Some Pot Truisms that Are No Longer True, Man
As prohibition crumbles and enthusiasm for recreational marijuana continues to sweep the nation, the way people talk about marijuana is changing too. For example: here in Seattle "paranoia" is a totally dated pot concept, man - you dig? What's there to be paranoid about now that it's legal? The days of hippies sneaking around with their dope, hoping the "man" doesn't "bust" them are way over, man.
Misguided stereotypes are overused by mainstream media, opponents of legalization, and stoners too. Luckily, legalization is eliminating much of this misinformation from the brains of the open-minded.
Here are a few pot cliches that have not aged well in the era of legal marijuana:
A friend with weed is a friend indeed
Not so much anymore, now that friends and foes alike can rely on a legal recreational marijuana store for their cannabis consumables.
I get high with a little help from my friends
A nice thought, but no longer absolutely necessary, thanks to I-502. All you need now is … cash. Also - the Beatles were talking about L.S.D. when they wrote that, not weed.
Getting ripped off
Your chances of a rip-off – where someone misrepresents the product – or overcharges for it, or even steals from you, are non-existent if you go to a 502 store.
Bob Marley
We love Bob Marley's music but he died 34 years ago. The pot industry needs to move beyond reggae. Let the Jamaica Tourist Board use reggae. They're gonna need it - as marijuana becomes legal in the States, fewer stoners will feel the need to visit the island.
Seattle-based Privateer Holdings has signed a deal with the Marley family to market cannabis using the image of ol' Tuff Gong himself. If that doesn't work out for Privateer, no biggie - they are wetting their savvy pot investor beaks in many different troughs.
Tommy Chong
He was in a really great movie that mocked both hippies and punk rockers - Up In Smoke. That was 37 years ago. I have not been impressed with his work since then. Getting busted in that bong marketing incident (see US vs. Chong) was a thoughtless career move. But Chong is back! Mainstream corporate America embraced Chong during his triumphant 2014 appearance on Dancing with the Stars. And he's involved in various cannabis marketing schemes again. Whatever.
Seeds and stems may break my bank, but buds will never kill me
Seeds and stems? Not sure where I found this one. So retro 1975 in a "New Riders of the Purple Sage" kind of way.
Weed will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no weed
This one is laughable now - a true relic of the 60s. Well, the 60s through the 2010s I guess. In our glorious modern era of legal marijuana, if you have money, you can get weed.
You’ll like pot, until you get caught
This trite anti-drug phrase no longer applies in WA, CO, AK, OR, DC, etc ...
Mary Jane ruins the brain
Not true, as more and more peer-reviewed studies reveal. Know what ruins the brain? Alcohol.
Dude
Actually Dude is kind of a nice term of endearment suitable for any age or gender, and a reminder of Southern California surf culture. Far better than "man" - a word that amateur stoners often revert to in the midst of their revelries, dude. It's also less gender-specific than "man."
So that's it, dudes. Friends with weed are still friends these days, but these days everyone has weed. There is no scarcity - and friendships can be built on things more solid than a mutual need to seek out illegal drugs. Those days are over, man!
Welcome to weed week at the Nirvana Wok blog - our annual look at the world’s most beneficial drug. This article was originally published by The Uncle Ike’s Blog in April 2015.