Technically I’m not even a neophyte of pot. I’m not a true user, I’m just used to it.
Growing up in Oklahoma, marijuana was big underground business (and I mean BIG). It was one of the in the state. And of course it was (and is) totally illegal!
I remember telling on my ‘cool’ big brother when I found some roach clips in his bedroom (he didn’t get in trouble, but I felt at an early age that my parents should know in case they wanted to intervene). By high school I saw that the types of people I hung with (skaters, musicians) were the types of people who smoked weed. But me? I didn’t feel that ‘cool.’ I was just a comic book-reading goofball who didn’t want to break any rules.
Thoughts on Cannabis
Maybe that’s why I joined the Air Force (“Aim High!”). But I didn’t get high until after I retired and moved to Oregon this year. And it has been an eye opener! All over town are dispensaries blatantly advertising that they sold a product so long considered illegal–medicinal and recreational cannabis!
When I worked at an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps detachment a few years back, we used to ask student recruits about their drug and alcohol usage, to include any use of cannabis or hemp-related products. One poor kid admitted to using hemp shampoo, and we had to ask him how many times he’d used it, what effects it had on him (did he have any hallucinations?), and what his current thoughts about it were.
So even though I was used to cannabis and personally had a very advocate-oriented mindset to it, I worked in an federal (Department of Defense) environment with a rigid, non-compromising attitude about it.
So, now I am here in Oregon, retired from service, and free (at least in the state) to use if I want.
I decided to give it a looksie…
Marijuana Dispensary
Neary my home is a place called The Agrestic, a ‘boutique cannabis shop.’ The building exterior is like a neat little house; there’s nothing ‘shady’ or ‘seedy’ about the place. On the contrary, I could see my grandma living in such a clean, cozy pad. One day as I walked past it, I made up my mind to go inside. I was nervous, and as someone who suffers from anxiety, when I get nervous I know it makes others nervous and establishes a loop of awkwardness. Ironically this was one of the reasons I was curious about pot, as a potential balm for my psyche, not to get high, per se.
I walked in, looking behind my back for DEA agents. There weren’t any. Inside I found myself in a small lobby area, with a door on my left, a glassed-in reception window to my front, and a cash machine on the right. There was also a ton of literature about weed sitting around, but I made a beeline to the window and explained that:
a) I didn’t know what I was doing, and;
b) I had never been to a dispensary before and just wanted to make sure this was a legal!
I probably gave her way more info than she cared about, but again, anxiety was kicking in. She asked for my ID and then explained that purchases were cash only (hence the ATM).
Actually this was relieving for me, since I felt torn about wanting a marijuana purchase showing up on my bank statement. So I took out $80 and she buzzed me into the next (even smaller) room where I stood before a counter and two genuinely smiling staff, one of which was going out another door. I got the feeling the place had so many doors for enhanced security; a place dealing in high-value drugs and carrying lots of cash? You can imagine it needs to be on lockdown.
But the staff guy was amazingly friendly and patient as I worked through my litany of questions. He had a menu showing all the products, but I just explained, “I’m a noob looking for some relief from anxiety first and foremost, but I’m not against getting stoned.”
“And I don’t mind smoking,” I said, “but I don’t want to learn how to roll.”
So, I ended up with two pre-rolled joints, one of which had a high cannabidiol, or CBD content but very little THC (for relaxing), the other joint was an even mix (to get high). I also took away a bottle of cannabis-infused oil, a tincture. I gave him the cash, and as I took it out he noticed my military ID in my wallet and offered me a discount. Then the clerk sealed all these in a little bag and slipped them into a paper bag with their store logo boldly emblazoned across it (I folded that up and stuffed it in my pocket before I left; I was still not ready to advertise to the world that I had just bought marijuana!).
Marijuana Experience
The experience of buying was very simple and easy, and the staff helped me feel comfortable about it. In fact, I was feeling pretty ‘cool’ as I was leaving, until a little old lady walked in after me…she fit the mold of a retired librarian, and it was then that I realized how NORMAL buying weed had become!
No, it wasn’t as casual as strolling down the wine aisle at Safeway, but the buyers themselves were the same types of customers. These weren’t the ‘cool’ skaters and musicians I remembered from high school. Well, maybe they were, but now, like me, they were grown up.
Point is, like alcohol, there is no stereotypical group of consumers for pot. Not here, at least. Old coworkers who I once knew as conservative are now telling me they like to get (legally) high. My big brother? He’d never stopped smoking. But now he lives in California, where it is also legal. His actions never changed, but now he’s able to legally enjoy his preferred method of recreational intoxicant.
But back to Oregon–the Agrestic is only one of numerous shops scattered around the small college town of Corvallis, home of Oregon State University. This is a place that is very independent-thinking, super unapologetic about their appreciation of weed.
From college kids (always a cornerstone of the market) to professors and blue collar workers, literally everyone here seems down with the chronic (am I used that correctly?). It is, as Bill Gates put it, a sort of controlled experiment. What would happen if cannabis was decriminalized and the stigma associated with using it suddenly no longer existed?
As someone who has lived all over the world (thanks to two decades in the military) and who is living here in Oregon now, I have to attest that I have never lived anyplace with such a sense of community and acceptance. Is that directly attributable to cannabis use? Or was cannabis so readily embraced because of the existing culture here?
In the end, it doesn’t matter which came first. If Corvallis, Oregon can be viewed as an experiment in pot decriminalization, then I say the experiment worked…and it is time to expand.
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