Heard a commercial today about marijuana. I caught it only briefly, but the gist of it was that ‘you shouldn't be a hypocrite, that you should teach your kids that marijuana is bad.'

It appears to me that anything the government or society has deemed as 'bad' needs to be demonized or made inherently ‘bad’ through the use of propaganda. Now this commercial didn't demonize it thoroughly, but it is propaganda nonetheless.

Marijuana is probably not inherently bad. To my knowledge, most studies have shown that it does not impair long-term memory in adults and many other studies have been inconclusive in ‘adolescent’ rats. The medicinal properties have some fundamental scientific basis that has yet to be completely explained, but, anecdotal evidence abounds. Melissa Etheridge is the most recent person to go vocal about how it helped her during chemotherapy. She also stated that every doctor she spoke to advised her that it was the best drug to handle chemotherapy’s side effects.

Having said this, it probably is ‘bad’ for children since THC seems to have an effect on the formation of short-term to long-term memory. Well, I guess ‘bad’ would only apply if you didn’t want something interfering with your children’s ability to form long-term memories. I’m guessing that applies to most parents.

Why is it that many people feel the need to find certain things inherently evil without taking a thorough look at what they’re condemning? Is the use of propaganda appropriate? It seems as if propaganda is used by adults with their own children at times, but is it really necessary with adults?

Is it in our nature to find ‘evil’ in the world so we can shirk our responsibility and blame something or someone else?

Maybe this is the reason that religion finds such a stronghold in society. If we can find activities and various nouns to demonize, our view of ourselves as good and moral remains intact. It is only the evil things that corrupt our moral selves.

These questions are not meant to be rhetorical. I would really like to hear some opinions.

I’ll start posting more frequently. I promise. I will now post at least every other day.