Today I noticed that the status quo has adopted 4/20 as a holiday. It is no longer an immature holiday for 12-year-old outcasts and rebels. It’s a full on celebration for normative adult society, complete with commercialization. There were $4.20 pitas at Pita Pit. They offered free broth at the hot pot restaurant. Moe’s used the tagline, “packing bowls all day” on an advertisement featuring a picture of a burrito bowl set in front of a tie-dye background.
Although the transition into normalcy is not complete, because marijuana is still technically illegal under federal law and most states’ laws, it is quickly becoming ingrained in everyday American culture.
As always this is a case of cultural appropriation. I know--insert eye-roll here--but it’s worth noting. For the past few decades smoking weed was part of a subculture, and now, it’s just part of our culture.
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| Picture from Alan Turkus on Flickr |
Decades ago:
Hippies, dirtbags, deadbeats, and losers smoked their lives away. It was quickly labeled as a “gateway drug” and a slew of propaganda was released to scare kids away.
Now:
Smoking weed is normal. The people who don’t smoke or never have are squares, conformists, old-fashioned, or closed-minded.
The upside is that marijuana is being celebrated for its amazing medical properties. Just this week I read the story of a man with mesothelioma (a rare cancer) who is treating his condition with only a healthy diet and some supplemental oils including cannabis oil. He’s doing better than doctors ever expected him to do with traditional medical treatments.
It’s natural. Unlike cigarettes, marijuana is not some science experiment formulated in a lab paid for by big business (at least not yet). It isn’t packed with chemicals, it’s just a plant.
The downside is that this is all being sold to you. Clothing companies put marijuana leaves on socks and hats and sell them for 3 times as much. You buy food from the “cool” restaurants that offer deals on 420. You’re being sold on items you wouldn’t normally buy the same way as the millions of people who run to the store on Black Friday to waste their hard earned money on material things that their kids will return in a month and a half.
It’s not a subculture now, weed is part of American culture. It’s “NORML” like the group has been campaigning toward for years, but will they regret it?
Legalized it’s taxed and regulated. The government profits off the very plant for which it has been criminalizing people for decades. Instead of being punished for their hypocrisy, the government is being rewarded by even easier money. They benefit from taxing legal marijuana sales and fining citizens for illegal marijuana sales.
Dealers who sold drugs as the only way to pull themselves out of poverty will soon no longer be relevant. Maybe he’ll get put in jail for drug dealing, if not he’ll have to find a new way to get by. Drug dealing will become a trade of wealthy businessmen and the government (what’s the difference though, amiright?). If you want to get into the business, you’ll need a lot of money to start a dispensary, money for licenses, registrations, and retail space.
In all honesty I hate it all. I don’t like smoking (I’m a square) and I think it’s an annoying habit. 420 has never been a celebration for me (although I did eat Pita Pit for lunch today) and likely never will be. I’m excited for the advances that medical marijuana will make. I’m also happy for those who will be less persecuted for using a drug less harmful than many prescriptions. However, I can’t shake the thought that this situation is unnerving.
Marijuana has finally been adopted by the majority and is no longer exclusive to subcultures.
It’s normal. Is that what you wanted?
**Note: this was part of a 10-day writing challenge I started last week. (I'll add a link to it when I get to a fully-functional computer.) Everyday I write something starting with "today I noticed" and today's happened to develop into a blog-worthy thought.
