Before You Tell Me Weed Is Bad, Tell Me What You’d Rather Have Me Doing

Let me ask you a question.

What if weed isn’t the problem?

What if, in some cases, weed is actually the thing preventing a much bigger problem?

Because whenever somebody tells me, “Weed is bad for you,” I always want to ask the same question:

“Compared to what?”

Seriously.

Compared to what?

Because that’s the part of the cannabis conversation that seems to get conveniently left out.

People love to talk about what might happen when somebody smokes weed.

They’ll tell you about the potential risks.

They’ll tell you about the dangers.

They’ll tell you about all the terrible things that could happen.

But nobody ever seems to ask about the things that don’t happen because somebody smoked weed instead.

And that’s where this gets interesting.

Because I’ve personally heard people say things like:

“If I didn’t smoke weed, I’d probably be an alcoholic.”

Or:

“If I didn’t have weed, I’d still be doing heroin.”

I’ve heard husbands and wives tell me:

“If I couldn’t smoke a joint, I’d probably be divorced by now.”

And I’ve heard people basically admit:

“If I didn’t smoke, I’d probably end up in jail.”

Now, I’m not saying weed magically turns everybody into a better person.

I’m saying that for some people, the alternative isn’t exactly a relaxing evening with a cup of chamomile tea.

Sometimes the alternative is alcohol.

Sometimes it’s harder drugs.

Sometimes it’s rage.

Sometimes it’s violence.

Sometimes it’s a prison cell.

Sometimes it’s a divorce attorney.

And sometimes it’s somebody sitting in the back of a police car wondering how their entire night went this far off the rails.

THE MISSING VARIABLE

Here’s the problem with saying, “Weed is bad.”

Bad compared to what?

That’s a pretty important variable.

If a person smokes cannabis and then sits on the couch watching television, eating something they absolutely did not need to eat, and falls asleep halfway through a documentary about ancient Egypt…

Well, okay.

Maybe that’s not exactly a productive evening.

But what if that same person, without cannabis, would have gotten drunk?

What if they would have picked a fight?

What if they would have driven somewhere they shouldn’t have?

What if they would have gone looking for drugs?

What if they would have punched somebody?

What if they would have ended up in jail?

Suddenly that couch doesn’t look so bad.

Pass the remote.

THE “WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED OTHERWISE?” QUESTION

This is something we rarely talk about when discussing cannabis.

We can observe what happened.

But we can’t observe what would have happened instead.

And that’s a huge difference.

Imagine a guy who gets home from work furious.

His boss pissed him off.

His car broke down.

His bills are due.

His wife is mad at him.

His kids are screaming.

The dog ate something it wasn’t supposed to eat.

And then the cat looks at him like it knows something about him.

This man is wound tighter than a guitar string.

He smokes a joint.

Twenty minutes later, he’s sitting on the couch saying:

“You know what?

Maybe I overreacted.”

That’s not exactly the scenario people put in anti-cannabis commercials.

But maybe it should be.

Because what happened to the argument he was about to have?

What happened to the punch he might have thrown?

What happened to the bottle he might have opened?

What happened to the phone call to his lawyer?

What happened to the police report?

Nothing happened.

And sometimes nothing happening is a pretty damn good outcome.

WEED AS THE OFF-RAMP

I’m not suggesting cannabis is some magical cure for anger, addiction, marriage problems, or bad decision-making.

It isn’t.

And people can absolutely misuse cannabis.

But here’s another way to look at it:

For some people, cannabis may function as an off-ramp from something much worse.

Instead of reaching for the bottle, they reach for the bong.

Instead of looking for heroin, they look for a joint.

Instead of getting into a fistfight, they get high and decide they’d rather eat pizza.

Instead of screaming at their spouse for three hours, they smoke a joint and suddenly discover that silence is actually pretty damn enjoyable.

Instead of going to jail…

They’re watching Netflix.

And honestly?

I’ll take Netflix.

THE ALTERNATIVE MIGHT BE UGLY

There are people who are naturally high-strung.

Some people walk around with their internal thermostat permanently set to “Pissed Off.”

You know the type.

You can say, “Good morning,” and somehow they interpret it as a personal attack.

“Good morning.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“I… I was just saying good morning.”

“Don’t tell me what kind of morning I’m having!”

Some people are simply wired differently.

And if cannabis helps certain individuals slow down, think before reacting, or take the edge off, then maybe the conversation shouldn’t simply be:

“Is weed good or bad?”

Maybe the better question is:

“What happens when this person doesn’t have it?”

Because that answer could be very different from person to person.

For one person, the alternative might be absolutely nothing.

For another, the alternative might be a six-pack.

For somebody else, it might be pills.

For somebody else, it might be heroin.

For somebody else, it might be a screaming match.

And for somebody else…

It might be the kind of decision that ends up on the evening news.

WEED DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO BE BETTER

Here’s something else we need to understand.

Saying something is better than the alternative doesn’t mean you’re claiming it’s perfect.

That’s an important distinction.

Seat belts aren’t perfect.

Airbags aren’t perfect.

Pain medication isn’t perfect.

Antibiotics aren’t perfect.

And apparently, neither is my wife’s driving.

But if I’m given the choice between getting into a car with my wife after she’s had a bad day or getting into a car with her after she’s had a bad day and she’s had three margaritas…

I’m going with the seat belt.

Sometimes life is about choosing the option that creates the least amount of damage.

And for some people, cannabis may be that option.

THE ALTERNATIVES WE NEVER COUNT

We count cannabis use.

We count cannabis arrests.

We count cannabis-related incidents.

We count people who develop problems with cannabis.

But how many times has cannabis prevented something that never happened?

How many arguments never became physical?

How many people didn’t drink?

How many people didn’t use harder drugs?

How many people didn’t relapse?

How many spouses didn’t file for divorce?

How many people didn’t end up behind bars?

How many nights ended with somebody falling asleep on the couch instead of waking up in a jail cell?

We’ll never know.

Because you can’t count an event that never happened.

And that’s the great irony of the entire argument.

The biggest potential benefit of cannabis for some people might be something that is almost impossible to measure:

the bad thing that didn’t happen.

“BUT WHAT IF THEY JUST STOPPED USING EVERYTHING?”

Well, obviously, that would be fantastic for some people.

If somebody can live a completely healthy, peaceful, productive life without cannabis, alcohol, nicotine, or any other substance, I’m all for it.

But that’s not reality for everybody.

People are complicated.

Addiction is complicated.

Mental health is complicated.

Human behavior is complicated.

And pretending every person responds to every substance in exactly the same way is about as scientifically useful as assuming everybody needs the same size pair of pants.

Trust me.

I’ve seen some of you in sweatpants.

We’re all different.

THE BETTER QUESTION

Maybe instead of asking:

“Is weed bad?”

we should start asking:

“What does cannabis replace in this person’s life?”

What happens when they don’t have it?

Does their alcohol consumption increase?

Do they use harder drugs?

Do they become more aggressive?

Do they become more anxious?

Do their relationships deteriorate?

Do they make worse decisions?

Or does absolutely nothing change?

Those are all legitimate questions.

And the answers are going to be different for different people.

Because cannabis isn’t a universal solution.

But it also isn’t a universal problem.

For some people, it’s simply one piece of a much bigger picture.

THE STRAIN OF COMMON SENSE

As someone who’s spent a hell of a lot of time around cannabis, I’ve learned something:

You can’t judge the value of something without considering what it’s being compared to.

If somebody tells me:

“Cannabis is the only thing keeping me from going back to heroin.”

I’m not going to look at that person and say:

“Well, have you considered quitting cannabis too?”

Maybe the bigger conversation is how we keep that person away from heroin.

If someone tells me:

“If I didn’t smoke weed, I’d be drinking every night,”

maybe we should at least acknowledge that the comparison matters.

If someone says:

“My marriage is better because cannabis helps me calm down,”

maybe the answer isn’t automatically:

“Stop smoking.”

Maybe it’s:

“I’m glad you found something that helps, but let’s make sure you’re dealing with the underlying problems too.”

That’s what a mature conversation sounds like.

Not:

“WEED GOOD!”

or

“WEED BAD!”

Real life isn’t a Saturday morning cartoon.

There are shades of gray.

And sometimes those shades of gray are extremely green.

SO, WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

That’s the question I keep coming back to.

The next time somebody tells you cannabis is bad, don’t immediately argue with them.

Ask them something much more interesting:

“Compared to what?”

Compared to alcohol?

Compared to heroin?

Compared to pills?

Compared to rage?

Compared to violence?

Compared to another night of screaming at your spouse?

Compared to another trip to jail?

Compared to whatever destructive behavior that particular person was using cannabis to replace?

Because sometimes the question isn’t whether cannabis is perfect.

Sometimes the question is whether it’s better than what came before it.

And for some people, the answer is a very clear:

Hell yes.

Maybe that joint didn’t make somebody perfect.

Maybe it just kept them from becoming the worst version of themselves.

Maybe it didn’t solve the problem.

Maybe it simply kept the problem from getting worse.

Maybe it didn’t save the world.

Maybe it just saved one marriage.

One night.

One relationship.

One person from relapse.

One person from a fight.

One person from a bottle.

One person from a needle.

One person from a prison cell.

And maybe we’ll never know how many times that happened.

Because the greatest alternative cannabis ever provided might be something we can never put on a statistic:

the bad thing that never happened.

So before you tell somebody that weed is bad…

ask them what their alternative is.

Because sometimes the real question isn’t:

“Is weed good?”

It’s:

“Is weed better than what happens without it?”

And sometimes…

the answer is yes.

OG Strain

An Official Inventory of OG Strain’s Remaining Weed, and Why My House Currently Smells Like a Cannabis Museum

By OG Strain

There comes a time in every cannabis connoisseur’s life when he must do the unthinkable.

Not pay taxes.
Not answer texts from that one guy who always says, “Yo bro, lemme sample that.”
Not even admit he accidentally torched half a blunt because he was too busy watching conspiracy videos about whether squirrels work for the government.

No.

I’m talking about the sacred ritual of conducting a full-blown stash inventory.

After the epic weekend in Palenville at The Growers Gathering, I found myself standing over my stash box like a confused dispensary manager during an audit.

I opened it.

And immediately got hit with enough terpene aroma to make my eyebrows file for workers’ comp.

At that moment, I realized two things:

I have entirely too much weed.
Somehow… still not enough.

So for the good people of The Plug’s Pages, I decided it was time for a full inventory report.

This is not financial advice.

This is not legal advice.

This is simply a public service announcement for anyone wondering what happens when OG Strain says, “I’m just gonna grab one thing.”

Spoiler alert: I never grab one thing.

I leave looking like a cannabis hoarder on an episode of Weed Buried Alive.

⸻

The Elders of the Stash: Buddah Bros

First up, we have the OG survivors.

These strains have been hanging around longer than that one friend who says he’s “about to leave” but somehow is still on your couch three hours later eating your snacks.

Dreamsicle

Still holding strong.

Smooth, flavorful, and honestly smells like if an orange creamsicle got accepted into art school and developed a superiority complex.

Gorilla Breath

This strain still hits like it’s personally offended by your existence.

One pull and suddenly I’m staring at my ceiling trying to remember whether I paid my electric bill in 2024.

Cheese

This one deserves respect.

First of all, naming weed “Cheese” is hilarious.

Nothing says premium cannabis like sounding like something your uncle keeps wrapped in wax paper in the fridge.

“Yo what you smoking?”

“Sharp cheddar, bro.”

Yet somehow this flower is gorgeous.

Cannabis naming conventions remain the greatest mystery known to man.

⸻

The Purple Queen: Stickman Body Care

Now let’s discuss one of my absolute favorites currently in the stash:

Purple Haze

Picked this beauty up at The Growers Gathering.

This flower is so visually stunning it honestly deserves its own security detail.

It looks like it should have a velvet rope around it.

You don’t smoke Purple Haze.

You schedule an appointment with it.

This stuff had me feeling philosophical.

I was outside asking myself deep questions like:

Do fish know they’re wet?

And:

Why do dispensary jars always open louder than a SWAT team breach?

⸻

The Dependable Duo: 4 Acres Farms

Still got:

Blueberry Muffin

This strain smells so good it should legally require nutritional facts.

Every time I open it, my brain gets confused.

Am I about to smoke?

Or am I about to gain 12 pounds?

OG Kush

The Michael Jordan of “I just need something solid.”

No gimmicks.

No weird futuristic name like “Galactic Dolphin Breath 9000.”

Just OG Kush.

Classic.

Reliable.

Like your favorite hoodie.

⸻

Higher Beings Powered by Hudson Valley Green: My Main Plug and My Ongoing Financial Collapse

Let’s just be honest.

At this point, Kevin and Danni should probably be listed as dependents on my tax return.

These folks consistently supply heat so ridiculous that every time I see them, my wallet starts shaking.

Current inventory includes:

Gumbo
Super Buff Cherry
Durban Poison
Frosted Churros
Super Lemon Kush
Delta Diamonds
Grape Truffle
MOB
Penzoil
Pineapple Express
Cheerios

Yes.

Cheerios.

Nothing says “premium exotic cannabis” like sounding like breakfast.

Imagine explaining that to a cop.

“No officer, I’m not impaired. I just smoked a bowl of Cheerios.”

The cold cure rosin situation is equally serious.

I’ve got:

Rainbow Belts
Some glorious peach-flavored dabs
Enough concentrate to make my torch feel overworked and underappreciated

Every dab session now begins with my torch looking at me like:

“Again? Bro, I’m tired.”

⸻

No Mountain Higher: The Plot Twist

Then came Bill from No Mountain Higher.

This man rolled up like cannabis Santa Claus.

Except instead of gifts for children, he brought terpy heat for grown adults with tolerance issues.

He handed me samples of:

Lemon G
ADK Lobster
Sherbtang
Mountain Lobster
PC35
Blueberry Lobster
Big Apple Kush
Blueberry Muffin
Sub Zero

And then casually tossed in some Space Egg Hash, like that’s a totally normal sentence.

“Here’s some Space Egg Hash.”

Sir.

That sounds less like cannabis and more like contraband from Area 51.

So far I’ve tried:

Sub Zero
Big Apple Kush
ADK Lobster
A little of the Space Egg Hash

And I’m here to report:

This is absolutely serious top-shelf smoke.

The wildest part?

Much of this flower is grown outdoors.

OUTDOORS.

Which is honestly disrespectful to half the indoor growers out here charging luxury apartment prices.

This outdoor flower looks so good it has indoor flower checking itself in the mirror asking:

“Am I… enough?”

Bill and the crew at No Mountain Higher are absolutely bringing heavyweight genetics to the table.

Real contender status.

No exaggeration.

⸻

Current State of the Stash

At this point, my stash box has become less of a stash box and more of a cannabis United Nations summit.

Every time I open it, the strains are basically arguing.

Purple Haze is being elegant.

Cheerios is trying to explain why breakfast-themed weed is legitimate.

Space Egg Hash is sitting quietly in the corner looking extraterrestrial.

And Gorilla Breath is just intimidating everybody.

Meanwhile I’m standing there like a proud but overwhelmed father.

⸻

To My Facebook Family

I know I’ve been absent.

And trust me, I miss y’all too.

I haven’t forgotten about the people who supported me, laughed with me, shared my reviews, and rocked with Strain’s Strain Reviews (Talk Cannabis) from day one.

I hope to be back soon.

But until then, if you really want to connect, collaborate, or just keep up with the madness, don’t wait around for Zuckerberg to get his act together.

The summer social calendar is filling up FAST.

The festivals are coming.

The collaborations are stacking.

The smoke is smoking.

And the real ones know where to find me.

Catch me on X (formerly Twitter) @ogstraincontent

The people who really want to build, connect, and collaborate always find a way.

⸻

Follow OG Strain on X: x.com/ogstraincontent

https://youtube.com/@ogstraintheoriginalog

By OG Strain

So by now, everybody’s heard the news—Afroman beat the Adams County Sheriff’s Department in court.

And honestly… I’m not even here to talk about the win.

I’m here to talk about the unintentional comedy special that came with it.

Because let’s be real—this whole situation might be one of the funniest real-life storylines we’ve seen in a long time.

⸻

🍋 The Legend of Officer Poundcake

Let’s start with the man, the myth, the meme…

Officer Poundcake.

Now according to him, life has been so hard since all this happened. He claims people in the community have been sending lemon pound cakes to the police department… daily.

Daily.

And I’m sitting here like…
Hold on—FREE lemon pound cake for life… and you’re COMPLAINING?!

Brother, that’s not harassment. That’s a business opportunity.

At some point you gotta stop crying and start thinking:
👉 “Maybe I should open a bakery?”
👉 “Maybe I should brand this?”
👉 “Maybe I should thank Afroman?”

You could’ve had “Officer Poundcake’s Famous Lemon Loaf” popping off right now.

Instead, you chose to be mad.

That’s the difference between winners and… well… what we’re looking at here.

⸻

😂 The Joke That Could’ve Been Shared

Here’s the crazy part—this whole situation didn’t HAVE to go this way.

If these officers had just done one simple thing:
👉 Laugh at themselves

Everything changes.

Imagine this:
    •    They apologize
    •    They link up with Afroman
    •    They lean into the joke
    •    Maybe even collaborate

Now instead of the world laughing at them…
We’re laughing with them.

That’s how you flip the script.

But nah… ego stepped in.

And when ego takes over, logic leaves the building.

⸻

🖕 Cameras Don’t Lie

And here’s one of the wildest parts of this whole situation that doesn’t get talked about enough…

During the raid, the cops were caught on Afroman’s own security cameras…
flipping him off.

Yeah. Real professional.

Under oath in court, Afroman said they flipped off the cameras—and then disconnected them.

So let’s break that down…
You’re supposed to be conducting a lawful raid…
But you’re flipping off cameras like it’s a high school prank…
Then shutting them off?

And then later, the same officer wants to stand there and claim he’s a “good guy”… a “Christian man.”

Oh, now we’re righteous?

Because last time I checked, flipping someone off while violating their space and then cutting the cameras doesn’t exactly scream Sunday service energy.

And here’s the kicker—
that apology didn’t come until after everything blew up in his face.

Let’s be honest:
If Afroman didn’t fight back…
If there were no songs…
If there was no spotlight…

That apology never happens.

So miss me with the “good guy” routine.

That wasn’t accountability…
That was consequences catching up.

⸻

🎭 Lick’em Low Lisa & The Sensitivity Olympics

Then we got “Lick’em Low Lisa”…

Crying. Emotional. Upset.

And I’m over here thinking—
Wasn’t the whole tough cop image part of the job description?

Because from the outside looking in, this didn’t look tough…
It looked like someone who couldn’t handle the spotlight once it flipped on them.

And let’s be honest—none of this was some shocking reveal.
People already had their opinions, already had their perceptions… this just put a spotlight on it.

But again—it didn’t have to go this way.

A little humor, a little confidence, a little self-awareness…
And suddenly you’re not the punchline anymore.

You’re part of the show.

⸻

💍 The “I Don’t Know” Defense… Really?

And then we get to one of the most unbelievable moments…

Afroman says in a song that a cop’s wife cheated on him…

Now you would THINK the response in court would be simple:
👉 “No. That’s not true.”

Case closed, right?

But instead…

The officer gets on the stand and says:
“I don’t know… why don’t you ask your client.”

Wait… what?!

Now maybe—maybe—he was trying to be sarcastic.
Maybe he meant, “Yeah right, that would never happen.”

But that’s not what came out.

What came out was:
👉 “I don’t know.”

And then even doubling down with something along the lines of:
“I’ve been with her since high school… I’d hope not.”

You’d hope not?!

So now the jury—and everybody watching—is sitting there like…
Hold on…

You don’t even know if it’s true or not…
But you’re mad about it being said?

You didn’t deny it.
You didn’t shut it down.
You basically left the door wide open.

At that point, how are you even arguing defamation?

Because if it was completely false, you say that—firm, clear, no hesitation.

Instead… you gave the most uncertain answer possible.

And in a case like this, that kind of answer?
That’s not helping you…

That’s helping Afroman.

⸻

🧬 And Then… The Lawsuit Gets Even Wilder

And then it gets even better…

Because now it’s not just Officer Poundcake—
it’s his son.

Upset… because he was called bald.

Bald.

Sir… respectfully…
That’s genetics.

That’s not defamation—that’s DNA.

If anything, the only “inaccuracy” was saying receding hairline when we’re clearly dealing with a full evacuation.

Let’s call it what it is.

⸻

⚖️ The System on Display

Now let’s zoom out for a second—because underneath all the comedy, there’s a bigger picture here.

This whole situation exposed something a lot of people already suspected:
    •    Poor judgment
    •    Lack of proper procedure
    •    And a system that sometimes moves off ego instead of facts

They ran up in this man’s house, found nothing…
Then got mad when he turned it into music…
Then lost in court trying to silence him.

That’s not just one loss.

That’s a three-peat.

⸻

🏆 The Three-Time Loss Record

Let’s break it down:
    1.    Raid the house → Find nothing → L
    2.    Get turned into songs & internet jokes → L
    3.    Sue for defamation → Lose in court → L

That’s not a bad day…

That’s a legacy.

⸻

📢 Final Thoughts: Could’ve Been a Win

And here’s the wildest part of all of this…

This could’ve been a success story for everyone involved.

They could’ve:
    •    Owned the moment
    •    Flipped the narrative
    •    Made money
    •    Gained public support

But instead…

They doubled down on negativity—and got negativity right back.

⸻

🎤 OG Strain Closing Statement

At the end of the day, this whole situation proves one thing:

You can take a bad situation and turn it into something positive…

But only if you’re smart enough to do it.

And unfortunately…

Not everybody is.

So now, instead of being respected…

They’ll forever be known as:
“Officer Poundcake”
“Lick’em Low Lisa”

And the department that took three straight L’s.

And honestly?

That might be the funniest part of all. 🔥