Pot users are everywhere, hence this column...
Somewhere in random basements and smoky back rooms all over the world, a new subculture has emerged. It has taken a foothold in some small way on every facet of the global media. Its influences reach farther than anyone would like to admit, at least in public anyways. Marijuana smoking has slowly been introduced from pop culture into the mainstream acceptance pool.
Those of us who are smokers see the world differently than others do. It is not uncommon for regulars to fire up a few bowls with a complete stranger when it is realized that he/she is a fellow stoner. The uninitiated would be surprised to know the kind of things people you have never met before in your life will open up to you over a joint.
We speak to each other in our own language. We use words like “blazed” and “bogart”: alongside phrases like “Puff, puff, pass”, and “Stop camping!” We all abide by a certain code of universal rules, like never pass someone a cashed bowl and always wipe off the end of the pipe after hitting it. Most of us have better manners while sharing a bud than we do at our own dinner tables.
The key is we all respect each other on a basic level. Smoking is a team sport. The herb high just isn’t as fulfilling if it is not shared. On a subconscious level, we all realize that fact and it is the key reason why we are so civilized while smoking together. In any other situation, two complete strangers committing a crime would be very nervous of each other, but when puffing a fat one, most people are very chilled with their new found partners in lawlessness. Marijuana brings people together.
Two equally racist men, one white, one black, who are habitual pot smokers, even though they hate each other, will still sit down and smoke a joint together without a second's hesitation if the situation arises; they may even invite the Mexican. There is nothing else in the world that can accomplish that. The bond between those who partake in the sacred herb consumption is stronger than nearly any other belief structure that one may hold.
Marijuana users in general are a peaceful lot, far from the bad rap given to my kind in the government’s propaganda movies of the last century. We come from every walk of life, every profession, and every social class. We are the most diverse group of people with a single common interest in the entire world and we all get along.
I am not suggesting this could be the one thing that unites the world, although I have made some generalizations in this piece, but in these wicked times, even the slightest bit of good will helps.
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