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How is smoking pot perceived socially where you live?

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DeadElvis666

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Dec 7, 2015
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I've always been surprised by the way smoking pot seems to still be treated like drug use or some kind of criminal behavior in other parts of the country/world. I live in northern California and pot is totally normal here. Me and my girlfriend smoke pot, everyone I know smokes pot. My parents smoke pot, her parents smoke pot. Most people in both our families grow pot. Even my grandma smokes pot. I've been smoking pot with my family since I was a kid. Used to roll up joints for my grandma since as far back as I can remember. It's pretty much legal here, and there's no social stigma attached. There are people smoking joints outside every bar in town. My boss at work is the only person I feel like I need to be secretive about regarding the whole pot thing. And I don't even know if my boss would care, but it just seems weird to talk about that stuff at work. But I also wouldn't discuss drinking, my sex life or anything else like that at work, so I guess that's pretty standard. It's just something that most people do, like having a glass of wine or smoking a cigarette. But there's not really so much of a "pot culture" surrounding it here because it's so common. Of course we have plenty of burn out kids with matted dreadlocks and tattered tie-dye shirts, dragging around some malnourished dog on a hemp leash, but most of those kids are on hard drugs, and pot is common in every demographic. My last girlfriend had dreadlocks down to her knees and nobody ever treated us any differently. She got a lot of compliments on her hair, but that was it, no discrimination or anything. My current girlfriend has tattoos all over her hands and chest, and she doesn't seem to get treated any differently either. I guess California is a pretty liberal place, but I find it odd when I hear people talking about pot on bluelight like it's some sort of drug. Here it's treated more like an herb or something, and it's not a big deal at all. What's it like where other people live? I went out to NY a couple years ago and brought a bunch of pot with me. It was crazy how much differently people were about pot in New York. I felt like a criminal every time I smoked a joint. It was strange. Everyone was very paranoid and judgmental about it. The potheads made a really big deal about it and treated me like some kind of bigshot because I had enough weed to get everyone high, which seemed really silly to me. Everyone has pot in California so it's not a big deal, but in Manhattan it seemed like everyone either judged me and made me feel paranoid as fuck, or wanted to be my best friend because I was the "cool guy with pot". Out here in California you see that sort of thing with people who have lots of cocaine, but not with pot. I noticed that the attitude about pot in Las Vegas and New Orleans was similar to New York, people make a really big deal about it. They seem to either demonize it or idolize it. Out here it's just another plant.
 
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I'm sure I could find someone in Humboldt County that was sick of pot if I looked hard enough, just like I can find the most peace loving pot smoking hippie in the middle of the conservative state of Mississippi.


It's not difficult for me to find either personally right here in Colorado.
 
Hmmm. Biggest change I noticed was getting out of restaurants and into retail. Used to be no big thing to get everyone together out back and smoke after service and before clean-up from fast-food to places with 20$ hot cakes that sell. Now I'm too scared to smoke at work and only know a couple who do after 5 years at the same store.

States I know well enough to rank:

Washington: pretty well accepted obviously. No one really cares and even a total stranger can just go to a shop to get some bud these days.

Montana: Lots of stoners, no one cares even the cops (as long as they don't have it in for you for other reasons), but it can be hard for an outsider to get a hook up outside of the college towns...and even then- 90% of mine came from work the other 10% house parties.

Vermont: Everyone is a stoner, and half are junkies - but pretty chill by junkie standards. Hope you like hippy music. Just ask around, as long as you're not totally naive you can at least find decently grown and priced mids as an outsider.

Arkansas: More of a closed society, have to care about cops and real shitty schwag at heady prices if your not careful. Everything feels a little more desperate, violent and benzoed out... It was years before I was accepted and started meeting people. Think the religious/political/social element conspires to make things a little closer to how they say things are. Still it's a pretty friendly place and I'm well taken care of these days. Still: Lots of cheap pills, lots of tweakers, angry poor, lots of large rebel flags waving from trucks, less shame on macho predators. . . makes me feel like a faggy teenager in the 90s again.
 
DeadElvis666, I think pot is less accepted in Cali than you perceive. I believe your perspective is strongly skewed by who you choose to associate with and where you choose to hang out. I live in Northern California, too. Nobody here will smell weed and be like "OMG, call the cops". I frequently smell it, but it's pretty rare that someone's smoking where you can see them. I don't smell it often near bars. People are pretty non-judgmental about pot use, but unless you're in their circle of weed smoking buddies, you most often wouldn't know. I agree that it's neither demonized or idolized, but disagree that most people here consider it just another plant. More like a crossover of medicine, alcohol and tobacco in the attitudes of people I know. You got a script, that's about as interesting as you telling me about your blood pressure medicine. You like to smoke up now and then on the weekends, that's about as interesting as telling me you like to enjoy a glass of Cognac in the evening.
Most people I know assume I don't smoke, and I assume that most of them do not. Some people I know do, but in a group setting, like at a party in a house, there's some time feeling out if everyone is cool with it. Nobody would pull out a J at a party unless everyone was down.
 
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I can second what golem said about vermont haha. It's pretty normal and easy to get. A lot of people are really into it and grow some good stuff too.
 
The smell thing is the same here Gumby...but it's mostly because every other block is either carrying weight or growing and it's all legal so even if you don't like it, you have to deal with the legal smells.

Anyway, just because something isn't demonized doesn't mean that it's liked. Plenty of people here don't like smoking pot. They usually shut the fuck up because their opinion is not of majority but still it's their opinion.
 
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I didn't say I didn't like it. If I didn't fall in love with an Arkansan with reasons to stay I would likely still be up in Vermont making more money, eating better food, and paying slightly less for more consistently awesome pot and fairly ubiquitous and decent acid.
My comments on the hippy music stand, I saw some fun all-ages hardcore shows at the community center and house music at clubs, had some roomies who were way into necro..fuck GG Allin was from Vermont but for the love of God: JAM BANDS. SO MANY JAM BANDS DO YOU HAVE. It isn't even a cliche, jesus fuck do you have jam bands. I thought I reached peak hippy in Montana with Leftover Salmon and Widespread Panic playing all the time but I wasn't prepared man, I wasn't ready for that many jam bands.
Also: Your maple syrup is pretty good, but Canada does it better. ;)
 
DeadElvis666 said:
I've always been surprised by the way smoking pot seems to still be treated like drug use or some kind of criminal behavior in other parts of the country/world. I live in northern California and pot is totally normal here.
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Thats cos it's illegal where I live (england) :p
 
I live in a place where it is now legal. It's seen like having beers or hard liquor. It's accepted but it is still looked down on if you are stoned all the time or obvious about it just as it would be with being drunk.

Funny enough I've noticed most of the people that reek of pot and go around obviously stoned are middle aged or above I think the younger people are better at hiding it.
 
Where I live they are finally prescribing mj for medicinal purposes and they just passed that anything less then 2ozs is simply a ticked offense. So legally it's considered to be the equivalent to a parking ticket unless you have drug dealer amounts(or what they perceive to be dealing).

Socially people in their 50's down it's not a big deal but the older folks...whelp they are older folks stuck in the generational gap. I live in a red state!
 
"Northern California" is a big place. OP really means the Emerald Triangle I'd imagine, which is the possibly the most accepting area for cannabis in the world (at least on a regional scale, and inclusiveness of communities). Try that in Moduc or Nevada counties and you won't get so far though. Shit, take the 299 from Arcata to Redding and you're basically in 2 different states. The Emerald Triangle and even the northern Bay Area (Sonoma/Lake/Napa counties) live in a bubble, and many people moved there to exist in that bubble. Or they were just born there and get to exist in that bubble until they leave and are shocked... Not saying it's a bad thing either.

In LA it's pretty open. I can't say I smell it a lot but I've definitely walked up on somebody just rolling a blunt on the sidewalk before! I smoke walking down the street all the time, and I can't say I get any looks, but maybe cause it's so dank lol. In Orange County (right next door), it's not nearly so chill. In Riverside it's even worse. And City of LA is a lot different than the county.
 
Where I live (Alaska) it's legal for recreation and ubiquitous. I've smoked marijuana inside several bars in the city I live in, which is probably technically illegal but receives the tacit support of management, and I smoke weed in public pretty much everywhere, although usually in joints.

Attitudes in regards to marijuana range from enthusiastic to ambivalent.
 
Yeah like FM said the weed friendly zones exist is bubbles and has a lot to do with local law enforcement and local policies.

I live less than 2 hours from SF without traffic and it is much much different than SF or oakland. I don't think most people would call the cops, but if you walk around smoking it in the wrong places people will definitely give you ugly stares and maybe even call the cops. Of course, you could put money down that the cops won't come because someone is "walking around smoking a joint" or something like that. There is enough real criminal activity to keep them preoccupied.

It's sort of weird where I live. There is most definitely a huge circle of acceptance, even among some of those that don't smoke, but there is also those that will look down on you for doing so. They might not come out and say it, but it's pretty obvious through social interaction. I'll usually pull out a joint behind the bars when I'm faded but if a bouncer sees you they will usually ask/tell you to leave. My friend that has bounced and bar tended for a few bars said owners just don't want the potential liability or reputation. It's still on the fringe as for as local policies go and the city plans to ban even legal cultivation and distribution/sales like they have already banned medical dispensaries. For many people that I know who smoke, secrecy is still important but not so much for legal reasons so much as reputation. Business owners in particular don't want to get a reputation as "the stoner business owner"- or at least no one wants to be the first.

Feel free to be an alcoholic though. Drinking is not only almost entirely socially accepted but usually strongly encouraged in most circles. If you don't drink many view you as "boring" and so on. No one questions your integrity or capabilities if you were out drinking through the entire night, in fact, for some reason you almost become a bit of a hero in some peolpes' eyes. Of course, me and my neighbor smoke on his porch(dirty side of town) and no one bats an eye.

Drive an hour or two over to Oakland and you can walk down the street smoking weed and you probably won't be the only one. Of course, there are some parts of oakland I wouldn't walk down smoking- not because of gangs and shit either(although there are some streets I wouldn't drive let alone walk). Even though it is a violation medical card or not to smoke in public, cops in Oakland will probably just tell you to put it out.

In a car is a completely different story, doesn't really seem to matter where you are IME. If your shit smells like weed and/or you look high or even suspicious/nervous then get ready to get field sobriety test and your car searched- if you so consent.
 
I'm also on the west coast and pot is no different than alcohol here. At most gatherings someone has some so the option to partake is often available. The police don't heckle people for small amounts and we have a dispensary system for the medical users. It's easy to take for granted than it's so demonized in most other places. It just doesn't make sense. Come to the west coast and you'll see how normal pot can be... it's no experiment.
 
Burnt Offerings said:
Attitudes in regards to marijuana range from enthusiastic to ambivalent.
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That's the way people should feel towards mj in my opinion,I mean if cigarette smokers don't get a second look neither should a blunt. I mean cigarettes are much more toxic and deadly not just to the smoker but to all the people we hold prisoner with our bad habit. Not to mention but loud smells so much nicer then tobacco, IMHO anyway!!!
 
I live in Sweden. It's illegal here and people act like it.
In my town it's easier getting diazepam, subutex, tramadol and various RC than it is to find good weed or hash.
People call you a junkie if you smoke weed, but they say nothing if you stuff your mouth full of Iktorivil as long as you can show a prescribtion.
Swedes are, all in all, very, very naive and uninformed when it comes to drugs.

Being open about outside my circle of stonerfriends makes me feel like a tweaker six years down the line.
Among young people the attitude is getting better, but for most people here, it's a hard drug, leading to madness and despair.
And this, while the entire country drinks itself to death and chew down SSRIs and benzos like M&M's.

P.S. I went to California two years ago. The contrast was mindblowing. I smoked weed in parks without feeling like a paranoid freak. Fucking amazing.
 
In Scotland it is quite common for people to smoke weed. This being said there is still a stigma surrounding the issue. In part this is caused by the current generation in power if you like. In general their attitude towards it is fairly negative which I believe is caused by a different attitude towards the drug which existed 20/30 years ago in this country. The younger generation is no longer affected by the scaremongering tactics of the government. Because of this it is still something which people tend to hide so the kind of liberalism which now exists in other parts of the world isn't exactly common place in the British society even though a good number of people smoke it. I do believe these attitudes are changing and hopefully within the next decade public option will have changed and the stigma surrounding the subject will be broken down.
 
The U.S. having 23 states now with legalized medical mj, 4 states and the nations capital have legalized recreational weed, and 19 states (DC as well)have decriminalized street mj to the effect you get a ticket for possession of smaller amounts of smoke. At least on this policy our government is finally moving in the right direction and I believe with in the next decade it will be legalized recreational in at least 75% of the country,which is something if you asked me in the 90's I would have told you it would never be legal!
 
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