“Do not go there!” Valentina, a 27-year-old designer living in Medellín, yelled when I told her that I planned on visiting the Casa Museo Pablo Escobar, a museum dedicated to the Colombian drug lord.
A quick Google search made me change my mind. The entrance fee to the museum is $30 – a hefty sum in a country where a full meal will typically cost you less than $5, and most of the museums are donation-based or free-of-charge. On top of that, online reviews were making the place out to be a rip-off, a collection of meaningless personal possessions, shoddy reproductions, and revisionist history.
But that was not why Valentina told me not to go. A native Colombian, she felt it was disrespectful for tourists like me to go and waste their time, energy, and money on an individual who callously killed and intimidated so many of her countrymen.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what tourists are doing. For many – although certainly not all – it’s one of their primary reasons for coming to Medellín in the first place. Colombia has been attracting travelers with a perverse admiration for Pablo Escobar for decades, but the number of narco-tourists increased drastically following the release of Netflix’s Narcos, which has turned the kingpin from a fading memory into an alive-and-well pop culture icon.
While the Netflix series has boosted Colombia’s tourism industry and by extension the Colombian economy as a whole, Colombians are – understandably – upset that one of the most hated characters in their history books has now become the country’s de facto international ambassador.
“To many of us, Pablo is our Hitler,” one person from Medellín told me. “To a few he was a hero, but mostly he brought a lot of evil to our city, and we will probably never get rid of the stigma, just like the Germans will never get rid of their history. I really despise people who buy or sell Pablo T-shirts, mugs, etc. It’s like me going to Berlin to sell T-shirts of Hitler. I’d get arrested before I sold the first one.”
“I have an uncle who I never met who died in one of his famous bombings,” another added. “I completely despise any reference towards that man.”
Personally, I am tempted to hold Narcos partially responsible for creating or at the very least reinvigorating this reference for Escobar. In classic Hollywood fashion, Netflix made him thinner, handsomer and more charismatic than he was in real life. (They also cast a Brazilian actor instead of a Colombian one, but that is another story). On top of all this, the focus of the show is on his success, on his power. Viewers walk away from Narcos ruminating on how, at his peak, he was the 7th richest man in the world and controlled 80% of all cocaine. What they don’t realize is that, for the time that he was active, he pretty much held the whole country hostage through a campaign of domestic terrorism, blowing up apartment buildings and commercial airplanes just to kill a single person on his miles-long hitlist.
Instead of Casa Museo Pablo Escobar, Valentina urged me to visit Barrio 13. A huge slum erected on the hills overlooking Medellín, Barrio 13 used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in all of South America, until the Colombian army swept in during the early 2000s. Things have improved since then – somewhat. It is still a total mess; there is no urban planning and no roads for cars, but instead of public executions, there’s music, graffiti, and – occasionally – those Red Bull BMX challenges you may have seen on YouTube. Most importantly, however, the residents seem to be earning a decent living off tourism.
Graffiti artist in Barrio 13 / Photo by Tim Brinkhof
While ordering an IPA I later learned contained copious amounts of THC, I asked the guy who had brought me there – a local called Jason – how the people of Barrio 13 felt about a show like Narcos. The answer: not good. If I wanted to “see the real Escobar,” Jason told me, I should check out a Colombian show called El Patron del Mal, or “The Boss of Evil.” It’s a Latin soap-opera, not a blockbuster, but once I ignored the overly dramatic plot and music, I could see what he was getting at. First and foremost, Escobar, who was played by a Colombian actor, looked the part – overweight and less attractive. Patron del Mal also struck me as more authentic in its representation of Colombia. The Medellín the characters lived in was the same Medellín as I saw when I looked out of the window of my little Airbnb – full of energy and color. They drank aguardiente and gorged on paísa, a typical Antioquian dish of rice, beans, avocado, ground beef and fried pork, served with hot arepas. Most importantly, however, the life of crime did not seem nearly as glamorous in this show as it did in Narcos. We see Escobar for what he really was – a crook without a conscience; it wasn’t his intelligence that allowed him to get as far as he did, but the fact that he was willing to do things that others wouldn’t have been able to live with.
Navigating the maze that’s Barrio 13 is hard enough when you’re sober, let alone when you’ve unintentionally gotten high off craft beer. Standing in line for the only outdoor escalator in the country, I began to notice how Colombian society dealt with the scars of narco-terrorism. Buildings that used to be painted with blood and bullet holes have since been covered up by gorgeous graffiti art that serves to remind people of anything other than drug-related violence. One of the barrio’s newest murals, Jason showed me, depicts Pachamama, an Andean goddess representing the Earth itself, and a much older and powerful symbol of Colombia’s cultural heritage than Escobar.
While I never went to Casa Museo Pablo Escobar, I did visit Hacienda Napoles, one of the many homes he acquired with his fortune. Located near the town of Puerto Triunfo, about halfway between Medellín and Bogotá, the Hacienda had originally included a modest swimming pool, a landing strip for small airplanes, and a zoo filled with animals purchased on the black market. After Escobar’s death, the estate itself fell into disarray. The villa was ransacked and eventually raised to the ground. The animals, left to their fate, died or – in the case of the hippos – escaped into the surrounding wetlands, where they flourished and became invasive species.
Hippos at the Hacienda Napoles zoo / Photo by Tim Brinkhof
For years, the Colombian state fought to confiscate the land from Escobar’s relatives. When they succeeded, they turned the Hacienda Napoles into a theme park. At first, I thought that this was done in an attempt to cash in on narco-tourism trends. Fortunately, this was not the case. Upon falling into public hands, the Hacienda – like Barrio 13 – was transformed so as to remove all traces of its criminal past. To that end, the Hacienda Napoles of today is related to the Hacienda Napoles of Escobar in name only. The hilly terrain that had once served to hide the kingpin’s dealings from the outside world now features rollercoasters and swimming pools. The theme park’s theme is Africa, owing to the bigger and better zoo that has taken the place of the old one. Visitors – mostly Colombians holidaying in their own country – come to gawk at elephants, lions, tigers, flamingos, and a pair of absolutely monstrous boa constrictors. In contrast to Escobar’s own zoo, where zebras were ridden by his henchmen and ostriches handfed cigarettes, the Hacienda’s current animals live in spacious enclosures, enjoying a climate that – at least in terms of temperature – isn’t far off from their native savannahs.
Cartel member riding one of Escobar’s zebras / Photo by Tim Brinkhof
The only reference to Pablo Escobar inside Hacienda Napoles is a small museum tucked away in the very back corner of the park. The museum, a partial reconstruction of the original villa, is dedicated to the victims of narco-terrorism. Inside you learn more about the history of the Hacienda, Escobar’s inevitable downfall, and the barbaric lengths that he went to trying to prevent that downfall. The white walls are covered with the portraits of politicians and police officers that he had killed, as well as pictures of blood-covered children being pulled out of the rubble of collapsed buildings.
What shocked me more than these images was that most of the visitors around me had just come out of the pool and were walking through the museum half-naked, dripping wet, drinking beers and eating slices of pizza. At the time their behavior and appearance couldn’t help but strike me as inappropriate, and even made me think that they were a bit hypocritical to complain about gringos smoking blunts on Escobar’s grave back in Medellín. Days later, I realized how wrong I was. Whereas I, a foreigner, had traveled to Puerto Triunfo specifically to see what had become of Escobar’s former home, the average Colombian – it appears – comes here to swim in the swimming pools, ride the rollercoasters, and look at the animals. To them, Pablo Escobar is not the main event of their trip, but just an afterthought. This, as far as I am concerned, is as good a sign as any that the country – after decades of suffering – is well on its way to break free from the drug lord’s tightening grip.
Tourists checking out the narco-terrorism museum / Photo by Tim Brinkhof
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The Snail Nail Company originally launched with a collaboration with WaxNax to run a dab bar at the Green Street Festival in DTLA in mid 2022. They have since had many dab bar setups including an unforgettable night at the Tyson 2.0 Kali Mansion in Las Vegas.
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How is it that you’ve never tried pot? Here you are at age 63, a retired teacher, somebody’s grandmother, considered to be avant-garde by many of your generation of friends, yet you are as unaware as the most innocent elementary-school kid.
But comes a day when you are offered a pot brownie and there goes your virginity, and are you ever glad! You and your husband are spending the afternoon with a friend who is a neighbor of your daughter, and you stop by to say hello to her. She is just taking a batch of brownies out of the oven and you decide that this is an opportunity.
Your daughter warns that this brownie may seem harmless but that it is best to be careful. She says that she would advise a little milk but no alcohol of any kind, not even a sip of beer.
You know that you are spending the afternoon with your nice safe husband and his very gentlemanly bachelor friend, both age 73, so you will be in good company, and no matter what happens you’ll have someone to take care of you; so you decide to have a beer along with the menfolk.
It occurs to you that it would be such a good joke if you could act in a normal fashion, have a beer as usual and then spring it on your husband that you have indeed indulged in pot. Won’t he be surprised? Ha ha.
Everything is so pleasant. The California sun is so benign, and these two companions are so courtly. Listening to their conversation is like listening to a Bach fugue or a Mozart concerto.
Whoops! Better move into the shade, because something very peculiar is happening to your focus. Besides, you are beginning to realize who you really are.
All these years you’ve been the type that could sit down in good company with a peanut-butter sandwich and a cup of tea, or a snack and a glass of wine, and be “turned on” and the life of the party. You’ve always enjoyed the beauties of nature without the help of any special awareness. You’ve always enjoyed the conversation of friends.
Now, all of a sudden you’re a wise guy, full of wisecracks and what seems to you to be very clever repartee. It’s obvious that you’d better keep your remarks to yourself, because these snappy comebacks to every remark made by your companions are pretty much on the smart-ass side and could hurt someone’s feelings.
How you wish that you could write down every quip that comes to mind! It seems to you that you are extremely witty and that none of your thoughts should be lost to posterity.
Your daughter joins the group and you suddenly notice that she talks too much. Hmmm, so you’re becoming critical, too! Who are you to criticize? She probably developed the habit at her mother’s knee.
Better move further into the shade. But do you dare move? Your perceptive husband may guess your secret, because you are not at all sure whether you will move sideways, backward or maybe straight up.
You finally decide to chance it, and just as you start to move your chair your daughter leans forward and makes a remark beginning “And in the first place…” Your immediate reaction is to say, “Where was I in the first place?” because you have a compulsive feeling that you should have moved back to where you were in the first place. You have no idea where that was. This is a most peculiar feeling.
Now you know what the potheads mean when they say “far out.” This is an apt description, and you wonder what the group would say if you did just this, like moving far out to the back garden.
It’s fun to manipulate such phrases. They would be so great in your drama. How about a line like “Put it in the nick of time,” or “You’ll find him in the main.” You could say, “Hide it in the lurch. No one will ever find it there.”
It’s probably just as well not to come out with these thoughts.
Time to go, and since you’re stopping at the supermarket on the way home you wonder when would be a good time to break the news to your husband. Will he be mad at you for eating that whole brownie, or will he be interested in the effects as the hours go by? You are feeling so wonderful, and while you appreciate him for all his good qualities you are also aware of his complete lack of humor in new situations.
So, about the time he drives across heavy traffic and heads into the parking lot, you break the news. You start by coyly asking him if he noticed anything different about you this afternoon, and he, poor innocent, says no, he just thought you were the same as usual, happy and enjoying life, but maybe a little more so.
He’s absolutely flabbergasted! He thinks he should take you straight home before you go wild and do something to disgrace him for life.
He sits in the parking lot and breathes heavily for a while and then tells you what a damn fool you are. He’s sure you can’t be trusted, but you remind him that after all you kept it from him all afternoon, so that proves you can behave. Somehow, these remarks are not very comforting.
Finally he gets his strength back, and you proceed to pick up your grocery cart, and he establishes the ground rules. He seems to think that you are a four-year-old who must be instructed to hold onto the cart and not say a word or leave go or wander off or make a decision.
An old song lyric pops into your head: “Daisies won’t tell.” Alight as well be a daisy, because that way you won’t tell. So you are a daisy, very sweet and not telling, until you get to the checkout line.
There, you go into another phase, which could be called “Poor you, lucky me,” or “I like myself better than anybody.”
You know perfectly well that, seen in your jeans from behind, you look exactly like a big strong Percheron. However, you find yourself very conveniently forgetting this fact. You look pityingly at the woman in front of you and think beautiful catty thoughts, like: “If someone removed those well-tailored slacks and that girdle, she wouldn’t look so trim and slim.” You think how here you are wearing nice roomy baggy jeans, so much more comfortable and free. Why, if someone stripped her down, she’d be scrawny and her muscles would be completely atrophied by all that girdle wearing!
Pot is the ultimate, for sure. It has erased your big behind. You know you’ve been called Aloose Ass and Bison Butt (behind your back, of course). But you can ignore it and enjoy your little fantasy and like yourself better than you have for years. Now that’s pure fun.
On the way home redundancy sets in. You mention the “sunset going down” and describe a situation as happening “on the twice.” “Twice” would really be enough, as you realize, but you can’t seem to stop.
When you start dinner you realize that your husband has chosen all the things that call for concentration in cooking. Hah! He thinks that concentration will settle you down. How can anyone be such a spoilsport. Why settle down?
Ah, well, you are seeing your relationship very clearly. It’s all a matter of playing a part in a game, and you will play his game if it will make him happy.
Later on in the evening your sons drop by. Immediately the old sibling rivalry starts up. It’s making your husband miserable, but you launch into the humor bit. “Sweet Violets” and all the limericks you used to make up to that tune come to mind. Of course, this type of humor is greatly frowned upon by the younger generation. They call it “’30s humor” and they spit on it.
It seems to you that making up a limerick might ease the pain, so you sit there singing to yourself inside your head:
Remember that they are your children
When they’re 30 or more it’s a drag
But mother would druther not suffer
Think positive, sing and don’t nag.
They probably always will hassle
But mother is damned if she’ll flip
They’re playing their game, but she’s potted
And not even giving a rip.
So this is how to be a hotshot parent in one easy lesson! You feel so on top of things that you call the trouble starter a little snot (how awful) and use your best psychology to say, “Somebody has to be big enough to shut up!” The one with the short fuse shuts up, and the trouble starter and needier leave. Peace descends.
And so to bed….
In the morning you feel fine. No hangover but rather an analytical mood. You know that everyone is different, but for you pot is so much better than alcohol because you remember you felt silly but you weren’t stupid. You have no regrets. You had a feeling of wellbeing from the outset, and since you kept your big mouth shut you didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
How beamish everything was! You must admit that things seemed to be slipping sideways and sort of out of focus, but you weren’t driving and you were with your good dependable husband and among friends. That way it was a good trip. Now there’s another very apt description. It was a trip for sure. Another expression you now understand is “high.” You were. Remember “Sweet Violets”?
There is one thing that worries you a little and that’s the self-revelation you experienced. You wish you didn’t know how very satirical and sarcastic you can be. It isn’t really funny to think of all those puns and wise remarks in response to the conversation of your friends and loved ones.
But then, you did find that you could keep it hidden and enjoy hugging it to yourself. You could take it out and put it away and you could enjoy yourself mightily. Walter Mitty isn’t the only one with a “Secret Life.”
I wait with bated breath for the day Tracie Morrissey announces she’s working on a memoir. A legend who helped build (or hone) Bust, Jezebel, Broadly, and VICELAND, Tracie is a seminal voice in media who’s undoubtedly shaped the online publishing zeitgeist throughout the past couple decades.
Tracie is known for many things, but during the pandemic she started posting sleuth-like deep dives on her Instagram Stories about the bullshit spewed by various minor league celebrities, which led to many calling her an “Instagram Detective.”
These informal but thorough investigations have included her flagging the time two cast members from Vanderpump Rules called the police on their POC colleagues, suggesting that actress Jameela Jamil has Munchausen Syndrome and that she lied about having an illness, or calling out Hilaria Baldwin for faking (or at least extremely exaggerating) her Spanish identity.
Tracie’s celebrity scrutiny goes beyond viral every time, and though she’s got plenty of haters, they’re yet to prove her wrong. As a result, I kind of think of her as the Jane Meyer of D-List celebs, in the best way possible.
On the danker side of her oeuvre, Tracie co-hosts the excellent podcast Pot Psychology with her best bud and former Gawker editor Rich Juzwiak. She also runs the cannabis ephemera and lifestyle shop Pipe Dreams (great name), which offers delightful pot products like this hamburger grinder and an acrylic stash box made in collaboration with Edie Parker.
Tracie is an OG head with strong convictions, and this goes for her succinct-but-sweet 420 Recs. Below, she discusses her favorite bong that is yet to be knocked over, listening to yacht rock, and her very on-brand dream blunt rotation featuring both Elizabeth Holmes and Harvey Fierstein. Enjoy, and thanks Tracie!
What’s your current favorite strain? How do you like to consume it?
I don’t know if I have a favorite strain. I prefer indica dominant hybrids. I’m sort of the same way about weed as I am about wine. I’m not an expert, but I know that I like it. My favorite way to consume is via bong or bubbler — particularly this iridescent cobra bong that I sell. It’s little and perfectly-sized for my hand and I’ve never ever knocked it over, which is a big deal for me.
What’s your current favorite weed product?
I love flower!
What activity do you like to do after you’ve consumed said weed product?
The most frequent activity I do while stoned is podcasting. I co-host a podcast called Pot Psychology with my best friend Rich Juzwiak. We get high and talk about pop culture. It’s hard to explain but easy to listen to.
Can you recommend something to watch while stoned? And explain why you like it.
I watch everything stoned. But I highly recommend Raised by Wolves on HBO Max. It’s about how Earth was destroyed by a war between religious zealots and atheists, and a pod of androids and human fetuses were sent out to another planet to try and start humanity over again.
Can you recommend something to listen to while stoned? And explain why you dig it.
Yacht rock. I like to chill.
Can you recommend something to read once stoned?
Takeout menus.
Who’s in your dream blunt rotation?
My dream blunt rotation would be Dionne Warwick, Amy Sedaris, Elizabeth Holmes, and Harvey Fierstein.
Sitios prohibidos, trampas de la mente, lugares sagrados, situaciones en las que no, simplemente no se puede. Por la buena, se sabe, la mecha aparece en cualquier lado. Ahora bien, ¿y si no pinta? ¿Hay lugares en los que “no da” fumar porro? ¿Existen sitios en los que es preferible no prender un churro?
Con El Planteo andamos investigando todos los recovecos de la cultura 420 y, por eso, ahora preguntamos: ¿en qué lugar “NO” te fumarías un porro y por qué?
Yo sé que parece un planazo fumarse un porro antes de entrar al Easy, pero si no tenés una listita, es lo mismo que entrar con hambre al supermercado. Es el equivalente. ¿Para qué me compré esta vitina si nunca comí vitina en mi vida? Bueno, por ahí, eso lo terminás comiendo un día que no tenés nada.
Pero yo me he ido del Easy con unos tornillos sólo porque los colores se veían lindos. ¡Tornillos! O una lata de pintura de un color fabuloso y cuando llego a casa pienso: “¿qué voy a pintar con esto?”. O esa vez que compré una manguera porque era violeta. Metros y metros de manguera y yo viviendo en un departamento de 2 x 2. Parece una idea fabulosa pero se puede transformar en una ridiculez.
Por razones obvias, no me fumaría un porro en Corea del Norte. Y, segundo, en situaciones en las que tengo que memorizar cosas. Si fumo porro, en los segundos previos a eso, la paso como el culo. Me olvido.
Me pasa cuando toco con la banda. No fumo antes de cantar porque me olvido las letras. Además, es una cuestión bastante particular. No digo que les pase a todos, pero a mí me pasa eso.
Nunca jamás fumaría antes de tocar. Es algo que ya intenté varias veces y, definitivamente, no es para mí. Envidio mucho a la gente que puede tocar y se puede subir al escenario fumada. Imagino que debe ser una experiencia especial y mística, pero definitivamente no es para mí.
Son situaciones que, de por sí, estando careta, me pueden llegar a dar un ataque incontenible de risa. Y siento que si estuviese fumada sería un absoluto papelón.
Un lugar donde no fumar es en cualquier lado que involucre a un subte. Las cercanías de un subte: en absoluto, siempre hay muchos policías.
Esto es un consejo para la gente: no se confíen. Incluso, las estaciones que parecen que están cerca de parquecitos y cosas así… ojo, porque hay policías dando vueltas y no son una buena zona.
Tampoco antes de subir al subte. Nada que tenga que ver con el subte, porque es un lugar que tiene todas las características como para tener un mal viaje: hace calor, hay mucha gente, estás apretado, el tiempo se vuelve medio difuso, no hay tantas cosas divertidas, hay muy feo olor… no me parece para nada un buen lugar. No fumen antes de subir al subte o cerca del subte.No así antes de viajar en colectivo, que puede ser una experiencia mejor.
Un lugar donde no me fumaría un porro es un lugar donde exista la mínima posibilidad de que algo me dé miedo. Por ejemplo, un circo. Pero no un circo bueno, sino uno conurbano, esos de bajo presupuesto. Tipo el del Profesor Jirafales, donde están los payasos mal maquillados y los animales cagados a palos. Algo así.
O una casa abandonada. Igual, a una casa abandonada no iría ni en pedo en circunstancias normales. Y si existiera una posibilidad de ir, no me fumaría un porro porque, conociendo mi mente, me perseguiría por cualquier cosa.
Nunca me fumaría un porro en un lugar donde haya una reunión de policías o muchos policías cerca. En el único lugar en el que no me fumaría un porro es donde no me lo permitan. Por el simple hecho de que me pueden llevar presa… y no quiero.
El lugar donde nunca me fumaría un porro es en una casa del terror, esas de parques de diversiones. Soy muy cagón y creo que me lo potenciaría y la pasaría muy pero muy mal.
Más contenido de El Planteo:
Damián Kuc: Historias Innecesarias, Adolescencia Fumona y Persecuciones Policiales
Ramitagram: ‘En Argentina, el Debate del Porro ya Logró Barrer a esa Gente que Opina por Opinar’
Argentina officially launched a new government agency on Wednesday as part of an effort to bolster the country’s medical marijuana and hemp industry.
Reuters reports that the agency, known as the Regulatory Agency for the Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis Industry, or ARICCAME, represents “the first working group of a new national agency to regularize and promote the country’s nascent cannabis industry, which ministers hope will create new jobs and exports generating fresh income for the South American nation.”
“This opens the door for Argentina to start a new path in terms of industrial exports, on the basis of huge global demand,” said Argentina’s economy minister Sergio Massa at an event marking the launch of the new agency.
According to Reuters, “Massa said that the agency would from Thursday begin regularizing programs and coordinating with various provinces and [the] industrial sector, adding Argentina already counted on demand for projects linked to the agro-industrial sector.”
On the official website for ARICCAME, the agency outlines its mission and objectives.
“We are the Agency that regulates the import, export, cultivation, industrial production, manufacture, commercialization and acquisition, by any title, of seeds of the cannabis plant, cannabis and its derivative products for medicinal or industrial purposes,” the website reads, via an English translation.
The website lists the following “general objectives” for the agency: “Establish through the respective regulations, the regulatory framework for the entire production chain and national marketing and/or export of the Cannabis Sativa L. plant, seeds and derivatives for use in favor of health and industrial hemp; Promote a new agro-industrial productive sector for the commercial manufacture of medicines, phytotherapeutics, food and cosmetics for human use, medicines and food for veterinary use, as well as the different products made possible by industrial hemp; Generate the framework for the adaptation to the regulatory regime, of the cultivation and production of cannabis derivatives for use in existing health, guaranteeing the traceability and quality of the products in order to safeguard the right to health of the users of medical cannabis; Reintroduce hemp in Argentina and all its derivatives: food, construction materials, textile fiber, cellulose and bioplastics with low environmental impact; [and] Promote scientific research and sectoral technological progress, promoting favorable conditions for these existing industries in our country.”
ARICCAME’s specific objectives include: “Establish clear rules that provide legal certainty to the sector and encourage federal participation; Articulate through agreements and conventions with other State entities with intervention in the matter: INASE, SENASA, INTA, INTI, AFIP, INAES, BCRA, UIF, National Universities, etc; Determine the system of licenses and administrative authorizations for the productive chain; Generate quality standards that safeguard the right to health of users and consumers of cannabis/hemp products; [and] Control non-compliance with the regulatory regime.”
Argentine policymakers legalized cannabis oil for medical use in 2017. Three years later, the country legalized home cannabis cultivation for medical marijuana patients.
The launch of the new agency is part of a border effort by the Argentine government to continue to reform the medical cannabis program, something that the South American country identified as a priority last year.
According to Reuters, the newly launched agency will be helmed by Francisco Echarren, who “said the industry could generate thousands of new jobs, as well as create technological developments and new products for export.”
“We have a huge challenge ahead of us,” Echarren said, as quoted by Reuters, “not only getting a new industry on its feet, but giving millions of Argentines access to products that improve quality of life.”
Democratic and Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire are gearing up for another effort to legalize marijuana, but the state’s governor doesn’t think they will succeed.
The latest cannabis bill being floated in the New Hampshire legislature has support from members of both parties, and the proposal was considered at a hearing in the state House Commerce Committee on Wednesday, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
Republicans have control over the New Hampshire state government, holding majorities in both the state Senate and state House of Representatives.
The state’s governor, Chris Sununu, is also a Republican.
As was the case last year, when another marijuana legalization was considered, the proposal has exposed a divide within the New Hampshire GOP.
While the House of Representatives has “repeatedly backed plans to legalize cannabis,” according to New Hampshire Public Radio, the Republican-led state Senate has not been on board.
Sununu, meanwhile, represents another obstacle to the bill.
“I’ve always said now’s not the time. Every state does it very different. I’ve always wanted to see what works and what doesn’t,” Sununu said in a gubernatorial debate last year. “There may be a way to do it but given that we are facing an opioid crisis, given that we still don’t know what works with other states, it could be inevitable, I get it, but you got to be patient about how you do it and the steps that are best for New Hampshire.”
On Wednesday, Sununu’s office was dismissive of the latest legalization’s bill’s prospects.
“It’s failed in the Senate repeatedly, in both Republican-held years and Democrat-held years,” the governor’s office said, as quoted by New Hampshire Public Radio. “With teen drug use and overdoses on the rise, it is not anticipated that the legislature will see this as a time to ignore the data and move it forward.”
Sununu has backed other cannabis-related reforms, however.
According to the Associated Press, “Sununu signed legislation decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, expanding access to medical marijuana and creating a system for annulling old convictions for marijuana possession,” but “a bill to legalize recreational use has never reached his desk.”
“Governor Sununu has done more on the issues surrounding marijuana reform than any other governor in New Hampshire history,” Sununu spokesperson Ben Vihstadt told the AP.
The legislation was announced last month by two of the senior members of the state House of Representatives: House Majority Leader Jason Osborne and House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm.
“The House has long stood united in finding a pathway to getting this done for Granite Staters,” Osborne said at the time. “With any luck, the Senate will come around to supporting the will of the vast majority of New Hampshire citizens.”
On Wednesday, Osborne stumped for the bill before the House Commerce Committee.
“What you are looking at is a result of a number of months of work by an entire coalition of groups and advocates, everything from the business side to the consumer side, the civil rights side to the economic liberty side, as well as the recovery community and people concerned about child safety,” Osborne said at the hearing, as quoted by the Associated Press. “It’s about time we get something done.”
The Associated Press reports that “a coalition that includes both the ACLU of New Hampshire and the conservative group Americans for Prosperity is backing a bipartisan bill to legalize the drug, regulate and tax retail operations and allow it to be grown at home,” and that most of the revenue generated from marijuana sales “would go toward reducing the state’s pension liability, with some going to substance abuse prevention programs and other groups.”
City and county officials in upstate New York are at odds over the implementation of rules governing the sale and cultivation of marijuana in the community.
The dispute is between the Niagara Falls City Council and members of the Niagara County Planning Board, and it centers around how the community will enforce the sale of recreational marijuana, which was legalized by the state of New York in 2021.
The Niagara Gazette reports: “The Niagara County Planning Board unanimously decided to disapprove a zoning text amendment the Niagara Falls City Council approved a month ago, which allows for the cultivation, production and sale of recreational cannabis within the city. Despite this decision, the members knew their actions would have little effect on the city’s implementation. The county board members’ objections ranged from not being specific on locations to the city seeing little financial benefit from having these businesses operate in the Falls.”
Under the ordinance that was approved by the Niagara Falls City Council last month, “cannabis dispensaries engaging in sales only can operate between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m., those that allow on-site consumption may operate from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m., and may not operate more than 70 hours a week,” and retail “dispensaries may not be located within 500 feet of a community facility while consumption dispensaries may not be within 200 feet of a house of worship, 500 feet of a school or ‘community facility,’ and 1,000 feet of similar operations,” according to the Niagara Gazette.
New York’s Office of Cannabis Management issued 36 recreational marijuana dispensary licenses to various businesses and nonprofits in the state in November, but so far, only two retailers––both located in Manhattan––have opened to customers.
The Office of Cannabis Management says that cities, towns, and villages could have opted out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses from operating within their jurisdictions, but those municipalities needed to “pass a local law by December 31, 2021 or nine months after the effective date of the legislation.”
The agency explains: “If a municipality does not opt-out by December 31, 2021, the municipality will be unable to opt-out at a future date. However, a municipality may opt back in, to allow either, or both, adult-use retail dispensary or on-site consumption license types by repealing the local law which established the prohibition. All local laws passed by municipalities opting out of allowing adult-use retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses are subject to a permissive referendum as outlined in section twenty-four of the Municipal Home Rule Law. This creates a process allowing voters of the municipality to petition the outcome of a local law, which if successful, will trigger the question of whether or not to approve the local law, to be placed on the ballot at the next general election of state or local government officials for the municipality.”
According to the Niagara Gazette, Kevin Forma, the city planning director of Niagara Falls, “said the directions that all municipalities received from the state are similar to liquor ordinances and the requirements for having a bar,” and that the “state was also restrictive in what the city can do for allowing and disallowing uses.”
“The state is telling us that we cannot restrict this,” Forma said during the planner’s meeting on Monday, as quoted by the Gazette. “We’re developing this to the best of our ability, managing this in conjunction with the state rules and regulations.”
En los tiempos que corren, se está haciendo cada vez más difícil navegar este mundo que se cae a pedazos. Parece que se nos están agotando las ganas de enfrentarnos a este Apocalipsis que no termina más.
Pero no todo está perdido: todavía se puede encontrar refugio en ciertas cosas, cada cual las suyas. Para algunxs será la risa, para otres el trabajo, o las amistades; o, quizás, el porro, o simplemente poder conectar con otras personas.
Para Noelia Custodio, son todas esas cosas. La comediante, locutora, youtuber e ícono cannábico ha tenido un par de años complejos, pero ahora se encuentra en un momento lleno de proyectos, bien acompañada y con mucho aprendizaje encima.
Por eso, nos comparte algunas ideas sobre la comedia, el trabajo, el Reprocann, la marihuana, el terror y la empatía.
Sobrevivir en el mundo
Noelia está en el ámbito del stand up desde hace rato, pero se podría decir que está en la comedia desde antes. “Con los chistes empecé cuando me di cuenta de que tenía que sobrevivir en el mundo”, comparte. “Porque dije ‘bueno, es por acá, me parece, que caigo bien’”.
Un te lo resumo así nomás de sus inicios en el mágico mundo de la comedia: su plan era estudiar locución luego del colegio, pero se le complicó terminar la secundaria, por lo que decidió ponerse a hacer un curso de stand up (“¡porque aparentemente se puede hacer un curso de stand up!”, remarca).
Sí, ir a un curso es algo que cualquiera puede hacer, pero el estilo particular de Noelia no es exactamente el más divulgado. Al verla en el escenario, se nota mucho la diferencia con la manera dominante de hacer stand up. Ella la describe: “Me di cuenta de que estaba hablando como lo hacía siempre abajo del escenario. Nadie lo hace así, todo el mundo lo hace más ‘cuentito’”.
O, por lo menos, eso pensaba ella.
Más tarde tendría contacto con el trabajo de otres comediantes que ampliarían su concepto de lo que significaba la comedia. “Conocí a Ana Carolina, Charo López, que eran muy zarpadas haciendo esto”, dice, refiriéndose a su estilo. “Es como una conversación fluida, como si fuese la primera vez que te lo digo. Eso me parece muy natural, y siempre lo que es más natural es lo que mejor funciona, creo”.
Después, fue cuestión de pulirse sobre el escenario. Estas disciplinas, explica Noelia, no se practican tanto estudiando y ensayando, sino en el vivo, en el hacer constante. Obviamente, la práctica es necesaria, pero el ida y vuelta es crucial. “Es clave el público, es clave el feedback”, asegura Noelia, y agrega: “Tenés que ser por lo menos interesante y al final ser gracioso, o ser gracioso todo el tiempo”. Por suerte, es exactamente esto lo que más le gusta hacer, y efectivamente, lo que mejor hace.
A todo esto, el de la comedia es un ámbito (como tantos otros) particularmente propenso al machismo y a los choques de egos frágiles; un ambiente que comenzó a abrirse en las últimas décadas y a ser más inclusivo. No obstante, todavía queda mucho trecho por recorrer.
En semejante contexto, el humor particular de Noelia no iba a pasar desapercibido. De hecho, confiesa hacer muchos chistes al respecto en sus primeras épocas, cosechando más de un resentimiento. “Al principio, obvio, eran la mayoría varones que no les gustaba que de repente alguien se ría de toda esa estructura. Yo jodía mucho cuando empecé, la verdad, y muchos chabones de la vieja escuela se enojaron conmigo”.
Pero por supuesto, Noelia no fue la única. “Siempre hubo bronca conmigo y con otras comediantes… ¡´porque nos reíamos! De repente, los comediantes se enojan porque uno se ríe”, señala, aguda.
Desde luego, el enojo tiene una causa más profunda que la mera risa. Noelia postula que estamos hablando de gente (por lo general, de una generación más arriba que ella y sus colegas) a la que “nunca habían puesto en jaque. No tienen vulnerabilidad esas personas. Son todos capos arriba del escenario, un poco fingiendo ser pobres, un poco fingiendo, no sé, fingiendo tener suegra. Igual está bien, porque hay una generación que lo disfruta muchísimo. ¿Qué, nos van a venir a ver a nosotros?”, cuestiona.
De todas formas, aclara que no se refiere a todos los comediantes de dicha generación: “Hay muchos que son muy piolas, que son gente empática. No hay que tener mucho para empatizar, tampoco, ni mucho rótulo”.
‘En la expansión siempre hay más abundancia’
Hoy por hoy, Noelia se encuentra muy ocupada. Quizás, demasiado ocupada. “Siempre me lleno de trabajo y en un momento colapso y voy a tener que dejar el que más tiempo me toma”, dice.
Por caso, dejó hace poco de participar en Crossover, el programa de Julio Leiva en Vorterix. Pero no desesperéis: sigue todos los martes en Qué Olor, programa que comparte con Charo López en El Destape Radio.
Al respecto, Noelia destaca su comodidad con Charo para trabajar en comedia: “Con Charo encontré una compañera de chistes muy buena. Siempre fue mi amiga. Muy, muy piola para escribir y para hacer chistes, para hacer radio y trabajar en general”.
Noelia lamenta especialmente el tiempo que tiene que sacrificar para lo que más le gusta: “Yo soy muy ruterita. Me gusta mucho el mate, la ruta, el porro”. Y se le nota.
Por caso, ya puede verse en su canal de YouTube, El Brillo, su especial de stand up que, además de mostrar sus talentos sobre el escenario, provee un insight sobre todo lo que pasa fuera de él en una gira.
“Hacer gira siempre es lo que más me gusta hacer. Yo nunca voy a dejar de hacer gira”, sentencia Noelia. Es más, ya tiene un ambicioso y bello itinerario en mente para este 2023: España, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, La Plata, Rosario… y eso es sólo el comienzo. “Hay un montón de lugares que no fuimos nunca: Catamarca, La Rioja, Ushuaia… Queremos ir a Chile, cruzar la cordillera. Queremos ir a Uruguay en auto también, para hacer una girita por allá adentro”.
A todo esto, cuando Noelia dice “queremos”, se refiere no sólo a Charo López, con quien comparte varios proyectos, sino al resto de su equipo: Mati Muela,Manu Calmet y Maxi Basan.
“Yo no concibo el trabajo que estoy haciendo fuera de mi equipo, porque lo fuimos armando y es hermoso”, dice, contando cómo se formó el grupo: algunes eran amigos de antes, y con otros la amistad surgió trabajando. “No quiero trabajar sola, entiendo que hay muchos comediantes que lo eligen también por una cuestión económica, porque obviamente si trabajas solo, hay más plata para vos”, explica. “Pero yo prefiero expandir. Siento que en la expansión siempre hay más abundancia”.
Plantada
Y hablando de relaciones, es momento de hablar de una de las más largas que ha tenido Noelia: la marihuana.
“Desde los 17 años no he estado careta”, ríe, y cuenta un poco cómo nació y creció este amor. Como la mayoría de lxs millennials, se inició con el prensado, con la pipa de agua de plástico. “No sé si me pegó el plástico o el prensado”, reflexiona.
Y como suele suceder con las relaciones, la suya con el cannabis no empezó exactamente con el pie derecho. Noelia cuenta que ya tenía contacto con gente que fumaba a los 14 o 15, “pero no sé por qué era medio anti. No me parecía particularmente mal, pero era anti”.
Esto es, hasta la primera vez que le pegó: “Fue tipo quéeeee, yo tengo que seguir fumando esto todo el tiempo. No puede ser que recién ahora lo probé”.
Y eso que estamos hablando de prensado. Otra cosa muy millennial es la distinción histórica entre el porro (para referirse al prensado) y las flores; un resabio de las últimas décadas en las que conseguir cogollos frescos no era tan fácil como hoy. Noelia describe esta situación con nostalgia: “Yo, cuando era chica, también fumaba flores, y fumaba porro. Esa diferencia era muy graciosa, ¿no? Las flores eran muy inaccesibles al lado de prensado, en ese momento”.
Pero tal diferencia, para cualquier amante del faso, es abismal.
Noelia recuerda con cariño la primera vez que fumó flores: “Casi me desmayo en el colectivo. Fue hermoso. No lo recuerdo como algo feo”, ríe. “Lo recuerdo como ‘a la mierda, qué potente que es esto. Qué fuerte, qué lindo’. Estaba en el 168 y casi me voy para atrás, pero no de que me bajó la presión: me dejé caer, ¿entendés?”.
A todo esto, la comediante destaca el notorio cambio que ha sufrido el producto en las últimas décadas. “El porro de antes no es lo mismo que el porro de ahora”, asegura. “Antes había más prensadito y medio que había un solo camino: dolor de cabeza, comer, dormir. Pero ahora hay unas variedades que son re fuertes y la gente no está acostumbrada siempre. Hay que avisar también cuando tenés porro fuerte”.
Hoy, ella fuma todos los días, siempre que no tenga que hacer alguna actividad física. “Salvo esos momentos, trato de estar fumando todo el tiempo”, dice. No obstante, y a diferencia de otres artistas, no suele hacer uso ni abuso del porro en el momento de producción creativa. “Siempre trato de bajar un poco la dosis, porque creativamente no me cambia mucho; al contrario, creo que estoy más rápida si fumo la micro”.
Sin embargo, la situación en vivo es otra. “Me parece interesante también lo que sale en vivo fumada, porque es un poco más lento, o tiene otro ritmo. A veces está bueno hacerlo como experimentación”, dice. Y agrega: “No subiría al escenario con ninguna otra sustancia que no sea marihuana.Ni alcohol ni ninguna otra cosa”.
Unx podría pensar que, después de un uso tan asiduo durante tantos años, Noelia habría construido una tolerancia infranqueable. Mas no. La comediante explica: “Soy muy tolerante, pero nunca me pasa de fumar algo y decir ‘ay, no me pega’. Capaz una se pone más exquisita con el gusto, con el curado, con la humedad… una se pone más sommelier. Pero un porro es un porro”.
Y sí, como con todas las relaciones, unx cambia, y aprende. Otra cosa que ha aprendido, por ejemplo, es la manera correcta de maridar el porro con el mate. Porque es una combinación potencialmente peligrosa, en especial para las personas propensas a la ansiedad. “Hay yerbas que me destruyen. Una Rosamonte con un porro: ataque de pánico. La Canarias común es como tomarme un saque de la peor cocaína”, ríe. Por eso prefiere la yerba suave mezclada con hierbas: “Bien cornudita”, sentencia. Y a mucha honra.
A todo esto: ¿por qué Noelia ha elegido a esta planta para acompañarla en los caminos de la vida? Por un lado, señala que la marihuana hace que las cosas parezcan menos graves. “A mí me calma mucho. Con el porro te fumás dos secas y decís ‘no estoy tan enojada’”.
Efectivamente, cuando se la usa bien, la marihuana es una gran compañera de vida para muchas personas (y son cada vez más). Para ellas, Noelia aconseja: “El porro es re lindo. Si pueden cultiven, y si no pueden, cultiven con gente. Traten de fumar porro bueno”.
“Es re importante tener el Reprocann, porque está muy picante la ruta”, asevera Noelia.
Como usuaria de Reprocann y nómada incansable, ella ha vivido todo el espectro de experiencias posibles frente a las fuerzas del orden en distintos transportes. Particularmente, en la ruta y en el aeropuerto, que resultaron ser vivencias diametralmente opuestas. La comediante atribuye esto, en parte, al nivel económico que se maneja en los aeropuertos, que influye de manera directa en el trato de la policía. Y es imposible ignorar los prejuicios raciales en estos contextos: “La policía te molesta por el color de piel, directamente, con todo, como siempre”.
Por un lado, Reprocann mediante, no ha tenido nunca ningún problema llevando porro en el avión. “De hecho, a veces me abren el frasco, lo huelen y dicen ‘qué rico’, te lo juro”.
Es más: aparentemente Noelia tiene el dudoso honor de ser junada en el ámbito aeroportuario. “Desde que hice el video del aeropuerto, que fue cuando me agarraron sin Reprocann, parece que la policía aeroportuaria me conoce. Entonces, cada vez que voy a un lugar o llego a un lugar me dicen ‘vos sos la del video’”.
Muy distintas fueron sus experiencias con gendarmería en la ruta en Santiago del Estero, más específicamente, en la ruta de Jujuy a Buenos Aires, pasando por Rosario, ominosamente apodada ‘laruta narco’. Noelia comparte las dos vivencias que tuvo pasando por esta carretera donde, predeciblemente, los controles son muchísimo más exhaustivos.
La primera vez, todo bien: le tocó una gendarme mujer “muy incisiva, pero muy amable, muy cordial”, que llegó a preguntarle qué patología tenía. “Yo tengo una placa de titanio y cinco tornillos en la pierna, así que es tocable mi patología”, ríe Noelia. “Yo siempre ofrezco tocar si quieren”.
La secuencia: tres gendarmes la pararon a ella y dos amigos, de noche y con un frío tremendo. No fueron amables, no fueron cordiales. Esto tuvo que ver, postula Noelia, con el perfil de ella y sus amigos: dos blancxs y un marrón, y lo que es peor, uno de ellos era notablemente gay. “Mi amigo tiene el pelo rosa. Eso lo notaron muchísimo. No sé si lo notaron porteño, cheto, afeminado. Nos hicieron pasar frío, nos boludearon a propósito”.
Al encontrar los gendarmes una tuca en un asiento, Noelia se apresuró a demostrar que tenía todo en regla. Pero el carnet válido de Reprocann no parecía ser suficiente para uno de los gendarmes, que procedió a acribillarla a preguntas y a acosar a sus compañeros de viaje. “En un momento me dijo ‘¿dónde compraste el porro?’. Yo le dije que yo no compro. ‘Ah, te quería hacer pisar el palito’, me dijo. En otro momento le ilumina la cara con la linterna a mi amigo y le dice ‘¡vos consumís!’. Ni siquiera ‘vos consumiste’: ‘vos consumís’”, señala Noelia, todavía enojada. “Lo que quería hacer era estirarla. Nos revisó todo, muchísimo. O sea, un desastre. Muy violento”.
Al final, Noelia terminó con un correctivo por tener otro porro que, había admitido, le habían regalado. Esto, según el gendarme, está prohibido. “Yo no tenía idea si eso es verdad o no de la ley, pero no me pueden regalar aparentemente, aunque la otra persona también tenga Reprocann. Seguro que es mentira. Me quería hinchar las pelotas. Quería aleccionarme porque no me podía meter presa”.
A pesar de su más que justificada bronca con las fuerzas del orden, Noelia tiene una postura ambivalente frente a estas, reconociendo que la realidad es más compleja que lo que solemos querer admitir.
“Yo no quiero ser esa persona que dice ‘yuta puta y asesina’, no quiero ser esa persona que dice ‘estudiá, no seas policía’”, reflexiona. “Porque entiendo que la policía, en sus inicios, es gente pobre. Pero son tan enemigos de la gente que cuesta mucho empatizar con ellos. Yo me acuerdo de este tipo y me imagino lo que hace con un grupo de pibes que son marrones, negros, y les encuentra media tuca. Ahí no hay Reprocann que valga”.
Porque, además, revela la comediante, “la policía tiene mucha bronca con el Reprocann, No está contenta, eso es importante saberlo”.
Sí: todavía hay gente que, a pesar de tener todo en regla, es castigada por ejercer su derecho a cultivar o poseer marihuana. A veces esto sucede por la falta de capacitación de las fuerzas de seguridad, pero en otras ocasiones sucede más bien lo contrario: “Pasan las cosas que pasan, o por falta de información, o porque se hacen los boludos y tienen bronca porque están en tema”, detalla la comediante. “Eso es lo que yo percibo”.
Por todos estos factores, Noelia recomienda, además de tener el carnet de Reprocann actualizado (y físico de ser posible, porque a veces el QR no funciona), “estar informados y rápidos con la ley”. La información es poder.
Y, también, aconseja, aunque sea muy difícil, tragarse el rencor que puede surgir ante una situación espinosa con la policía. Según ella, hay que “saber que hay que decir ‘sí, sí señor’, para seguir viaje. Realmente hay un instinto de preservación que hay que tener, que aunque vos sabés que es injusto, mejor irte de ahí”.
“El Reprocann es un recurso hermoso e impensado para mí, y hay que usarlo”, dice Noelia. Efectivamente, poder cultivar bajo el amparo del Estado parecía un sueño utópico hace apenas unos años. No obstante, la comediante resalta que todavía queda mucho por lograr en materia de derechos, y que no hay que dormirse en los laureles y pensar que con el Reprocann alcanza. “Hay que tratar de ir por otros lados. Me parece que la Ley de Drogas hay que cambiarla”, ejemplifica.
Fumadas y aterradas
Hablando de cosas que dan miedo: como bien saben les seguidores de Noelia Custodio, ella es muy fan del génerodel terror, por lo que fue imposible continuar la entrevista sin pedirle algunas recomendaciones de pelis para mirar con un buen porro.
La comediante señala que, como con todo en la vida, esto dependerá de la persona en cuestión: “Hay gente a la que le gusta hundirse en el mal flash. Para mí, la violencia y la sangre no son un factor determinante si estoy fumada”. Pero el terror psicológico es otro cantar. “Quizás sí tengo un peor viaje, si veo algo como… por ejemplo, cuando era chica me tocó ver Apocalypto e Irreversible el mismo día”. Durísimo.
“Yo iría a lo más pochoclero y violento que existe, que es Rob Zombie. O Robert Rodríguez. Ahora se están haciendo películas de terror muy buenas. Bodies Bodies Bodies es muy para ver reloco”, ejemplifica.
Por otro lado, defiende a muerte la producción nacional de terror que, asegura, está en un gran momento. Por eso recomienda varias pelis argentinas para fumar y tener miedo, entre ellas El prófugo (de Natalia Meta, protagonizada por Érica Rivas y nominada a los Oscar) y Aterrados (de Demián Rugna).
Particularmente, y aunque no sea de terror pero sí de una temática lindante, quiere que todo el mundo vea el mockumentaryZombies en el Cañaveral, de Pablo Schembri, made in Tucumán. “Me interesa muchísimo que la gente la conozca. Es la historia de que George Romero le robó la idea de los zombies a un tucumano. Y es realmente muy graciosa. Aparece la Coca Sarli”.
Por último, remarca la importancia de apoyar el cine nacional. Algunas de estas películas son difíciles de conseguir, detalle que no se le escapa a Noelia. “Es una lástima eso también, la distribución, porque el problema no es solamente el vaciamiento del INCAA durante el macrismo, sino que ahora no hay distribución de las pocas películas que se hacen. Entonces, también el cine argentino está medio en crisis”.
Cuidate, querete
En la filosofía de Noelia se destaca mucho la importancia del cuidado. Ya sea frente a la ley o frente a las sustancias, es elemental saber cuidarse, y ella lo sabe. Por eso, para ella hablar de reducción de daños es no sólo importante, sino urgente, porque “uno no puede evitar que la gente se drogue”.
Por lo pronto, aconseja tener mucho cuidado con la procedencia de las sustancias que se van a consumir, más allá de su preferencia personal por las drogas más naturales (como la marihuana). Eso, y siempre tomar agüita.
Asimismo, enfatiza la importancia de la salud mental en torno al uso responsable de la marihuana. El porro, sabemos, puede ser un gran aliado para las personas con condiciones de salud mental, pero también puede convertirse en un enemigo. “A veces o apaga o empeora. No es que no te hace nada: al contrario, hace cosas maravillosas. Y si estás en un mal momento, puede ayudar a que haya peores momentos”, dice Noelia.
“Puede haber enrosque”, continúa. “Eso también habla de un estado mental que cada uno transita. No hay que apagar síntomas, ni con marihuana ni con nada”.
Efectivamente, Noelia recomienda fuertemente no automedicarse con porro, y aprender a dilucidar cuándo la medicina está surtiendo el efecto contrario. “Eso es muy importante. Hay gente que vive de mal flash en mal flash y no entiende que no le está pegando bien. Hay que entender también cuándo dejarlo, como todo”, dice.
En definitiva, lo que no hay que hacer es idealizar la marihuana, presentarla como una panacea que cura todo mal y que es para todo el mundo. Porque la realidad es que no lo es.
Sin embargo, hay quienes se empeñan en pintarla como tal, llegando a presionar a otras personas para que adopten la misma perspectiva. Frente a esto, Noelia es tajante: “Hay gente que toma medicación, y quizá con la marihuana no es el mejor maridaje. Hay gente que le pega mal, y mucha gente que dice ‘no, pero mi porro no te va a pegar mal’. Y le insiste e insiste, ‘fumá, fumá, fumá’. Y hay gente que en este momento es mejor que no consuma”.
Porque Noelia sabe que tener consideración y cuidar al otre es crucial, tanto en relación a las sustancias como en la vida misma. Por eso, remarca que es necesario entablar estas conversaciones no sólo por un tema de salud pública, sino de educación y empatía.
“Porque hay gente que se muere, y después pasa como ‘que se muera, Si total estaba consumiendo’. No es así, no funciona así”, afirma. “Ponele que lo pensás, que sos una persona horrible y lo pensás (porque uno a veces es una persona horrible). Pero eso pasa un montón de filtros y vos vas a un teclado, lo escribís y lo publicás. Es una locura. Está muy mala la gente”.
Por caso, recuerda la muerte del cantante El Noba. ”Todo el mundo empezó a decir que estaba bien que se haya muerto, que era un hijo de puta… Lo seguían bardeando, ponían la foto, mientras estaba la familia fatal porque estaba en coma. Después se muere y lo vuelven a bardear. O sea, ¿qué otro castigo que morirse querés que tenga el pobre Noba? La gente es muy mala cuando se trata del otro. Muy ‘yo no haría nunca una cosa así’”.
“Ahora la gente está más eufórica. No sé qué onda con eso, pero, bueno, también estuvimos en una pandemia y está muy apocalíptico el clima. Yo lo entiendo también”, reflexiona Noelia.
“Ahora hay un miedo a la muerte que no se tiene, o se tiene más. No sé, como que hay una percepción de la muerte muy distinta ahora. Ahora a todos se nos murió alguien muy cercano, o de COVID-19 o de algo relacionado. Hay mucha muerte alrededor. Y la muerte cambia, la muerte curte… la sensibilidad, supongo. También hay gente que se deprimió mucho, o que quedó muy fóbica por los gérmenes… Y los pacientes de riesgo hoy en día, pobre gente. Me flashea también que hay gente que no importa, como que se perdió sensibilidad. Creo que estamos medio calleados ya”.
¿Y Noelia, cómo hizo para sobrevivir el apocalipsis? “No sé, como pude”, contesta. Para empeorar las cosas, en la pandemia murió uno de sus gatos (“Fue de las peores cosas que me ha pasado en la vida y no me da vergüenza decirlo”, dice, y con razón). Pero sigue acompañada de Britney y Doctor, sus otros dos gatos, de sus amigos y sus proyectos. Y si bien se ha curtido, ha crecido y la ha sufrido, no ha perdido la sensibilidad, la capacidad de empatizar con otras personas ni de reírse de ella misma. Un éxito rotundo.
Fotos por Niki Noto
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by The Snail Nail Company.
