HAPPY 420 Y'ALL
Hi Y’all,
It’s April 20th and in the realm of marijuana users this might as well be a national holiday, so I’m going to spend a little time talking to you about something I enjoy and rarely speak of. If you haven’t guessed by now, yes, I do smoke the “devil’s weed”. I’m phrasing it in this particular way because for many years there has been a large stigma about marijuana. When I was growing up this lovely plant that grows in nature was referred to as the “gateway drug”. Yes, it was the 80’s and this was the message of Reagan’s “War on Drugs”. I believe that this messaging and messages from past politics, way beyond any of our times, has influenced our viewpoints on plant medicines without very much scientific or real-world backing. In my personal opinion, the criminalization of marijuana has cost our society more than it is worth in both money and its effects on those prosecuted under those laws.
There is more than just the political and criminal side to Mary Jane. There is also the lovely folklore that Hollywood movie magic has added to our culture. Let’s just reference a few; there is the whole Cheech & Chong film series, Dude Where’s My Car, and good old Harold & Kumar. To be honest, this isn’t my style of entertainment, I literally don’t get this style of humor. This is less about my taste in movies and more about what they represent in our world. In all of these movies, we get the same messaging that is accepted quite readily in our country: stupid, lazy, dumb, “stoner”. We rarely see movies with functioning adults partaking in marijuana use in a way they would an evening cocktail. Yet, we get plenty of references of high power business meetings with freshly poured Scotch or the clink of a Martini Glass. As we all know, alcohol is widely accepted here in the United States.
So let’s just talk about me and the good old drink. If you knew me in my 30’s, you would have met a Minx that didn’t drink alcohol, not on a single drop for over 2 1/2 years. I made this choice more from a level of wanting to achieve a better personal consciousness. I used to just tell people I was “sober”, it was just easier to explain that way. In all honesty, the word “sober” was not truthful, I was just sober from alcohol. It started out as a 3-month experiment because at that time I was drinking pretty heavily and avoiding working on myself by doing this. I still reflect on this time as one of the most transformative times in my life, as a matter of fact, I started working at Naughty Events during that period. Since then my alcohol intake is usually very limited and in between long time spans, saved for times like Naughty N’awlins. This makes me a horrible lightweight, as Bob likes to say I’m great at “Two Beer Minx”, then after that, you never know. This also means I have a horrendous two-day hangover. Needless to say, alcohol, in general, is not my friend and I’m not a huge fan of it.
All of this story is leading to my point, for years I have never publicly spoken about the fact that I am a ”stoner”. I think a lot of it has to do with the general societal thoughts I grew up with about marijuana. I have been lucky in many ways to live in California, when I moved here it was already being legalized for medical use, then I got to vote in multiple elections for it to finally become recreationally legal and decriminalized. Yet, I still rarely talk about marijuana. Thoughts and laws around this particular “drug” are rapidly changing. The medical properties are finally being studied and given merit. So here it is in 2021 that I finally feel comfortable enough to stand up on my “soapbox” (this article) and say
“I smoke weed. I have been for many years. I’m also a functioning adult who has a great job helping create the magic of Naughty Events, pays her bills and taxes, and manage
the days to days that are life.”
Maybe in writing this article you’ll get to see someone you’ve known on a professional level and never considered them a “stoner”. Maybe, you’ll think about the laws affecting marijuana in your community and the effects you can have on them. Or maybe, you’ll know to pass me that joint next time, instead of trying to hide it.
Happy 420 Y’all! 💨
Much Love,
Minx🖤💋
Minx’s Monthly Mind Expansion:
April’s Recommend Reading:
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
This is not a light read but it is a fascinating one. This is the best version of history I have ever read because it told from the side of the everyday people. How they were affected and what they did to make actual changes in our history. It gives a version that goes beyond classic textbooks teachings to examining some deep-rooted causes behind the development of the United States. When I read this book it was like looking behind the curtain and seeing the great Wizard of Oz was just a man, everything I had been taught in school had a much grand appearance than real life. My eyes were opened to a much more real version of history one more empowered by the people. I believe history is important because those decisions and what occurred then are sculpting our world of today.
A People's History of the United States Back Cover Description: “Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, it is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of—and in the words of—America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers. As Zinn shows, many of our country's greatest battles—the fights for a fair wage, an eight-hour workday, child-labor laws, health and safety standards, universal suffrage, women's rights, racial equality—were carried out at the grassroots level, against bloody resistance.”