1993 I was diagnosed with a tumor and had to do chemo. A friend re-introduced me to weed in order to help with the nausea. Ever since then I have used it to treat a plethora of ailments. It is especially helpful in dealing with pain. It's not that the pain is gone, its just that I can zone out of it and into other things like music. Pain management is a daily struggle for me. But the herb is the only medication that I don't pay for. Also, there aren't a bunch of side effects like with other prescription medications. I have a medical card. It is legal for me to grow my own here in Cali. So I do every year. But yeah, it is quite the enhancer for many things including art. I seldom smoke though. I use a vaporizer in order to avoid the bi-products of smoke. It's a healthier way to ingest and you use a lot less herb. But it is not as intense as eat weed cookies and cakes. I had some bad experiences with that.
I think it is a shame that it is illegal to non-prescribed people here. It is the wonder drug that can be used for so many beneficial ways. Plus, compared to other drugs i.e. Alcohol, narcotics etc. It is relatively harmless. I have some veteran friends in PTSD therapy that use it to control the triggers of PTSD. It certainly keeps me in a mellow mood and I haven't had night sweats or battle flashes in several years now.
In addition to this, one of the things that I noticed when I worked in corrections was that there were a lot of people locked up for selling weed. To posses a small amount was a fine/ticket offense. But to have a large quantity was considered a sales charge punishable by prison time. There is a whole lot of men and women in prison for selling weed. Ironically, the strongest union in California is the Corrections union while many of the prisons are now privately owned. The biggest crop in California? You guessed it, Weed! So, we have a system that locks people up in order to keep the prisons full which helps to increase the bottom line of the prison owners and its all driven by the cultivation and sale of a drug considered illegal. Of course in the last few years that has been modified because the people voted it legal for people with medical needs. I hope the tide will change so it will be legal here some day. Once it becomes legal, many so called criminals will be able to get out of jail and function in a legitimate way.
Much Respect!
Stoneman
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Chandra Moon
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1/1/2013 3:02:02 AM
I was a true child of the sixties and used all sorts of drugs till I married and had kids and never went back to anything chemical again. I started doing meditation in the early 70s and found a way to a natural high. I used to smoke weed at parties and festivals later and enjoyed it till relatively recently. Just haven't felt like it in ages but I've never said never again. I hate smoking though so I definitely wouldn't use tobacco again. I think weed can definitely enhance feelings and sensations in both a good and bad way depending how it goes but I certainly don't regret having experimented with just about everything at some point. Some of the weed available in the UK now (skunk) is just so strong though that it does make people go psychotic!
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Tom O'Brien
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1/4/2013 2:02:14 AM
Yeah, I have the feeling that the weed influences a lot of music-making. I wonder how drugs in general have shaped the history of music. It doesn't ever get discussed in books or articles, but we all know it has had a lot to do with music as a culture. I know I make choices on marijuana that I might not make when straight. And they almost always improve my music. It's as if I can hear everything at once and all clearly.
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Steve White
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1/8/2013 7:03:24 AM
Yep I smoke daily.
I have a MM Card and have had it for about three years now. It helps a lot for my condition which is Chronic Lyme Disease. I had Lyme for over 20 years before they figured out what was wrong with me so the damage was pretty bad.
I smoke when I record or play music. Everything on my page I did high. We have centers opening soon so I hope that helps with the cost cause it's expensive!
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Texas Willie
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1/25/2013 6:15:33 AM
Hey Tom, I love this song man...Great Job. I also love the fact that I live in Washington too. Ain't nothing like a bowl of pungent sticky bud to get the juices flowing ;)
TW
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Dick Aven
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2/3/2013 2:58:44 PM
Daily. I love California! Cool tune, Tom.
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