inhaled). Today, nearly ever Democratic primary presidential candidate supports pot legalization (and some have sponsored legislation to that effect). Asked during a radio interview if she had ever smoked marijuana, Sen. Kamala Harris said, “Half my family is from Jamaica; are you kidding me? And I did inhale.” Sounding like a High Times Marie Kondo, she added, “It gives a lot of people joy.” Gallup polls have found that 66% of Americans support pot legalization (up from 25% in the 1990s). And yet, widespread acceptance of pot use has left some stoners forced to acknowledge an unhappy truth: Cannabis is no longer the ritual of an exclusive, edgy few, but merely one option among many in the wellness and lifestyle marketplace. These days, getting high is about as transgressive as popping a multivitamin. This might explain the intense nostalgia dedicated stoners feel for the iconic movies and figures popular in pre-mainstream days. Those cultural symbols provide a reassuring sense of identity. As the authors of Pot Culture: The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language & Life note, “Stoners are naturally drawn to other stoners. And when they find themselves in an unfamiliar environment, they seek each other out. Those with experience learn a fail-safe mating dance, where common reference points and a unique language decide who does – and doesn’t – partake. It’s sociology in action.” Sociologists might agree. A small study published in Criminology & Criminal Justice remarked on the peculiar nature of stoner culture. The researchers argued that given the unique “collection of rituals, stories
and symbols” prevalent in cannabis culture, widespread use and legalization has not had the same normalizing effect as it had with other drugs. “Although many use cannabis, it still signals opposition and cultural difference,” they conclude. Cannabis is no longer the ritual of an exclusive, edgy few, but merely one option among many in the wellness and lifestyle marketplace. Whether or not that signaling can survive the onslaught of commerce remains to be seen. In the 1990s the editors of The Baffler chose “Commodify Your Dissent” as the title for a collection of essays. They meant to show the many ways 20th-century radicalism had, through clever marketing, been deftly turned into profit – a change they loudly lamented. By contrast, today’s ganjapreneurs and pot partakers seem more comfortable in their new role as business owners and product developers on the one hand, and as consumers of various forms of self-care via cannabis on the other. Pop culture rewards them by flattering that self-image. Today’s cannabis customers might be getting blazed rather than baked, but either way, there are plenty of people – and plenty of pop culture creators – ready and willing to commodify their high.
Christine Rosen is Senior Writer at Commentary magazine.
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March 2019
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