This happened to me a while back and its stuck in my craw ever since. I am interested to see how others would have handled it.
First let me state my bias. Since trying cannabis 5 years ago my alcohol consumption has dropped to nearly zero. I prefer cannabis in every respect. In that time I have also come to have a strong dislike for the entire alcohol industry from its unscrupulous marketing to its occassional financial backing of cannabis prohibition.
I should also state that I grow my own pot. Nothing huge but I had 6 plants flowering in my stealth cab at home when this happened. Anyway, on with the story...
I have season tix to a local sports team. Nothing huge but crowds are generally in the 10,000-12,000 range. My friend and I attend most games and once per game a local brewery (lets call it 'Brand X') sponsors a promotion during one of the game timeouts. It involves having 3 randomly selected fans participate in some silly activity with the winner being awarded $100. At the end the MC always says something like:"And what's the best beer in the world..." and then shoves the mic into the winners face for a second so he can blurt out "Brand X!"
A couple of years ago my friend (who is aware of my distaste for the alcohol industry) asked me a hypothetical question...if I were to be selected what would I do? Would I accept $100 and shout 'Brand X' into the mic or would I stand on principle and refuse? We discussed this for a few minutes and without really thinking too hard about it, came up with a novel solution. I would participate, win and then when the mic was shoved into my face I would yell "I don't drink beer, I SMOKE POT!". My friend suggested that I wouldn't even get to the second word before they pulled the mic away so we settled on these 3 simple words..."I SMOKE POT!"
A couple of years go by and we never think about that conversation again until one evening I am in my usual seat and an attendent comes by and asks to see my ticket. After verifying it he tells me that I've been selected for the Brand X beer promotion and to follow him. I probably should have refused but it all happened so quick I just went with him. As I walked down the steps I looked back at my friend whose eyes were as big as dinner plates. I could read his thoughts like he had a scrolling marquee across his forehead..."is he gonna do it???"
As I followed the attendant I became nervous but suddenly a wave of calm resolve came over me. I decided I was going to do it! I was finally gonna speak out, make a stand (however small and insignificant it was) and not back down! All my life I have been the shrinking violet but no more!
They brought us out to the field level and we passed many security guards and local cops which definitely tested my resolve. But I was still firm. I am tired of backing down and hiding my whole life...it was time to make a stand! As we waited for the other fans to arrrive it occurred to me that I could simply lose the contest and avoid having to shout anything at all. This solution was torpedoed when I saw my competition. An old man and a hugely overweight woman. how on earth could I lose any physical contest to either of these two? It was clear I was going to have to go through with it.
The contest consisted of wearing a 'beer helmet' and carrying eight empty beer cases in a stack without dropping them over the finish line. The fat woman couldn't even pick hers up (couldn't bend over) and the old man dropped his and fell over and I won easily. I started preparing myself for what would be the biggest public action of my life. In the few moments before the fateful moment I suddenly noticed all the cops around the field. There must have been at least a dozen around the stadium and a few thoughts occurred to me...
-I am a season ticket holder so if they want to know who I am they can very easily find out.
-Cops don't like to be embarrassed publicly and may decide to take action.
-Many drunks at the game are abusive enough towards the cops when they walk by. Would my comment spur them to shout mj related insults thus angering the cops further? Will they decide to make an example of me?
-There are TV cameras all around (although its likely none of them were recording the beer race)
-I've got 6 plants flowering at home...if I do this I'll have to tear them down.
-You can be a grower or an activist. Not both.
-Will my comments have any positive effect? Will it open anyones eyes? Even if it does have some small positive effect, I'll never know about it.
With these thoughts swirling around in my mind the moment came. The MC flashed her big, fake smile and shouted "Whats the best beer ever???"
She shoved the mic in my face...I hesitated for a moment and meekly said "Brand X."
I couldn't do it. I felt ashamed of myself. My friend didn't say a word to me when I got back to my seat. He could see how I felt on my face. We left shortly after and I gave the $100 to a homeless man I always see outside the stadium. In a twist of irony the homeless man said something like "I promise I won't spend it on booze. I'm a godly man and I promise you I won't spend this on booze." I told him not to worry and to spend it on whatever he wants.
So fellow stoners? What would you have done? Would you have made a stand knowing that it would mean the end of your personal grow for some time to come? Could you have done it with a dozen cops all looking at you? Could you have put up with screaming 'think of the children' type editorials in the local paper the next day? I felt bad about this for a couple of weeks afterward and I'm just curious to see how others would have handled it. Thanks for reading.
First let me state my bias. Since trying cannabis 5 years ago my alcohol consumption has dropped to nearly zero. I prefer cannabis in every respect. In that time I have also come to have a strong dislike for the entire alcohol industry from its unscrupulous marketing to its occassional financial backing of cannabis prohibition.
I should also state that I grow my own pot. Nothing huge but I had 6 plants flowering in my stealth cab at home when this happened. Anyway, on with the story...
I have season tix to a local sports team. Nothing huge but crowds are generally in the 10,000-12,000 range. My friend and I attend most games and once per game a local brewery (lets call it 'Brand X') sponsors a promotion during one of the game timeouts. It involves having 3 randomly selected fans participate in some silly activity with the winner being awarded $100. At the end the MC always says something like:"And what's the best beer in the world..." and then shoves the mic into the winners face for a second so he can blurt out "Brand X!"
A couple of years ago my friend (who is aware of my distaste for the alcohol industry) asked me a hypothetical question...if I were to be selected what would I do? Would I accept $100 and shout 'Brand X' into the mic or would I stand on principle and refuse? We discussed this for a few minutes and without really thinking too hard about it, came up with a novel solution. I would participate, win and then when the mic was shoved into my face I would yell "I don't drink beer, I SMOKE POT!". My friend suggested that I wouldn't even get to the second word before they pulled the mic away so we settled on these 3 simple words..."I SMOKE POT!"
A couple of years go by and we never think about that conversation again until one evening I am in my usual seat and an attendent comes by and asks to see my ticket. After verifying it he tells me that I've been selected for the Brand X beer promotion and to follow him. I probably should have refused but it all happened so quick I just went with him. As I walked down the steps I looked back at my friend whose eyes were as big as dinner plates. I could read his thoughts like he had a scrolling marquee across his forehead..."is he gonna do it???"
As I followed the attendant I became nervous but suddenly a wave of calm resolve came over me. I decided I was going to do it! I was finally gonna speak out, make a stand (however small and insignificant it was) and not back down! All my life I have been the shrinking violet but no more!
They brought us out to the field level and we passed many security guards and local cops which definitely tested my resolve. But I was still firm. I am tired of backing down and hiding my whole life...it was time to make a stand! As we waited for the other fans to arrrive it occurred to me that I could simply lose the contest and avoid having to shout anything at all. This solution was torpedoed when I saw my competition. An old man and a hugely overweight woman. how on earth could I lose any physical contest to either of these two? It was clear I was going to have to go through with it.
The contest consisted of wearing a 'beer helmet' and carrying eight empty beer cases in a stack without dropping them over the finish line. The fat woman couldn't even pick hers up (couldn't bend over) and the old man dropped his and fell over and I won easily. I started preparing myself for what would be the biggest public action of my life. In the few moments before the fateful moment I suddenly noticed all the cops around the field. There must have been at least a dozen around the stadium and a few thoughts occurred to me...
-I am a season ticket holder so if they want to know who I am they can very easily find out.
-Cops don't like to be embarrassed publicly and may decide to take action.
-Many drunks at the game are abusive enough towards the cops when they walk by. Would my comment spur them to shout mj related insults thus angering the cops further? Will they decide to make an example of me?
-There are TV cameras all around (although its likely none of them were recording the beer race)
-I've got 6 plants flowering at home...if I do this I'll have to tear them down.
-You can be a grower or an activist. Not both.
-Will my comments have any positive effect? Will it open anyones eyes? Even if it does have some small positive effect, I'll never know about it.
With these thoughts swirling around in my mind the moment came. The MC flashed her big, fake smile and shouted "Whats the best beer ever???"
She shoved the mic in my face...I hesitated for a moment and meekly said "Brand X."
I couldn't do it. I felt ashamed of myself. My friend didn't say a word to me when I got back to my seat. He could see how I felt on my face. We left shortly after and I gave the $100 to a homeless man I always see outside the stadium. In a twist of irony the homeless man said something like "I promise I won't spend it on booze. I'm a godly man and I promise you I won't spend this on booze." I told him not to worry and to spend it on whatever he wants.
So fellow stoners? What would you have done? Would you have made a stand knowing that it would mean the end of your personal grow for some time to come? Could you have done it with a dozen cops all looking at you? Could you have put up with screaming 'think of the children' type editorials in the local paper the next day? I felt bad about this for a couple of weeks afterward and I'm just curious to see how others would have handled it. Thanks for reading.
Its good karma. 
