How can we remove the stigma of pot use? Maybe give it a spiritual spin?
I was recently asked to
participate on a panel that was part of a charity auction for a local
nonprofit. The organizer was excited to have me involved, but wanted to
make sure I didn’t mention my work in the cannabis community as “it
wouldn’t go over well with our patrons.” While I agreed to avoid any
wild diatribes about legalization, I did think the request was a bit
ironic, given that there was an open bar and they were auctioning a wine
trip to Walla Walla as a grand prize.
Illustration by Brianna Cashin
I’ve been “out of the cannabis closet” for
decades, and have always taken a great deal of pride in being the
obvious stoner—the guy everyone knew would show up to the party with a
joint or three on hand. In the “old days” of prohibition (circa 2011),
we had to hide our ditch weed in the closet and smoke in side alleys and
basements. Today I can proudly display my elegant glass-etched water
pipe and cedar stash box on the coffee table, just as the Mad Men generation showed off the Art Deco tumblers and wood-engrained bars of their era.
With legality, then, should come public acceptance and innovation. Brainiac Jason Silva (host of National Geographic’s Brain Games)
talks about cannabis in relation to Timothy Leary’s concept of “set and
setting”: “You start eliminating the association with criminality and
the paranoia and the fear of getting caught, and instead you create a
canvas where people can smoke a joint before going to a boutique movie
theater to have a very increased cinematic immersion.
Or you can create
spaces where people can maybe vaporize some cannabis before going and
listening to a symphony orchestra. Or maybe they can go on these
beautiful, sort of guided marijuana hikes, where the set and setting
would be curated for a particular marijuana flavor.”
While I’ve been advocating for stoned
symphony nights, vaporizer bars and marijuana dinners for cannabis
connoisseurs, each and every legal state is making it damn near
impossible to use the stuff in a social setting.
Public consumption—in
bars, parks, public spaces, hotels, or restaurants—is currently not
allowed in any of the states that have legalized it. (Oregon just passed
a law banning the few cannabis cafes that were in existence, while the
Alaskans, God bless ’em, are fighting to allow consumption at
recreational stores.)
Community events involving cannabis are also
forbidden: Ya can’t smoke weed at music festivals, marijuana conferences
(even at the High Times Cannabis
Cup), cannabis “tastings,” or Bud and Breadfasts. If it’s legal, we
should be able to use it in safe and social settings.
While four states have now legalized
cannabis and 23 more have medical-marijuana laws, the War on Drugs is
not over by a long shot. In addition to the 700,000 citizens arrested
every year for marijuana-related offenses, employees are still being
fired for having THC in their systems (even in legal states); parents of
kids with severe epilepsy can’t get access to non-psychoactive
cannabidoids (aka CBD) to help with life-threatening seizures; and
soldiers and vets aren’t allowed to use pot for PTSD, anxiety, or
trauma.
Even here in Washington, it’s still illegal to grow at home and
use it in public, and still a federal felony to pass a joint. Hell, both
Instagram and Facebook continue to delete accounts related to cannabis
brands and refuse to allow them to promote posts.
Maybe the way to
eliminate the second-class stigma attached to cannabis is to put a
spiritual spin on the notion of getting high. Throughout history,
cultures have used natural psychoactive substances to elicit
transformative, mind-altering experiences: Ethiopians chew khat, which
they consider a divine food; Amazonians (from South America, not South
Lake Union) eat yaga (ayahuasca) which translates to “vine of the
souls”; Bohemians suck down wormwood (absinthe) to get lifted; and
Native Americans have used Hell’s Bells (jimsonweed) and peyote as a
mystical sacrament.
The Aztecs even used a type of morning glory to soar
with their shamans. (Then again, they also used human heads as soccer
balls in certain ceremonial situations.) It was the ancient Greeks who
came up with wine as a way to celebrate life, pouring it down one
another’s gullets during drunken dance festivals that encouraged
community bonding. It’s high time to bring cannabis into the communal
tent. Praise Sativas!
There are lots of reasons to be loud and proud
about cannabis; in fact, you don’t even have to like weed! Perhaps
you’re a parent who wants to kill off the cartels and raise tax revenue
for drug education and awareness. Perhaps Dr. Sanjay Gupta convinced you
this healing herb should be available to the sick and the needy;
perhaps you want to screw over the Saudis by using hemp for fuel and
fiber; perhaps you want cops focused on more serious crimes; perhaps
you’re a libertarian who wants the government off our backs and personal
freedoms to reign.
Or perhaps, like me, you want to be able to expand
your consciousness and get high as a kite. Whatever your reason, please
raise your voice in support of legalization. We’re at a tipping
point—and the rest of the nation is watching.
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