I purchased some marijuana today. And it felt good.
No, I did not go to a marijuana distillery and purchase with a marijuana card or go to Venice Beach and do it the old way (before it was legalized in California), go get a "checkup" with a faux doctor in a "clinic" with a green cross in front. I purchased marijuana stock in the form of Tilray, a Canadian marijuana company whose stock has reaped huge benefits just this month, quadrupling its share price. It's been on a one-way trip up the stock charts, and I was probably pretty late for getting in on it, but I bought some just for fun, almost for the symbolic value of it, not relying on any fundamentals of the company or stock charts but just from the pure reputation of marijuana.
Marijuana has always been one of those things among my peers that's openly talked about as nonsensically prohibited, something that is technically illegal but can be found almost anywhere one looks and isn't even that strong. It's a recreational drug, for people to relax, and it became kind of "cool" to do drugs, almost as common to use as inviting someone to your home and offering some coffee or tea. Easy to see in hindsight, but it was inevitably going to be legalized just from the sheer pervasiveness of the drug and the almost cavalier attitude towards its enforcement. Also, now that it's legalized the proceeds aren't going to just the drug dealers and other criminals, now it's being controlled by legitimate businesses like Tilray, and the term "pot stocks" has become the hot buzz word in the stock market nowadays. Ultimately it seems like pot stocks will prove to be just a fad like social media stocks, bitcoin, and give way to fundamentals. But for now, it's a fun, recreational stock to own. (And kind of volatile, stock went up 20% during the trading day but down almost that much after hours).
On a serious note, one of the players I play dodgeball with in my dodgeball league unexpectedly passed away this week. I didn't know him very well, nor talked to him much, but it's still pretty shocking. No forewarning, no sign of illness, nothing. Seemed like a very normal guy with body healthy enough to play dodgeball. Another grave reminder that life is short. I guess plenty of people die every day, but just to think that the fellow dodgeballer was playing dodgeball just a month ago, enjoying himself, obviously not thinking he would die a month later and never be able to play another game, never throw another ball, never run, never do anything anymore makes me consider how lucky I am. Just the thought that he had his last dodgeball game without even knowing about it, that it could end anytime and there's really no way to prevent it, it makes me sad very often. Unexpected death is really, really, the worst way to die, I think, because you don't even get to do the things you would do if you knew life was ending. For example, now would be a terrible time for me to die because I just worked a lot of hours to save up for the future with the the assumption that I can enjoy it later on in life. Who knows, I might have played my last dodgeball game, bought my last pot stock, died without ever smoking pot or smoking a cigarette (I like trying new experiences, but smoking up is not a curiosity to me for some reason), and just wrote my last blog article. Hopefully not. That's why as part of "life insurance" I sometimes go outside to enjoy the city that I'm in, have a good lunch (instead of another $5 Subway sub) and live a little bit, and why I should take a vacation soon. Whatever the case, I hope the fellow dodgeballer was able to enjoy his time and live his life to the fullest (as full as one can have with not knowing about unexpected death).
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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