Stu Bykofsky: Forget 'Brotherly Love,' Welcome to stoner city
IS PHILADELPHIA moving from "We the people . . ." to "Weed the people"? In high-flying news that got local potheads giggling (not hard to get a pothead giggling) the D.A. and the courts soon will start handling run-of-the-mill pot cases - holding one ounce or less - as summary offenses to help unclog the court system.
IS PHILADELPHIA moving from "We the people . . ." to "Weed the people"?
In high-flying news that got local potheads giggling (not hard to get a pothead giggling) the D.A. and the courts soon will start handling run-of-the-mill pot cases - holding one ounce or less - as summary offenses to help unclog the court system.
Did I just hear Cheech and Chong go, "Grooovy!"?
Since I'm not a toker, it won't affect me. I'm in the generation that uses Jack Daniels and/ or Johnny Cash to "relax."
Because drugs are destructive, as a parent I brainwashed my kids when they were young, and it seems to have worked. (The secret? Keep reading.)
I think pot is bad and unnecessary, but the main reason I don't want to be around it is that it's illegal. My personal philosophy is to play by the rules. If the law is wrong or bad, as was segregation, work to change it. And I did.
Some think obeying the law is archaic and simple-minded. If you are a flower child (or attended Brown or Berkeley) I expect that. Yet without law, you have chaos.
I have friends who smoke grass. (No names or job descriptions here.) Surveys say half of Congress "experimented" with marijuana when "young." (Many also "experimented" with "adultery" and "tickle parties," but that's another story.) Bush wouldn't open up about his past drug use while Obama admitted coking up.
Prior drug use explains a lot about Congress, I think.
Confession: When I was "young," I "experimented" with marijuana. It was the '60s. I was watching TV and someone gave me some weed. I lit up, smoked a joint and waited. And waited. And waited. I smoked another. And waited.
Then I lit up a third doobie. "Gomer Pyle-USMC" was on TV and I suddenly found it hysterical. Then - wham! - I fell into a deep sleep. When I awakened, I realized anything that could make me howl at Gomer Pyle was dangerous.
No one is legalizing pot. Yet.
The D.A.'s office said those arrested for pot would still be "processed by police in police custody. They will still have to answer to the charges," but it will be quicker. And we will profit from it.
If we send potheads to jail, that costs us money. If we fine them, that costs
them money. As a summary offense, fines will be $200-$300 and will generate a lot of loot for the court.
That's a good start.
We could also legalize it, and tax it, as some states have done. That would help us financially.
But there will be social costs.
I have visited rehab group sessions where one-third of the clients were pot addicts. They hadn't moved on to something stronger. Easy, breezy, "innocent" pot turned them into nonfunctional zombies.
There may be benefits from easing pot penalties, but it will increase use and social dislocation.
Don't say that isn't so.
Oh! For parents who care, my brainwashing technique:
The kids have to be young - preschool is best, but the Bykofsky Technique may work when they're 8 or 9.
When walking with the kids in Center City, if we saw a drunk sprawled on the sidewalk, I'd say, "He does drugs."
If we were at the zoo and saw a monkey going crazy, bouncing off the walls and throwing poop, I'd say, "He's high on drugs."
Anytime we saw anything they'd find bad, embarrassing or stupid, I gently dropped a subconscious poison pill connecting it with drug use.
Brainwashing? Maybe. The kids, now grown, have other problems, but drug use is not one of them.
E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns: