420...

Happy 420!!! April 20th, a day recognized as the holiday for setting fire to as much marijuana as humanly possible. A day that if I ran into myself 10 (or even 4) years ago, the old me would be baked out of his skull. I remember celebrating April 20th in high school, but in college is when it became a holiday as important as Christmas. We would fog entire apartments and townhouses with the best green Athens had to offer and would use everything from blunts to homemade vaporizers. Those were the days before things like house payments and picking up the kids from daycare had made their way into my thought processes.

Now I like to think more about the possibility of legalization. Although it seems that it's becoming more or less decriminalized for small personal use quantities, it's still illegal on a national level. The ignornace behind that is unreal, as the effects aren't nearly as dangerous as alcohol, some studies show THC to be an anticarcinogen, people such as cancer patients and glaucoma sufferers can use it to help ease their pain or help with their appetite, and the possibility of its aid in America's disposal of national debt are enough for even the most bible-thumping of Conservatives to consider it. I mean seriously, when was the last time you saw a couple people get in a fight because they'd smoked too much weed and were feeling tough?

That's not to say that I'm condemning alcohol. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I love to imbibe in the spirits and beer itself helps keep me out of a padded room. If the cheeba cheeba isn't on your social plan for today, then consider your other option. Local Atlanta brewer Sweetwater makes a Pale Ale named for the call sign of pot smokers everywhere. It's one of my favorites for kicked back drinking events (like tailgating, bar hopping and bullshitting) and it's made in America (even better, Atlanta) so you're supporting a local economy.

Burn something, crack open a Sweetwater 420 or just cuss at the government for refusing to legalize a possible economy saving cash crop. Either was you choose though, enjoy your 420.