You’ve probably noticed that cannabis consumption, markets, and laws are usually categorized as medical or recreational. You can either be using cannabis to treat a condition or to have fun. Have you ever felt left out of those categories, as though neither one represents your relationship with the plant?
There’s nothing wrong with the categories in themselves. Cannabis is an abundantly legitimate treatment for a variety of symptoms and diseases. And many of us use cannabis to amplify an experience - concerts, movies, sex, meals, roller coasters.
But there’s a space in between these two modes of use that might actually encapsulate the majority of cannabis consumption. Sometimes, after a stressful day of work, you might come home and smoke or vape to decompress before getting a meal ready for yourself or your family. On Saturday morning, you might do a dab to make yardwork or vacuuming more bearable. And when a holiday rolls around, you might roll a joint after dinner with the in-laws to help keep your relationship running smoothly.
While stress, familial dysfunction, and the monotony of the daily grind might qualify as symptoms, they don’t really rise to the level of conditions. If you were to go to your doctor and say I need something to take the edge off of riding the subway, they’d likely suggest that isn’t a legitimate medical issue. At the same time, riding the subway high isn’t necessarily a recreational activity either.
Using cannabis to clear your head, simplify tasks, or generally improve your quality of life is practical, and we should start thinking of practical cannabis use as a valid alternative to the medicinal/recreational dichotomy - a middle path. Expanding the popular understanding of cannabis applications could go a long way towards removing the stigma with which users still struggle. If you were someone who had never used cannabis before and you thought the plant’s primary audiences were cancer patients and people trying to get faded, you probably wouldn’t feel like cannabis was relevant to your life. So you wouldn’t seek out opportunities to experiment with cannabis, you wouldn’t have much sympathy for people who use cannabis, and you wouldn’t go to great lengths to support cannabis legislation reform.
GRAV’s Vision is to inspire the sensible use of cannabis by every responsible person for every practical purpose. We haven’t set out to cure a disease; we haven’t set out to get the world high. We support your pursuit of happiness, and we’d love to hear how you practice cannabis. Leave a comment below with your favorite practical purpose for cannabis and start talking with your friends, colleagues, and family about cannabis in practical terms!
