An Interview with “Marijuana Man” on the Venice Boardwalk
Affectionately known to the locals as “Marijuana Man,” he spends his days sitting on the grass verge along the Boardwalk. His friends - too - are cardholders; each one of them seeks relief in that centuries-old “wonder drug.” Today, he has a few myths to debunk - from the equivalency of pharmaceutical drugs, to societal perceptions of Stoners like himself. Adding, of course, his advice for an ailing stock market.
“I usually smoke me about two to three inhalations of weed in the morning with my morning cup of coffee. I medicate probably about every two to three hours during the day.
I had surgery on my left foot and I’ve also had ADHD. I’ve been using it a lot for pain relief. I prefer it to Ritalin or amphetamines for ADHD. The treatment is worse than the disease in modern medicine.
Weed, it seems to help you focus. And it doesn’t affect my appetite. I’m not itching. I don’t have cast-iron gut rot. You know, I’m not backing up narcotics to my system, inviting death down the road. I would say that a lot of pharmaceutical drugs have those effects, whether they are amphetamines or anti-depressants or sleeping pills. Even alcohol. But I could sit here with a bushel of marijuana and ranch dressing and you know… might have too much fiber, but that’s about it.
You can’t kill someone with marijuana. There is a saying among Stoners that says you can actually smoke yourself straight. There’s a point where you just can’t get any higher. I don’t know of any drug that has an effect like that. The body usually screams for more.
One thing that you could do that would just totally upset Wall Street right now - just one magic bullet in the dark - is you legalize cannabis tomorrow and put it on the New York stock exchange. I don’t see what the problem is with legalizing something that for over 200 years has been a foundation stone of our nation.
A lot of people think that if you legalize marijuana you are saying drugs are OK to their kids, this, that, the other - but these are the same people that pump their kids full of Ritalin; they want to deny you something that just grows out of the ground.
Weed is, to a degree, a negative influence, but the reason being is because it’s already been demonized. It’s like - what’s our government really doing nowadays? Are they interested in controlling people, or are they interested in changing people?
There has never been a recorded overdose or death in the history of mankind from marijuana. It needs to be decriminalized so that police and society can concentrate on the real evils of the black market.”
This interview was produced for KPCC’s Town Hall Journal: Marijuana: Economic Wonder Drug?
