Herbal Decline

Colorado. One of the most beautiful states in the nation, my heart, looks sick. Not sick in a “Oh that’s very cool” way. No, sick as in what has happened to her.

I lived in Colorado for a time. It is majestic and stunning to see. When I first moved to the beautiful state, I fell in love. Yes, I fell in love with my husband there as well, but I also fell for the serenity, the nature, the clean beauty, and the outdoorsy lifestyle. My husband grew up there. He loves it as well.

The stories you hear in song about the purple mountains’ majesty are all true. It is a sight. There is no doubt that the first time you see it, you understand why someone had to write it into lyrical poetry. Today's Colorado is not so impressive. It has lost its charm. It has declined and succumbed to herbal decline.

It has been twenty years since we lived in Denver. We often go back to different parts of the state to enjoy its diversions. Mountain streams, Aspens changing to their golden sequins on the garment of the forests, and the many train and historical sites, draw us still. My son has even recently moved there for his work. Each time we go back, it looks more run-down, worse for wear. You might wonder what has destroyed the magnificence of the Centennial State.

Marijuana legalization has continually diminished the state's appeal since the legalization of pot. Hear me out.

We have all seen the pictures of the streets of San Francisco and L.A., littered with tents, urine-soaked sidewalks, and vagrants milling about. It’s a sight you don’t readily forget. This is what is happening to my beautiful Colorado.

A few years ago, we traveled to the southern part of the state and road-tripped through the mountains. We stopped in places like the springs, Telluride, Cripple Creek, Leadville, and Como. These are small towns, many with train history, which is my husband's hobby. They are quaint and special. Colorado is special. Because it had a running steam train, we made our way to Durango. That is where I first saw signs of the same plague that California is suffering from. Legalized drugs.

Durango, a pristine little city, was overrun with tents along the streets and under bridges. A distinct smell of urine hung in the air as you drove through the city. People who looked like they had not showered or eaten in days were panhandling everywhere.

We were going to stop there for the night, but I asked to continue to a nicer location, so we did not stay in Durango or nearby. This was not a place for a child, and we had our son with us.

Over the years, we have gone back a few times, or even driven through it to get to other destinations, and every time, we see more and more of its appeal ruined.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I don’t care about the legalization of pot. Each state has the right to govern as it sees fit. The income that comes from drugs is so large that the state is in the black, financially speaking. I get that appeal. But the way it destroys a state's beauty or sanctity is devastating.

The influx of people from all over the country to live in one of the nation’s most desired locations brought thousands of people seeking to get high and just exist. Many don’t have jobs, many use other drugs, and many just waste themselves away.

They have the right to live their lives as they wish, I suppose, but they should not have the right to desecrate the land or the towns where citizens have made their homes and raised their children. Colorado should have had a way to deal with the influx of drug seekers and vagrants. With all the money the marijuana industry brings into the state, there should be a way to address a segment of the population that wants to do nothing but get high. They have not done anything to fix this problem, and it is overrunning the entire state.

I have no quarrel with people who want to legally smoke weed. I don’t. If alcohol is legal, then why not marijuana? It is far less dangerous than drinking, getting drunk, and then making stupid decisions, like driving a vehicle. Pot smokers tend to be far more concerned with their snack situation.

Yes, it is a gateway drug, but not for everyone. Alcohol is also a gateway drug. Think about it. It’s really all about the high, the altered reality, the numbing or forgetting of things that need forgetting, and the euphoria as well. People with addictive personalities or a propensity for addiction will always find a way to get high, to get even higher, when the status quo no longer does it for them. It’s about getting higher and higher.

My quarrel is with the idea that they have a right to come along and make everything look like Needle Park in Switzerland or New York, for that matter. My quarrel is with the states that have legalized drug sale and use and did not have a way to deal with this before they put it into law. Why did they not think of their citizens and the preservation of the integrity and beauty of their main draw, tourism?

It seems to me, more and more, that the government operates on this premise. Don’t think. This is not just my opinion.

I have spoken to people who used to vacation there before the pot scene came along and then went afterward to find it no longer a favorite place to visit. My sister, whom I had encouraged to go there for a vacation, called me within a couple of days of landing in Denver to say how disgusting the city was. She said she hated being there and would never return. I asked her why she didn’t like it, because I couldn’t imagine anyone not enjoying Colorado and falling in love with it. Then she said the words that broke my heart.

“Because there are people literally shooting up in the open, all over.”

“The entire city smells of piss, and people are sleeping on the sidewalks.”

She said she would never go back. She has never gone back.

I don’t care what you do behind closed doors. The doors are yours. Caveat: as long as it’s legal. We are free people, to an extent. I do care what you do out in public. You do not have the right to destroy a state, ruin its reputation, and make its existing citizens feel unhappy with where they live and have lived, before you came along.

If you want to be part of a viable society, work, and provide for yourself, then by all means, so be it. If, instead, you think you have the right to live in a manner that diminishes the quality of life for other citizens, then no, stay where you are. Let that state deal with you.

As for the states that have legalized or are planning to legalize any kind of street drug, you had better have a plan in place and accept the inevitability. There is no if about it. They will come and destroy you because they don’t care about themselves. What makes you think they will care about others, or where they squat? They don’t. It’s all about the high.

Speaking to the citizens, where are the adults in the room? Action and preparation should be demanded. No law should be enacted without considering the fallout and how to address it to protect its citizens or its land. You are just as responsible.

If someone doesn’t do something, we are all contributing to society's decline.

Put down the ho-ho’s, get off the couch, and have your governors fix this growing problem.

(First published on Medium)

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