Cannabis is about forgetting China’s century of humiliation

我卷了一支大麻烟，点上了火。深吸一口后我立即感到浓浓的烟云通过气管传到两肺。随着我渐渐吐出的大麻雾飘散空中，我正式成为一名首次吸食大麻者。几分钟后，一种强烈的舒适感袭遍全身，在烟雾缭绕中，我仿佛与世隔绝，在太空中寻找我的极乐世界。

Soon after I rolled up a joint and light it up, I inhaled deeply, feeling the smoke traveling down my windpipe and filling my lungs. After I exhaled slowly, I officially became a first-time weed smoker. A few minutes later, an intense and pleasant feeling swept through me, as I experienced lost in time and space, aimlessly drifting away from reality.

对来自华裔社区的少数族裔来说，吸食大麻简直是不可思议之举。我在大麻合法化之加州的那次经历却让我尝试了在中国被视为大逆不道之禁果。 一个世纪以来，大麻这一地球上最著名的植物被中国视为妖孽而打进冷宫。自从1800年鸦片战争爆发，中国开展了一场全力打击毒品战争，誓在将“东亚病夫”之耻辱抛入太平洋。而在这场禁毒热潮中，大麻与其他化学合成的因毒品起成为政府极力铲除的目标。

For most ethnic minorities with a Chinese heritage, smoking weed sounds like a crazy idea, and my first marijuana use in California – the state with legalized recreational pot – allowed me to taste what is a forbidden fruit in China.  Cannabis, the most popular plant in the world, has been demonized by the China for over a century.  Ever since opium evaded China in the 1800s, China has waged a full-blown war on drugs, tackling the shame and horror of “Sick Man of East Asia.” Amid an extraordinary anti-drug frenzy that has lasted till today, pot has been commingled with synthetic addictive to be in the crosshair of the government’s crackdown.

海外华人对大麻也满怀切肤痛恨之情，认为大麻带毒危害无穷。许多华人认为吸大麻人士都为社会渣子，流氓，罪犯以及道德败坏者。在三藩市的华人社区近期爆发了一场大麻战，社区人士极力反对大麻商业化，呼吁所有零售店禁止出售大麻。大麻店在三藩市成为众矢之的，以至于任何在邻里社区开始大麻零售点的主张都会遭到华裔积极分子们的猛烈炮轰。他们从大麻店的支持者们的手中夺走话筒，斥责他们开大麻店的建议有辱华人传统价值观。

The anti-pot mania has taken deep root among overseas Chinese who hold a strong view that all drugs are harmful. Many Chinese people consider marijuana users scums, losers, criminals or morally corrupted individuals. A marijuana war erupted in San Francisco as the local Chinese community recently pushed back against the commercialization of weed, calling for an outright ban on cannabis across retail stores. Pot shops carry such a strong stigma in the city that any suggestion to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the neighborhood sparked outrage from the Chinese community activists. They pulled speakers supporting dispensaries off the stage and attacked their ideas for being against Chinese cultural values.  

华裔对大麻的痛恨情绪往往被那些欲捞政治资本的政客们所利用。联邦保守党于2015年大选期间大造煽动恐惧之举，称自由党政府将会把加拿大变成瘾君子们的天堂。此恐吓行动的目标直指包括加国华裔在内的少数族裔社区。而当联邦自由党逐步采取措施将大麻合法化之际，华裔社区更是义愤填膺，抗议浪潮此起彼伏，许多人誓言要在下一次联邦大选中定将自由党拉下马！

The ethnic Chinese resentment against weed has been tapped into by politicians to build political capitals. In 2015, the Conservative Party started a fearmongering campaign, claiming that the Liberal government would turn Canada into a drug users’ paradise. The campaign was deliberately targeting ethnic minorities including Chinese Canadians during the previous federal election. As the Liberal government takes steps to make weed a legitimate product on the market, the community reacts with outpouring anger and protest, with many vowing to remove the federal Liberals from power in the next election. 

但大麻并非鸦片，大麻对人体有着奇异的功效，在人类健康恢复进程中起着举足轻重的作用，对久病缠身者来说更是上等佳音。据研究显示，在大麻活性成份THC作用下，大麻素可消减炎症红肿和疼痛，降低血压，缓解羊角风和癫痫发作，放松肌肉等。它还能缓解多发性硬化症患的痉挛和紧张症状，有助于抽筋，失眠，防止呕吐以及安抚创伤压力症候。

However, weed isn’t opium and marijuana have powerful positive effects on human beings. They can do wonders to an ailing body or to sedate an anxious mind. According to studies, with its THC effects kicking into full gear, cannabinoids can reduce inflammation and pain, lower blood pressure, stop seizures and relax muscles and quell epilepsy. They seem to reduce spasticity and stiffness in people with multiple sclerosis, help with cramping, improve sleep, reduce nausea and calm PTSD.

但大麻对未成年的青少年大脑到底造成多大危害？这恐怕使目前医学界的一个难解之谜。但科学研究显示，大麻并非像我们所想象的是年轻人十恶不赦之敌。虽然大麻并非对所有青少年无害，但也非是每个人的魔鬼孽障。许多吸食大麻的高中生们功课成绩优异，成为学习标兵并顺利考入大学。

Perhaps the greatest mystery about pots is their long-term effects on young minds. Research indicates that they have not played such a devil role in their life as we assume.  While cannabis is not benign to all of the teens, it is not devastating for everyone either. Many teens on weeds are doing well at schools, making into honor rolls and getting enrolled into universities.

虽然在中国严打毒品运动中大麻命在难逃，但它在中国4000年历史中曾作为绿色黄金被大量种植，其效应也被广为利用。出产的多种物品，像麻绳，衣物，弓弦，纸浆，特别使麻醉药品中都由大麻做原料。

While weed has suffered collateral damage in China’s war on drugs, cannabis was a plant cultivated and used for multiple purposes for over 4000 years in history. Chinese used the hemp plant for rope, clothing, bowstrings, paper and of course, medicine as anesthesia.

我从加州吸大麻经历中获益良多。在那逃离现实的瞬间里，我不禁放声大笑，在寻找极乐世界的旅途中享受着精神的净土和灵魂的升华。如果说大麻能改变我们的意识，重塑思维，让我们以新的视野看这个世界，那么那所谓百年耻辱的记忆早已随着大麻的烟雾飘散于九霄云外。

My first experimental use of marijuana was a positive experience. I was laughing out loud as I enjoyed the mere moment, seeking an elevated mind through a spiritual path. If pot can change our consciousness and shift our state of mind, allowing us to see the world through a different lens, maybe cannabis is all about forgetting the century of humiliation.