An Activist?

Well, that the way some perceive me on FaceBook.

And what the hell is Erie Crackhead doing on FaceBook in the first place?

The reason for that was to increase exposure for this blog. It is a way to get my message out to a few more poor fools who are in my shoes. It was also thought that more exposure would increase comments, good and bad that could be used to help himself. It was a way to connect to others as well.

Erie Crackhead needs friends too, you know.

Now there are over 100 FB friends connected to Erie Cracker. While some of his friends there have thousands, yes, thousands of friends, I am surprised at the acceptance EC has gotten there. I also think if many of the people who have friended EC on FaceBook read this blog, many would be un-friending in a heart beat.

In truth a few people have said they have no interest in being friends with a crackhead. Who can blame them in some respects. But one also has to consider that in another respect, we may both be losing something and that's a shame.

What are we losing? Well the chance to learn from each other for starters.

But what has happened is that my FB friends started to be people I know from Harm Reduction and those who are involved in Drug and Alcohol counseling. Some of these people know exactly who I am and as mentioned before, could pick me out of a police lineup. Now many of their friends are involved in one way or another in marijuana activism.

I guess Harm Reduction advocates supplied many of the initial contacts with those activists. They do come in many stripes, from patients who use MM and live in MM states or places where MM is something before legislative bodies and they are trying to gather support. Then there are supporters of decriminalization or the complete legalization of weed.

Then there are some friends that are really companies, growers and suppliers of paraphernalia who are trying to position themselves for the day when pot does eventually become legal in some measure. Whether for medical purposes or recreational purposes, they want to have made those social contacts to eventually or in some cases today to sell their products.

I may not live to see that, but it is going to happen.

Here I am though, advocating for medical marijuana on many links that flow through FB. I call the place "Short Attention Span Theater" as things fly through so quickly at times you miss some important stuff. In some respects the Information Superhighway gone mad.

Information overload is a kind way of putting it.

So as friends, both requests made by me and requests I've received, have started to accumulate the majority are activists for MM in one way or another. Comments I've made have also been noticed and have to some degree have been favorably accepted.

Why is this happening?

In part because I am using weed as a Harm Reduction tool in my own struggles with crack. There have been beneficial and positive results from that use. The other part is that in any state that now has legal Medical Marijuana a doc could write a recommendation for me without one speck of doubt as to my need. In that regard it has made some parts of my life a bit more tolerable.

So it's only natural that my involvement has evolved. It works for me, and it may work for you, but everyone is different in their reaction to any medication. Whether it comes from a plant or a drug company, that statement is truth. Don't believe me? Read the labels.

While commenting, urging a bit of common sense to the argument, injecting my own twisted sense of humor or just chatting with people there, as well friending and the other stuff that happens on FB, there is something that bothers me a bit. Am I a credible advocate for something that has helped me to some degree?

I mean, what does a crackhead know?