Landlords & weed
I read your article on apartments’ strict policies on pot smoking (“Cannabis patient worried about finding a place to rent in Halifax,” The City story by Sandra C. Hannebohm, August 9). Do not expect any sympathy from me. I know people who suffer from sciatic nerve problems or fibromyalgia, but I do not see them toking up the chronic. Marijuana does not cure anything, it is merely sweet forget. I know people who get migraines from secondhand marijuana smoke: Do they have a right to be without pain, too? Marijuana seems to be the product of vulgar, sickly, needy and high-maintenance people who would rather wallow in misery or beg for quick fixes. We are better than that. —Allistair Fraser, Halifax
As a medical cannabis patient myself, I can also attest that there are other ways to ingest medical cannabis than smoking. Vapourizing, edibles and oils are all shown to typically be more effective for physical pain than smoking cannabis. CBD oil is known to be particularly effective in both trials and the lived experience of myself and other patients who use it for pain relief. Smoking is also one form of ingesting cannabis that is actively detrimental to health, as it compromises lung health. I am confused as to why the patient interviewed cannot find another way of taking their medicine that would be equally or more effective for their health than smoking, and would not cause issues with potential landlords. This article has left me with more questions and confusion than a sense of having been informed. —posted at thecoast.ca by Morgan Dambergs
This is an unfortunate reality of prime minister Trudeau’s “legalization.” We will have more laws which will mean more jobs for police, bylaw enforcement and likely corrections officers. True medical patients who fought for the right to medicate (which was finally granted in 1998) will suffer more than ever because of these “new” laws. Before legalization, landlords were afraid of how human rights tribunals would accept this; now they get carte blanche to rid themselves of ALL smokers, both medical and recreational as well as tobacco. Legalization is only benefitting ex-cops, ex-politicians and friends of the aforementioned, while legitimate patients suffer. The sad part is this is just so Trudeau could get elected, and little Johnny could say “I get to smoke a joint before going to get hammered at the club.” —posted by Wayne Robillard
Settler nonsense
I read in a recent Coast of a ceremony “in honour of water protectors and land defenders” to be held at Point Pleasant Park. Halifaxritual.com said that this ceremony with someone named Starhawk, was to “strengthen connections between settler and First Nations communities.”
I know that Mi’Kmaw elder Dorene Bernard hosts an annual Water Walk at Point Pleasant, so I thought this might be the same thing.
When I got there I saw a few familiar faces from the non-Native Halifax environmental and social justice scene, but mostly non-Natives I’d never seen before dressed up with fairy costumes and flowers going around smudging each other. Where were all the Mi’Kmaw warriors? The rest of the people actually involved in protecting the water? Who are these people in fancy costumes? Where are they when it’s time to block the roads or hand out leaflets? Is there some reason this isn’t just a textbook case of appropriating Native culture to have a party?
This is not the first time Starhawk—who lives in California—is coming in uninvited and leading ceremonies that don’t feel quite right. At the G-8 meetings at Kananaskis and more recently at Standing Rock, Indigenous people had issues with her and her camp followers not respecting their authority in their own territories.
This event didn’t feel to me like something that brings our communities together. I think it sets us back and actally harms the genuine relationships that people are trying to build, because it treats Indigenous ceremonies and medicines disrespectfully. As somebody who wants to respect the original people here and their cultural integrity, as well as their traditional stewardship of the land we all live on, I just feel icky about this Starhawk thing. It gets harder and harder to say “not all non-Natives” are like that when this keeps happening. —Name withheld by request, Halifax
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2018.
Keeping in mind that I’m not terribly fond of Starhawk’s behaviour toward my husband and I when we met her at Tatamagouche some years ago, her efforts to protect the water here are laudable from an animistic perspective and should be encouraged in all people who care about the preservation of the Earth.
Animism is available to all people as a core religious value, and since it sacralizes the natural world, it counteracts the impetus to view the Earth and the beings we share it with as things. After all, we don’t abuse what we hold sacred. Yes, many indigenous cultures around the world have extant animistic traditions that facilitate this sacralization, and those traditions are not ours to usurp. But the water itself belongs to all beings and so does the right to both hold it sacred and hold ceremonies that affirm its sacredness.
Because non-indigenous people cannot and should not usurp indigenous ceremonies, we must reconstruct, revitalize, and innovate spiritually if we want to accomplish this goal. This means collecting what we can from the lost animistic traditions of the world, filling in the gaps, and most importantly, doing the work of interacting with the natural world in ways that help us meaningfully connect with it. As Matsuo Basho wrote, “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.”
If this means some of us show up at a water protection ceremony in fairy garb, so be it. I show up to ceremonies in jeans and a sweater. Am I less spiritual because I don’t dress in medieval-looking garb? No. I might add that simply because a non-indigenous person uses sage (or another herb) for group cleansing does not mean that person is usurping the indigenous tradition of smudging. It means that sometimes the ceremonies of different groups look alike. This is normal.
What I’m driving at here is simple: our Great Mother needs all hands on deck, and those of us who don’t have an indigenous pathway to meaningful connection with her have to forge a different one. Forging new pathways to the sacred (spiritual innovation) is messy work, but we must do it right now and with every possible sense of urgency. This is not a drill. Our Mother is very, very sick, and helping people hold her sacred might be one of the most important things we can do to heal her. Again, we don’t destroy what we hold sacred.
With that in mind, I’m proud of those fairy-costumed, cosmetically-enhanced, first generation water protectors. I’m glad they were there, thinking about how sacred the waters of this bioregion are. Let’s have a thousand more like them. Let’s have a million. Let’s cut our way through the spiritual underbrush together and leave new water ceremonies to our descendants.
It’s a shame the person who wrote the critique of Starhawk pagan event did not attach their name to it. The anonymous writer has a number of peeves with the pagan water ceremony, including 1. Stawhawk, 2. disrespect of native culture, 3. playful pagan ritual costumes, and 4. “lack of genuine relationships”.
I’ll address the last, first. If you are genuinely trying to build genuine relationships, why not include your real name on your critique? What you said was pretty mild. Why not have the courage of your convictions and add your name?
With regards to Starhawk, she is a giant in the pagan community. She has written many best selling books and she is a long time social activist. I attended the ritual because I have enjoyed her books and I was excited about participating in the spiral dance, which is one of Starhawk’s signature rituals. The writer seems to dislike Stawhawk for some reason. Perhaps the writer is unfamiliar with her books and her decades of activist work.
Regarding the writers comments about native culture, the people who organized the free pagan event invited members of the Mi’Kmaw community to participate in the ritual and their presence was very welcome. It was wonderful to meet them and enjoy their speeches and drumming. This is the essence of genuine relationship building – showing up with an open heart and an open mind, and honoring each other.
The writer seems to be most peeved by the playful, bright, flamboyant costumes and regalia worn by many of the pagans in attendance. All religions have specific rituals, customs and ways of dressing to create sacred space. Many pagans like to dress up when celebrating together. The writer did not specifically say this, but I suspect he was uncomfortable with the spiritual aspect of the event. He is very likely an atheist and he was offended by the open practice of pagan spirituality. Too bad he was unable to appreciate the ritual, the dancing, the drumming, and the joyful community building.