Sometimes I believe it is difficult to make small talk with people I meet because I want to know if we share the same or similar political opinions. I want to know right away if their politics align with mine so I’ll know if a conversation will be agreeable or confrontive. I don’t like confrontation. I’m trying to make small talk with people I encounter more and more. I live alone and am here at home with my thoughts. No one else is here with me to agree with or confront. The matter at home is the physical matter that makes up the floor and walls and ceiling, the apartment I rent keeps me safe and secure.
Outside is adventure and life and opportunity and meaning. Outside there are people with similar interests and values. Outside are people from every walk of life. Rich, poor, highly educated and laborers. Outside are people scraping by in poverty and people who are homeless.
A neighborhood store I shop in often has snacks on the shelves and a soda machine. At the store I usually buy beer and cigarettes. I’ve been shopping at the store for several years. I am cordial with the salespeople who work in the store. All and all like most customers I go to the store to buy products then leave.
I don’t like that they sell pipes and bongs but I don’t make their rules. Smoking marijuana is legal in this community. It’s not the America I grew up in. In the America I grew up in Marijuana was illegal and criminal and suspect. Marijuana was dangerous. Eventually marijuana was available for medicinal purposes to people with health problems and authorized to buy it in the few places where it was sold. Most Marijuana for sale back then was sold illegally on the black market in back alleys.
Times have changed. Marijuana is legal for adults to buy and posses in small quantities and consume for recreational purposes on private land. Marijuana stores are in almost every commercial neighborhood in town.
When I was a teenager we spoke about how marijuana would one day become legal and sold like cigarettes.
Those days are here. Marijuana is addictive and smoking it harms the lungs. Marijuana is a controlled drug. Consuming too much marijuana in one session is dangerous. Some marijuana is more potent than other strains.
In the news marijuana farmers have been reported to be influenced by cartels and people working on marijuana farms have been mistreated and exploited. All in all the news reports of cartels infiltrating the marijuana industry is not a daily occurrence. I believe the marijuana industry needs more regulations to protect people who work tending the plants from cartels.
It is good that marijuana is legal. People can buy marijuana legally for personal consumption. People can buy marijuana in a safe and secure well lit store where there is no rush and no reason to hide. A marijuana store has to maintain quality standards. A consumer can buy marijuana today and pay with a credit card if they choose and get a printed receipt. For these reasons marijuana is safer to grow, sell and consume now that it is a controlled drug sold for personal use. I’m glad marijuana stores with similarities to liquor stores can not operate businesses in school zones.
I respect your right to sell marijuana in an authorized store to adults. I respect your right to consume marijuana. Please be safe and help keep marijuana away from young people.
Beyond cigarettes and beer going to a neighborhood store often to buy their goods feels good. I’d rather buy at a store in person than have products delivered to my door. Making a transaction with someone at work in person face to face is a part of living in community. It’s not the same as meeting with people when volunteering. Human interactions are valuable to me.
Interest or not 