All aboard the weed wagon

Happy New Year! What was your favorite weed news from 2013?

—Sammy Softball

Happy New Year to you, too! 2013 has been a great year for weed. In December 2012, I listed three good things, three bad things and three just OK things in the cannabis community that year. This year, I am just going to list the good things. And away we go:

Science and weed had a great year. There were studies showing that grass can help with Crohn’s disease, HIV, skin cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, heart attacks, epilepsy and strokes. And a new study was just released showing that marijuana strains high in cannabidiol, a nonpsychotropic cannabinoid, can help with the symptoms of psychosis, according to a review published in the November issue of the Neuropsychopharmacology journal.

Just think what we could learn if the federal government wasn’t trying to stop us.

The legalization battle is also doing very well, thank you. The feds decided not to go after Colorado and Washington for legalizing pot, and now I am planning my Colorado jay-cation. Right after I get back, I’m going to start saving up for a visit to Uruguay, since weed is also legal there. Besides the fact that adults in Colorado and Washington can buy weed, they can no longer be arrested for weed there. That is a big, huge, giant step forward. Thousands of people weren’t arrested this year. Not only that, but Washington actually dropped marijuana charges against a bunch of people since weed is no longer a crime. Oregon is headed toward legalization, and California has several different groups trying to get an initiative on the ballot for 2014. Meanwhile, activists in Alaska claim they have enough signatures to get a marijuana-legalization initiative on the ballot, and in New York, lawmakers have introduced legalization legislation (say that three times fast after taking a fat dab).

Marijuana is also turning opponents into proponents. Former Drug Enforcement Administration agents have started working in the cannabis industry, according to a December 20 story in the The Oregonian newspaper. Imagine that.

Meanwhile, New York state Assemblyman Steve Katz, a Republican who once voted against a medical-marijuana bill before getting busted for marijuana possession, is now looking to raise $10 million for marijuana businesses. In an interview about his newfound vocation, Katz said, “For me, entering this industry at this time is a dream come true from a child of the ’60s all grown up.”

If being a grown-up means you can stop being a hypocrite and get on board the weed wagon, I say, “Welcome aboard, Mr. Katz.”

Marijuana is also doing well in the polls. An October Gallup poll shows that 58 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: Weed. Is. Winning. Like Mohandas Gandhi said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Here’s to more weed, more medical studies and more winning in 2014. May you all have a great New Year.