Episode 4: Silly Juice

"I'm not narcissistic/I'm just high off the music/and I don't wanna miss it/but I wouldn't stop you/I'm not narcissistic/you light up if you like it/and though I may not like it,/you just keep doing you."

                                                    -AJR, "No Grass Today"

Pt. I: Weed 

    Growing up and living in a state where marijuana has been legal, I've been around and known a lot of potsmokers. In high school, several kids I knew, including some people I was friends with, had smoked weed. One of my friends swore he would get me to smoke with him before we graduated. Spoiler alert: he didn't. I have never smoked marijuana and I have no plans to ever do so. 

    Weed is such a popular thing in my area that I sometimes feel like I'm the only person in this town who doesn't. I hear people talk about it, and I try not to think less of them or think I'm better than them, but it is kind of annoying. I don't care if you smoke every once in a while. You do you. Just don't make "I like weed" your personality.

    This obsession our culture has with intoxication is alarming. Not meaning to clutch my pearls or anything, but drugs and alcohol aren't things we should be proud of. At the end of the day, they're still vices and sins. The obsession with weed can be upsetting, yes, but its obsession isn't as big as the obsession with this next thing.

Pt. II: Alcohol, or, "The Silly Juice Itself"

     Our culture cracks up alcohol as this monumental thing. Media portrays it as the "adult beverage". Not only is it a thing for adults, it's shown as a fun thing, and a thing that takes pain away. I don't need to explain why alcohol is not a good answer to any pain you're feeling. I'll be the first to admit that when I was younger than 21, I yearned for that 21st birthday. I was excited to be able to drink, to try beer and wine and whatever else. I was excited for the adultness of it, and finally being able to do something I had been legally unable to do my entire life leading up to then. 

      And I'm not some righteous man. I like having a drink every once in a while. But it goes without saying that these things should come in moderation.

     It's also kind of ironic that I'm saying these things when some of my favorite characters are alcoholics. I love Rick and Morty, and Rick is a raging alcoholic who drinks in front of his grandchildren. I love BoJack Horseman, and BoJack is a disheveled actor with a long and dark history of drug and alcohol abuse. I love Futurama, and Bender is a robot who is constantly drinking. Best of all, my favorite show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which you know if you read the last blog, literally centers around a group of five alcoholics. See what I mean, tv loves alcohol!

Pt. III: In Conclusion

    If you like drinking and/or smoking, that's your thing. Just don't be annoying and don't hurt anyone. That includes yourself. And don't make drugs. We saw what became of a certain chemistry teacher in New Mexico when he started making meth.

See you next week for episode 5.