So last week, in anticipation of the decreasing amount of seafood that the BP oil leak may precipitate, my friend Carol and I decided to go to Drago’s to consume all the oysters we could stuff into our mouths: raw, char-broiled and brochettes. Didn’t have enough room for oyster soup, stew, casino, etc., etc. Between the two of us we lunched on about four dozen. We asked our waiter about the availability of oysters, and he told us that the “raw” supply was definitely dwindling. Sad to hear.
Now I certainly don’t mean to discourage anyone from coming to New Orleans and enjoying seafood. We still have it. We don’t have a beach and we’re 120 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The air doesn’t have oil in it, for God’s sake. There are going to be oysters, just maybe not enough raw ones to sate your appetite.
We’re in a much better position to attract visitors because we don’t depend on beaches to get people to visit New Orleans.
What I’m dreading is “deep” hurricane season—the end of August and first few weeks of September. So far it’s been a really hot June (yesterday we hit 100 degrees in some parts of the city), and the hotter the gulf, the worse the hurricane season, and the National Hurricane Center is predicting that it’s going to be an above-average season for hurricanes. Which is why we need to be even more concerned about the damn oil that’s invaded our wetlands. Eventually the marsh grass that comprises those wetlands is going to die as a result of the oil. So even more of the wetlands that protect us from storms will be gone. It’s scary.
Additionally, we have no idea what will happen with sea life in the gulf. I think it may be relatively safe to say that much of the fish and aquatic life is going to be smothered by the oil under the surface. Maybe not the adults, but surely newly hatched fish and the like. Instead of plankton they’ll be gobbling up oil.
Not something I really want to contemplate too long.
Katrina was a life- and history-changing event. The oil spill is going to be that too. We’re not going to be affected in the same ways, but our coastline and culture is definitely going to have a very rough time, and could end south Louisiana’s way of life forever.
New Orleans is facing a $10-million shortfall. Our state is facing a major budget shortfall, particularly with the damage that the oil spill has created and the moratorium on offshore drilling. I still don’t understand why someone (other than me) won’t stand up and demand that we look into legalizing marijuana in the city of New Orleans. California is putting this out to vote of its people. Unfortunately, New Orleans is an island of sanity (believe it or not), when it comes to stuff like this. I can’t imagine that our state government in Baton Rouge would even consider a proposition like this.
Personally I think it’s the height of hypocrisy to make drinking beer legal and making weed smoking illegal. Listen, if you drink beer, you should be able to smoke marijuana (not necessarily at the same time, and certainly not when you need to drive a car or work). Recreational use of marijuana should be legalized. Period.
For those who say that it’s a gateway drug—well, beer is a gateway drug for hard liquor. If you have an addict’s predisposition, it doesn’t make any difference; you’ll still find your gateway. If you abuse beer, you may abuse weed.
It never ceases to amaze that our generation is the one that has come down so hard on this issue.
New Orleans needs money desperately. Hopefully, we have a leadership team that will get us back on track. One way to do that is to legalize pot. I still look at Amsterdam and think, “What the hell are we waiting for?”
I don’t condone smoking weed illegally. Even if it was legal, I certainly wouldn’t condone smoking pot every day, even on a recreational basis. It makes one way too lackadaisical, shall we say. But it you drink a beer with friends, you should be able to smoke a joint. If you’re in pain and marijuana helps control your pain or your nausea, you should be able to get it legally.
I don’t even smoke the stuff, I’m just being logical here. I know a lot of people who do, and they’re just as upstanding as our governor, our mayor, our law enforcement officers, our representatives, our attorneys, doctors, lawyers. They’re successful, concerned citizens. I wish some of these people would have the guts to do something to get rid of a ridiculous law which would mean jobs, money and the decrease of crime in our community.
If you drink beer, then it’s hypocritical to not support the legalization of marijuana.
