by Ralph Metzner: Question from Audience: Isn’t the present movement toward the legalization of Marijuana, an expansion of consciousness, evidence of the Octave continuing in a positive direction?
Ralph: Well, the octave thing is just a model, you know, and there’s lots of different factors at work. The situation is extremely complex. The legalization, or the partial legalization of a substance. Cannabis is an amazing substance. An ancient ancient healing plant. Not only healing but with many other virtues of consciousness expansion. There’s appetite stimulation. Medical applications. Very very ancient. Very potentially beneficial plant — That’s been illegal for 50 years. Why? It’s potentially also fantastically a money producing crop, you know. All kinds of applications in clothing and manufacturing, quite apart from it’s mind expanding properties. And yet why is it still illegal and treated like a drug with all these dangerous consequences, that have been demonstrated to be false many times over. You see.
So that’s an interesting sociological historical question. Obviously, there are interests at work that want to keep it that way. Probably, I can just guess, and your guess is as good as mine, it has to do with MONEY. There’s enormous amounts of money to be made, both illegally, in the production of this crop, by all kinds of international groups, and by the military-industrial police enforcement complex, in the enforcement of the prohibition. Just like (the same as) with alcohol prohibition, which was small potatoes compared to marijuana.
So…and in amongst all of that: professional, positive, therapeutic, beneficial, physically and emotional, psychologically beneficial healing plants. Not to mention recreational. I mean, after all, what’s wrong with recreation? And as a recreational drug, way way more safe, more valuable, more interesting and safer than the most popular recreational drug, alcohol, which is a “blah.” Except in moderate doses.
