How to mind your manners around marijuana
By John Garvey
We’re coming up on 10 years of the passage of Amendment 64, which (in case you’ve been in a deep sleep) legalized cannabis in Colorado. I remember feeling like some scrawny kid had popped the playground bully in the nose and made him cry.
But the cannabis industry has grown up. Attitudes about cannabis use and drug policy have matured. Roughly two-thirds of Americans now support legalization — a drastic increase over the last two decades. And 70 percent of U.S. adults even find it morally acceptable. Hell’s bells!
A paradox of destigmatization is that cannabis etiquette is more important now than ever. There are three reasons we need to have a Mr. Rogers talk about weed etiquette.
First, etiquette, like ethics, sometimes transcends legal status. But legal status, stigma, and etiquette influence one another. Ergo, weed etiquette has changed unevenly across the country, but it has changed.
Additionally, a large number of abstainers are curious about trying cannabis. Some points of etiquette are timeless, so the basics still matter.
And finally, the growing prevalence of alternative methods of consumption — vaping, edibles and beverages — has its own implications.
Legality and safety
• Discretion. The channel between neuroticism and blithe disregard isn’t too hard to navigate if you recognize that it varies from state to state. Cannabis is still illegal in a lot of places. It is rude to behave in a way that gives those around you reasonable grounds to fear harassment, prosecution, or just social awkwardness.
• Smoking indoors. You may consider smoking the occasional doob inside if you don’t share walls or ventilation with people who would possibly object. But I think it’s generally less acceptable than it was when smoking cannabis was a crime.
Most of the country has legalized or decriminalized personal use. Go outside.
Being genteel toward partakers
• Transparency and non-dumbassery. Those who wish to partake have the right to accurate information. Getting someone stoned to blazes who only wishes to get casually high because you understated the strength of a cannabis product isn’t cool. This is especially important with edibles.
• Hospitality and non-dumbassery. Be welcoming. If you’re experienced enough to be a competent “guide,” do that. Try not to get a first-timer stoned to blazes.
• Generosity. The best cannabis flower and edibles are actually very cheap if you compare them to alcohol and other drugs in terms of dollars to intoxication. A gram of General Tso’s Cookies, costing less than $20 after tax, will get “some people” delightedly high at least 10 times. A good cup of coffee these days can easily cost $4 or more. Do the math.
I won’t cheapen relationships by implying they’re justified by their economic value, but since we’re on the topic of stinginess, it’s worth mentioning. Getting high with your neighbors can authentically deepen relationships. And healthy relationships of any kind benefit us both spiritually and materially.
• Germs. We have new norms now because of COVID-19, which makes sharing more delicate and complicated. I don’t have any edicts for you, but you need to read the room more carefully before passing a pipe around or assuming permission.
• Etc. Don’t hog, mooch excessively, slobber, or turn into a zombie (if it can be helped).
Being genteel among abstainers
• Deference. There remain, and always will remain, legitimate reasons for people to object to cannabis use when it’s indiscreet, annoying or risky. Unless people are being hostile or shrill, don’t bitch about it.
• Social inclusiveness. Don’t inadvertently make people who choose to abstain feel forgotten or ostracized. If you’re in a mixed crowd, be thoughtful, inclusive and conversational.
Civic virtue
• Don’t start a forest fire. It is bad manners to start forest fires. Yes, I’ve smoked weed in the woods. I’m just making a point about safety because forest fires have become an annual crisis. High-quality vaporizers are far cheaper and easier to come by than they were 10 years ago. If you’re camping or hiking under drought conditions, vaping is a worry-free proposition.
• Smoke is smoke. You may feel differently about tobacco smoke and weed smoke. Not everyone has to agree.
• ...ditto vapor. Health considerations aside, the etiquette of vaping isn’t substantively different than smoking etiquette.
• In public. Don’t be rude to employees or security guards who are doing their job by enforcing a venue’s policies. Don’t get high where kids play. And don’t blow smoke in my dog’s face.
I could go on, but it would get insulting.
Be an amazing person!
A good rule in life is to try never to be the reason “they” make a new rule, whatever that may be and whoever “they” may be. Good weed etiquette preserves and strengthens relationships. Be aware and be kind. It will come back to you.
John Garvey is the Chief Storytelling Officer at Garvington Creative, bringing together business impact and belly laughs through story-driven marketing. If you meet his parents, please don’t tell them how much he knows about weed. GarvingtonCreative.com