For the last year, reports have been coming in fast, indicating that a surfeit of particularly fragrant skunks has invaded the Westlock area and residents are advised to either take a good, long whiff or leave them be.
OK, only a few of the reports are actually a result of the malodorous, striped mammals. Many times the smell is more than likely your neighbour getting acquainted with a freedom they’ve only known for a single year of their lives. To burn a flower, if they so choose to, as adults, inhale the smoke produced, exhale and then eat the most delicious submarine sandwich ever, before going to sleep. All that without the risk of criminal prosecution. What a world.
Can we speak this truth without being persecuted as drug addicts, scum of the Earth criminals or dirt-filthy hippies yet?
Recreational cannabis has officially been legal for a year in Canada and the sky has yet to fall. Chicken Little still gets up every day though, looks to the heavens and predicts the end is nigh.
There are currently three retail stores open for business in town and one large grower and one micro grower awaiting their approvals. Whether they all succeed remains to be seen, but there appears to be enough interest for them to hang around. Like it or not, Westlock seems to have embraced cannabis as a viable business venture for the region at the very least.
Soon, everyone may be able to smoke their bud and eat it too. This is where the most potential for problems lay. Come December, edibles of all kinds will be available at our local cannabis shops.
Edibles are known to be slow acting, but long lasting and many inexperienced users mistake a lack of immediate inebriation for not having taken enough. This method of consumption does not bring on the instant buzz that smoking it will provide.
Be aware. Start small, it can take two to three hours to start feeling the effects. Taking too much can be deleterious. Seriously. Don’t drive, at all, ever. And keep out of reach of children and pets. There’s going to be chocolates and gummies and fizzy drinks capable of knocking a full-grown man on his backside very soon. Like everything else, if you choose to partake, do it responsibly and in moderation. Don’t reinforce the stigma and don’t give everyone else a bad name.
