Friday, March 4, 2016

PHILOSOPHY OF POT





When I retired from the Navy I was in my early forties and my wife was in her late twenties.   We bought an old farmhouse one mile into the woods that had no electricity, sewerage or running water; and the following fall entered the University of Maine as Freshmen.   This lifestyle change was necessary for us to both be able to afford college at the same time.

We were different from the younger Freshmen as we actually took our classes seriously and studied.   We would return home, light the wood stove, carry water from the stream behind the house, make supper and then study our subject materials and notes, do homework and finally turn out the oil lamps and go to bed listening to Maine Public Broadcasting on the battery radio.
  
But, this is not about us.  For our second semester we signed up for Logic as one of our five classes.   The instructor was Dr. Reed.   He had worked as a janitor at the college before being hired to teach Logic.   Dr. Reed was a true eccentric, he was heavy set, his clothes always rumpled and looking like he had slept in them, he truly looked more like a janitor than a Doctor of Philosophy; but he was brilliant.
 
His class ended up being the most demanding of any class we took during our four years.  He assigned copious readings and extensive homework, he tested weekly and he graded stiffly.
  
We spent more hours at home having to studying logic that second semester than we spent on the other four classes combined.        It was the hardest class we experienced in college and the one that challenged us most.

Dr. Reed was later released by the college because he failed too many students and would not agree to curve his grades.

We still see Dr. Reed occasionally, mainly at Republican rallies where he is usually dressed in bib overalls and playing the banjo.
 
But this brings me to the subject of this post.
  
There are petitions floating around Maine for a referendum to vote on the legalization of marijuana during the fall election.

Most Republicans, including our illustrious governor, are opposing the referendum stating the ‘most people hooked on heroine started with pot (therefore, pot leads heroine addiction.)’

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Roosters crow when the sun rises, therefore roosters cause the sun to rise.


 
Thank you Dr. Reed

the Ol’Buzzard


3 comments:

  1. The real reason the campaign against pot began and continues is economic based and not because of some moral imperative by government. There is way too much money, legal and illegal floating around. Keeping pot and drugs in general illegal ensures that stream does not become a trickle.

    What is odd about what drug is tried first is that from what I understand, alcohol and nicotine, both legal, are actually the first drugs a future addict tries. And even odder, alcohol and tobacco are the two most damaging drugs we ingest.

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  2. Ah, yes, the Four P's of illegal drugs: Pushers, Police, Politicians and Preachers all make a good living from it.

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