I was given the amazing opportunity to attend a work conference held at the Calgary Airport in one of their swanky onsite hotels. We headed West with epic timing with the Calgary Stampede opening that weekend to which we were all eager and determined to attend. I’ve always been a horse-lover but was excited for the crazy eats! It was choking to get to the gate to be turned away by the twelve year-old in the ten-gallon hat who told me my medical Cannabis was prohibited from the fairgrounds~Stampede Policy!
I felt angry like Clark Griswold, ready to punch a Moose.
I told my friends to go in and have fun and loudly told the little prick that I was goin’ to smoke some weed! Little did I know that the fun was on the outside of the gates! I sat and watched shiny limo’s and shit-speckled trucks pass by dropping off and picking up people in boots and hats. I sat on a hill and rolled two shoddy doobies with vibrating hands, shielding my precious from the breeze. No one batted an eye! One young drunk cutie told me he liked what I was doin’ as he ran past me to pee behind a tree. He of course was allowed in the gates, after he was done peeing that is.
The perception that the measly four grams of cannabis in my purse is somehow dangerous or suspect is outdated thinking so I asked one of the Police officers if I was allowed in. She confirmed it. So I sat and smoked til the stewing stopped and giggled at the beauty around me. THC lowers the negative and within half an hour I had come to a decision: we have one year to change Calgary Stampede Policy and outdated thinking.
I’m puttin’ it out into the universe: I’ll be vaping in the lounge next year at Stampede 2018!
As I sat on the hill vaping and watching public displays of intoxication all around me, I wondered how many other patients would be turned away as I was. Today, a week later I see an article about another patient who had more gumption than I did and spent a few hours talking to the security and police about her right to enter the grounds. She finally won but was asked not to smoke it while on the grounds. Oh no, we wouldn’t want any of the underage drinkers to catch a whiff.
All I wanted to do was have a real Alberta Beef burger to see what all the fuss is about and because I use a plant as medicine, I was kept out of the fun. From a capitalistic standpoint, this outdated thinking doesn’t jive with reality. My friends who went in couldn’t stop talking about all of the food vendors! Cannabinoids encourage the appetite; allowing us in would be good for sales! Now all I want to do is have a conversation with whomever makes the Calgary Stampede Policy. We gotta update some things.
New rules:
- Legal Cannabis permitted and welcome with smoking areas provided.
- No more Chuckwagon races!