final post: place portrait

The 90’s were a unique time in history, for me they contained the bulk of my childhood. Every week without fail my younger sister, my dad and I would head out Saturday morning in the “mystery machine”, just like Scooby-Doo. Except we did not fight ghosts, it was really just a clever tactic to get my sister and I to play along with running errands with him all day. Some times though, the “mystery machine” worked in our favor. In the summer and spring the “mystery machine” was usually headed to DeCapua marina where our boat was docked.

Every summer since I can remember my weekends have consisted of spending time on our boat. The fist boat that I can remember well was a Four Winns 278 vista; it was a sleek average size boat with teal accents. The joke before selling it was four wins and two losses, because we owned the boat for six years and the last two years it had a lot of technical issues. We were unable to leave the dock for fear of breaking down while out, since it had happened before. Our current boat is a Tiara 270-sport boat with navy accents that scarcely leaves the dock but for different reasons.

The drive to DeCapua was a short one but an interesting one, the street used to gain access to the marina was tucked away in the bushes. Someone who was not looking for it could easily miss this street, it felt like a secret and I think that is why I liked it so much. Upon entering the street there is a downward slope, the whole street is engulfed in foliage. Trees and bushes line the road as you take a sharp right you see a row of houses. All these houses seam as if they have been taken from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine highlighting a nautical theme. The entrance into the marina itself is pretty tucked away amongst the trees.

This marina contains most of my childhood memories; it did not have much but used to set up a kiddie pool on the grassy area behind the boat. My most memorable moment from the marina, and maybe as a kid, was a late summer storm, it was just my sister and I on the boat. It was a nasty storm and those types of things tended to bother my sister. Being bothered by the storm my sister was hiding, then it began to hail. My dad had been on errands but as soon as he heard the storm and the hail he rushed back to the boat. After the storm had settled we went on a walk around our marina and the adjoining marina. I recall seeing a grassy cove hidden in the hill, I used to in vision the cove was home to mermaids so I referred to it as mermaid cove. On that day after the storm mermaid cove had produced a waterfall it was magnificent in my eyes. It was the closest thing to a waterfall that I had ever seen and I was mesmerized.

At the marina it seamed like time was standing still. My parents could forget about work and everyone was happy if only for a brief moment. The place was perfect the water was a crystal blue-green and always smelled of fresh cut grass and freshly pumped gas. To me this is what summer is, hearing seagulls squawk, motors starting, children laughing, bottles popping, and fog horns blowing. Summer is when kids are carefree and catch fireflies and climb trees. When time stands still and you drink in the moments that you will fall back on in times of need and trouble. These are the reasons you live day-to-day knowing that happiness is only a summer away and so easily obtainable when you just forget about the present and reflect on the past and future.

Introduction

Since you were able to remember i am sure your parents have been telling you drugs are bad. Nationally drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroin are classified as illegal. On a state level though some states have legalized the use of medical marijuana. There are no technical medical uses for marijuana, but is has been shown to help alleviate pain, nausea and stimulate appetite. The use of marijuana for medical purposes can be very beneficial to the medical world, providing patients with relief not possible with other prescription drugs. The legalization of medical marijuana would provide patients with a safe and secure way to get their prescriptions, as well as regulate the manufacturing and distributing of marijuana, and medical marijuana could help stimulate the economy.

Cannabis also known as marijuana has been around and in use since B.C.. Cannabis is known as one of the fifty "fundamental" herbs used to treat a wife range of medical illnesses. Texts for ancient Egypt and Indian also describe the use of medical marijuana. Even the ancient Greeks used marijuana for medical uses with humans but also with animals for veterinarian uses. History shows that medial marijuana has been known as an anti-inflammatory, an anesthetic, a diuretic and much more. The ancient Chinese found a use for every part of the plant. In more modern history, in the 19th century cannabis was primarily used as a pain reliever until the creation of aspirin. In 1937 the United Stated banned cannabis on the federal level. Other counties such as Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, Israel, Italy, Finland, Portugal and the Netherlands have legalized the use of medical marijuana. The United States has currently classified marijuana as a schedule I drug, meaning it is has a high potential for abuse and their is no current acceptable medical use. Since the ban on marijuana there have been many states such as California, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia that have passed laws allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.