I recently asked someone if he knows anyone who alcohol has helped. He thought about it for a while and said no, he does not know anyone who alcohol has helped. I asked a second question if he knew anyone who alcohol has harmed, and he smiled. He later told me of individuals he knows whose lives, marriages, careers, and health have been destroyed by alcohol. Our conversation continued, and we spoke at length about Cannabis and Sha’Carri Richardson. He told me he believed her suspension and eventually exemption from the US Olympics team has racism written all over it. And I asked him why he thought so? He said Cannabis, though a substance that is not approved by the US Athletic Federation, notwithstanding, was a legal substance like alcohol which has proven health benefits and has been legalized in some states in the United States. This issue of health benefits brought us back to the useful or harmful effects of alcohol. I tried to make him realize that the fact that Cannabis has been legalized in some nations and states in the United States does not erase its known psychedelic and harmful effects. I also added that just as he knows no one who alcohol has helped, the same is arguably true for Cannabis.

Cannabis, also called marijuana among many other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. It is native to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The Cannabis plant has been used as a drug for ages both for recreational purposes and in various traditional medicines. Presently, it is finding increasing interest and acceptance for applications in modern medicine. And its legalization which is driven by economics and profiteering will do more harm than good just like alcohol does more harm than good or even worse because of its greater influence to distort the user’s ability to reason reasonably. Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 substances whose effects are not fully researched and understood. Known effects of Cannabis include mental and physical effects that cause euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory and an increase in appetite.

The exclusion of Sha’Carri Richardson should be a wake-up call to her that as an athlete at the highest level she is operating at, she is expected to be superhuman in her professional and personal life. Her media response shows she is not as remorseful as she should be. She addressed haters and her fan, showing she is still missing the point. Which is that you must follow the rules book to the later as an athlete. Especially in a sport ravaged by doping scandals whose ink has not dried. The Olympics will surely miss her flamboyance. But life and the Olympics go on. No athlete is greater than their federation, nation, or the people they represent. Sporting greats like Serena Williams were tested for unauthorized substances more often than her non-Black competitors, yet she is not distracted by her distractors. She remains committed to being the best lawn tennis player ever, putting all the obstacles she has confronted in her long career fast behind. My advice for Sha’Carri Richardson is that she should ignore the so-called haters and fans and focus on becoming the superwoman she is skilled and destined to become. Cannabis can produce a temporal bliss that can easily lead abyss.

Ata Ukuta, Editor – www.towncryyers.com