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| On Wellness and Recreation: Recreati |
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| Friday, 23 December 2011 15:44 | |||
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On Wellness and Recreation:
Recreation is something you do, not something you ingest. You cannot smoke recreation, or swallow it, or rub it on your skin. It's an experience, not a commodity. The act of ingesting cannabis does not in itself produce recreation. It can produce relaxation, and thereby facilitate a transition from the world of work to a recreational experience. Or it can help manage pain or anxiety or nausea, and thereby enable recreational activities that might otherwise be impossible. But the ingestion of cannabis alone is not sufficient; some other additional step is required to attain recreation.
I prefer to describe cannabis in terms of wellness, than recreation. I don't like the term "recreational cannabis" because it doesn't accurately describe my own experience. I use cannabis to facilitate and enhance a variety of mental/psychic/physical states. It can and does facilitate and/or enhance a variety of recreational activities like taking a walk or enjoying a piece of music or a satisfying meal. On the other hand, it can also help me go to sleep, stay calm, keep my patience, or manage my pain. Some of the ways I use cannabis promote my recreational activities; some promote my work life; and some promote my rest. Not all of them are about recreation, but they are all about wellness. I think it is the same for every cannabis user I know.
The distinction is important because the term "recreational cannabis" enables our opponents to argue that our movement advocates the replacement of recreational activities with the ingestion of cannabis. This idea is profoundly scary to parents, even parents who use cannabis. Public opinion poll after public opinion poll show far more Americans support medical cannabis than recreational cannabis. Since it's inaccurate in the first place, why cling to this troublesome terminology?
Steve DeAngelo
Executive Director
Harborside Health Center
This is a comment on "Say It Ain't So, Steve DeAngelo"
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