Cannabis Journalism Spring 2019–4
Realizing the hard work that many individuals have placed into cannabis policies has been the most influential subject to learn about during this week. I realized that there are individuals like Mason Tvert that have dedicated their time to make a change. Meeting with Mason yesterday was impact full for me because of two things: he is an incredibly important figure in the legalization of cannabis here in Colorado and he has dedicated about 15 years of his life to the movement. I think that he proved to be an incredibly smart man with extensive knowledge about the subject. My favorite part about meeting him was getting to hear him talk about his journey to where he is now. He spoke about everything in such an inspiring way and he not only allowed knowledge to flow into me but he also inspired me to really find what I love and continue to push on that.
Mason also spoke about calling people out for asking people to drink safely but not smoke safely when at the end of the day smoking has proved to have less consequences than drinking. Mason spoke about the publicity stunts that he would use in order to get the audiences attention and that his consistency was key. Many have argued for years that the consequences of consuming cannabis are not as bad as those of drinking. So if drinking is legal to some extent, why cant the consumption of cannabis be? While I do think that his role has slowed down since he started his journey I would argue that he is making even more influential decisions right now. Its not about just legalizing marijuana for Mason, its also about how effectively laws are going to operate after legalization. His argument that cannabis doesn't have the consequences of drinking is also interesting to me because people look to cannabis to help with certain if not many pains, illnesses, and diseases. No one that I know turns to alcohol for medical purposes like they do for cannabis.
However the counterargument has always been that cannabis is a gateway drug and that the consumption of it will only lead to having to use something stronger in the future. Over the time of the course I have learned that this is such a stereotype for people that don’t agree with the use of cannabis. No one ever says that cannabis has no consequences but its important to note the benefits.
Overall, it was a very productive day and not only am I super thankful to have been able to meet Mason Tvert but I am glad that I now have all of these ideas flowing from his speech.
