Cheech and Chong need not apply for Saudi visas - the duo's brand of stoner humor would go up in smoke in the kingdom.
Apparently Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Narcotics Control has put out a warning to Saudi subjects to stop passing jokes about smoking weed -- this from an article in the Saudi Gazette.
We can't figure out which is funnier - the so called "experts" quoted in the article, or the fact that the reporter managed to slip in so many jokes about smoking weed. The article follows, so you decide.
The General Directorate of Narcotics Control has recently issued a warning against spreading jokes about hashish users because it fears such gags would portray consumers of the drug as funny people who were full of joy and happiness and a role model for young people.
The directorate’s statement said a significant number of crimes including murder are committed by people on drugs, especially hashish.
The statement warned people against circulating these jokes because it could encourage children to start thinking taking hashish is acceptable.
Most Arab societies love to circulate jokes through social media, especially in Saudi society.
Most of these jokes consist of funny stories about people who use hashish. According to psychologists interviewed, this is like adding poison to sugar because it convinces people that consuming hashish and liquor is somehow acceptable.
An example of such a joke is about a man on hashish who was driving with his father. His father tells him to turn right.
He responds with, “Why don't you turn right, can't you see I am busy?” Another jokes tells the story of a man asking another man on hashish what the names of his brothers are.
He replies: “All of them are named Muhammad except my brother Faisal; his name is Khaled.”
Another joke tells the story of a mother who tells her daughter that she wants her husband to be a hashish addict.
The daughter, surprised, asks her mother why. She responds: “They are funny all the time and any person would feel comfortable around them.”
Muhammad Othman, a father of five in his 40s, said: “I always warn my children about circulating such jokes on their mobile.
“Most of them don't realize how dangerous this is. “They could be circulating these poisonous jokes and influencing innocent children.”
Othman believes that parents should increase their children's awareness because banning them from using the Internet or taking their mobiles or computers away may not work.
Salwa Al-Mahyoub, 28, said circulating hashish jokes may give the impression that it is a good thing to be addicted to the drug because a person will be funny and socially acceptable.
She said: “Children are not only influenced by these jokes, but also by what they see on TV.
“With these jokes circulating, children will start accepting hashish abuse as the norm as the days go by.
“Soon, such things will be acceptable without them realizing how dangerous they are.”
Jazaa Al-Mutairi, family psychiatric, said children are in their formation years from when they are born until they are 8.
Whatever information children receive during this period will be entrenched in their subconscious, he said.
Listening to hashish jokes will give a positive image of the drug or any other narcotics.
Al-Mutairi said: “It will be normal and children will not reject hashish. “This is similar to teenagers and speeding.
“Their subconscious is rejecting any warning sign against speeding or any awareness campaign against the practice.”
Al-Mutairi warned against telling these jokes in front of children. “Repeating and laughing about these jokes will create an understanding in the mind of these children that taking such substances is acceptable.
“They will think that hashish is not a drug or will not have the same effect as other drugs.
“Picturing hashish as a substance that would lead to relaxation is a wrong general impression. “Here is where the family comes in. “Families should explain the negative effect of hashish on people and that it is a drug that will affect people's minds.”
By Joud Al-Amri
