FREEDOM, PEACE AND CANNABIS

Anton Peshkov, correspondent

Translated into English by A.Prishchenko

This is the reality: hemp grows all over Ukraina. As a result, the whole Ukraina smokes it. And they put on trial for smoking as for any other drug.

Humankind has got close to hemp a long time ago. First mentions of cultivating cannabis are dated back to third millennium before Christ. The home of cannabis is Central Asia, where hemp has begun its victorious march from. Hemp growing was one of the main businesses of ancient worlds, that's why it can be found in all Scythian burial mounds. First mention of Scythians by Herodoth speaks about them inhaling smoke of smouldering hemp. In pictures of Ukrainian Cossacks relating to sixteenth century, one can see a big guy with a pipe in the mouth. What could Cossacks smoke, if tobacco was brought to Russia only in eighteenth century, while hemp was already used to cure mastitis and bronchial diseases? Anyway, all this has gone a long time ago, while now hemp smoking is a sin punished by state authorities.

Actually until now World Health Organization haven't find out any real arguments to consider hemp harmful. According to official information, hemp smoking is less harmful than tobacco smoking. Cannabis is the only drug of all narcotic preparations that have not ever been a cause of death. There are numerous death cases of consuming alcohol (a drug as well).

AN OPINION

Yuri M. (21, smokes hemp for a year, before this liked vodka more):

"Hemp is better. You drink vodka and grow stupid, it longs to deeds, to fight somebody, or else. You toke and sit quiet. Everything is OK, you smile, all people're bros. And no hang-over."

Vadim Samoilov ("Agatha Christie" rock group):

"A drunk man is capable of greater hooliganism than a man who pulled some green."

In some strange manner, Dutch government has agreed with these two especially private opinions, because there are no criminal cases connected with hemp smoking (as against cocaine or heroine consumption). After hemp consuming, people go quiet and not violent -- no killing anybody, no throwing themselves out of windows. It is worth remembering that cannabis was a cult plant of hippie, infinitely calm and peaceful people.

You won't encounter hemp in "rave" gigs, where chemicals of all kinds are favoured, rousing a wild bump of strength and energy. These are not certainly drugs. The same alcohol sold in any store or stand is a satisfying stimulator capable to push a man to completely uncontrollable state or even hallucinations. However, everything that contains alcohol is a direct source of treasury, and who will stab against traditions?

P.S. Everything above is not a summon to pack a J right now and to saw fields with hemp. The author himself holds on the idea of people free from drugs of any kind (including money, power, ideology, etc.) But sometimes you just got to give an alternative look to everything.