*note: this is a continuation of Perchance to Dream - Part 1
"Well," said the Bureaucrat, puffing nervously on his pipe. "Back from the Amazons so soon?"
"It's been 18 months," said Dr. Susan Ogdon.
"Ah, yes. Well, time certainly flies, doesn't it?" The Bureaucrat carefully inspected the faces of the two psychologists sitting in the office. They seemed tanned and relaxed. He wished he could go buzzing of to tropical climes any time he wished. "And how were the pot-smoking natives? Still lost in the 'Stoned Age,' I suppose?" He chuckled over his little joke.
Roger Ogdon smiled wanly. "The natives are decent human beings, just like you and me. Some of them smoke marijuana, of course, but I doubt theirs isn't any more of a 'Stoned Age' than ours."
"Um, yes." said the Bureaucrat, quickly swallowing his chuckle. " And what were the results of your study?" In fact, he had a copy of the Ogdons' report lying on his desk in front of him.
English: Smoking any tobacco product, %, Females
Cannabis and pipe
English: Tobacco smokersBut he had found time to skim only the first page or so. Besides, he preferred to hear such things first-hand. "I trust you didn't come up with anything too radical?"
Susan Ogdon sighed. "No, our results were about the same as those that Vera Rubin and Lambros Comitas found in their study of marijuana use in Jamaica, and that Pal Doughty and his colleagues at the University of Florida found in their work in Costa Rica."
The Bureaucrat frowned. "Oh, you read those studies, did you?" He wondered why scientists were always checking the literature when it seemed that tackling a problem with a fresh mind might be so rewarding. He stirred his cup of coffee and took a small sip to perk him up a bit.
"Well," said the woman, "we...