Marijuana is Now Everyone's Dirty Little Secret

Marijuana May Be Legal but the Stigma Won’t Die Anytime Soon

marijuana dirty secret

You can buy it just like alcohol in many States, but the quiet judgement is still there.

The cannabis legalization movement may be sweeping the nation, but that doesn’t mean everyone is socially ready for the big change. With over 33 States or territories now offering some form of legal cannabis you would think that they social acceptance level would be at an all-time high, but alas, it is it not, at least in newly legalized areas.

Many people who grew up with President Regan’s war on drugs, and “Just Say No”, have it ingrained in their heads that drugs are bad (Thank you, South Park) and will still give you an eye-roll or shoot a look to their shoes or floor when you tell them you are in the cannabis space.

Why is that?

One reason is that the East Coast is more conservative than the liberal West Coast which has had legalized cannabis in some from or another for a much longer time. East Coast legalization is still relatively new (1 to 3 years) compared to the West Coast and Colorado.

The second reason is that people are afraid of what their world will become with legalized weed. No matter how many times you cite statistics from Colorado or California, they will still look at you with fear in their eyes. Fear for their kids, fear for their traffic safety, and fear of the zombie weed apocalypse. They have been told cannabis is bad, it is illegal, they have accepted this as part of the definition of what defines them. They have an opinion on alcohol, an opinion on how to raise kids, and opinion of how to dress, a “right and wrong” ingrained in their head. If they change their opinion on cannabis, it means they were wrong, or the people who told them that cannabis is bad were wrong.

No one likes to admit when they are wrong, and no one likes to admit their teachers that helped define their beliefs in life were also wrong. They have spewed the same cannabis misinformation to their friends and kids. So now what does it mean for them if after 20 years of saying marijuana is bad for you, they now have to say they were wrong, and it may be good for you?

The ironic part, as I like to point out to people, is that alcohol, which was illegal in the US 70 years ago, is now widely accepted, used, and enjoyed as a way to relieve stress, escape reality, and numb the pain of life. Alcohol is a slow poison, a depressant, and it destroys the brain, liver, and body over time. This is without mentioning the damage is does to families and relationships when someone gets addicted to alcohol.

When you apply for life insurance, say a smaller policy of $25,000, the company issuing the policy doesn’t need to meet you, talk to you, or get your medical records in order to make a $25,000 bet on your life. They ask you one question. Do you smoke tobacco? That is it, after personal information like age and weight, all they ask you, in order to make a $25,000 bet on your lifespan, is do you smoke cigarettes.

I think that tells you all you need to know about what tobacco does to the body.

If you up the policy amount, say to $50,000, they only ask you one more question. Do you drink alcohol? That’s it, they want to know if you drink alcohol and how often. So, a company will literally risk $50,000 of its own money on a bet on your life and all they want to know is do you smoke cigarettes and how often do you drink alcohol. $50,000 and two questions.

Two legal substances that are readily available to anyone over 21 in America. Both substances are clearly unhealthy and cut down on your lifespan as insurance companies clearly know.

How does this all tie in with the cannabis stigma?

If you tell people you drink a beer when you get home, you might get a high-five. If a soccer mom says she has a glass a wine after putting the kids down, she will get 100 likes from her friends on Facebook. If that same mom or dad say they smoke a joint or hit the vape pen after dinner, well, then the eyes look down and people go back inside themselves to “Drugs are Bad” and isn’t that a bad thing? If that is wrong, then I have been lied to and I have also spread bad information.

I like to remind all the moms at the recycling center with their green buckets full of 8 wine bottles from that week that weed is legal you know, you can go walk into a store in 9 States and buy it just like a six pack or bottle of wine at a liquor store.

Is there good news coming, will it change?

Yes, the answer is that the stigma is changing it just takes time. There are so many people from all walks of life using CBD now, and many full THC cannabis, that it would shock their neighbors. It is every small town on the East Coast’s dirty little secret right now. That high stressed lawyer? Yep, CBD. That instructor at the gym for your CrossFit class? Yep, CBD and tinctures. The Mom with 3 teenage kids? Yep, does edibles and a disposable vape pen to keep calm and relieve stress.

How do I know?

They all come to me to ask me where to get it and if it is safe.

The tide is turning, it will just take a long time in more conservative areas.

PS - One of the most enjoyable parts of this daily conversation is seeing the same people 30 days later at the store or gym and they all say the exact same two things to me...

1. "My ____________ is way better now and it helps a ton!" (fill in the blank from diabetes, insomnia, chronic pain, bad back, stress..)

2. "I stopped drinking booze."