What have you been Smoking? A Look into Stoner Culture

Unlike alcohol, a drug which has always been praised for its influence in good choices, marijuana has been demonized for its ability to cause individuals to utter stupid phrases, ransack the fridge, forget things and fall asleep.

The chaos and destruction that marijuana has inflicted upon society has flowed through all the faucets of the media, impacting both the economy and politics and leaves us all stricken with red eyes, dry mouths and a craving for nachos.

For years characters of a devious nature have been offering kids the "Good stuff" on street corners and dark alley ways, gangs and cartels have been smuggling hundreds of pounds over the border from Mexico, back forest hicks have been growing hidden fields of "The green" and countless joints have been rolled and burnt. Despite its current illegal status Mary Jane has rocked popular culture since before the sixties. It seems that no matter what the law has to say about it, people just aren't prepared to put that joint out.

Like coffee, marijuana comes from a plant, and also similar to coffee, there are many ways to ingest it. You have quite a few options when it comes to marijuana. You could go the classic route and roll a joint, or you could go the way of the rapper and roll yourself a dope blunt. You could share a bong with your buddies in a smoke circle or go solo with a long wooden pipe like Gandalf, blow some killer smoke circles and proclaim that this dank is yours and you shall not pass. You could go join the vape life, blow obnoxious clouds of smoke and lose all of your friends (either due to the density of the vapor or just because), or you could do some baking and make some brownies then get yourself hella baked. There's lip balms, all sorts of edibles, oils, hash, you name it. If someone hasn't found a way to combine it with marijuana, trust me, they are working on it.

Not only are there different methods to intake the marijuana, but also different variations of the plant. There are numerous creatively named strains of bud, ranging from blue dream to purple kush, and trainwreck to Alaskan thunder.

Federally marijuana is illegal nation wide, though legalization has gained some movement and some states have decriminalized it or have legalized it for medical or recreational use. Marijuana accounts for about fifty percent of the war on drugs and has been widely proclaimed to be a "Gateway drug". Due to the cartel and gang activity which often surrounds marijuana's sale, the plant has gotten a bad rap.  Thanks to its illegality, marijuana seems to have a darker more deviant vibe to its culture than does alcohol. Smoking a joint is seen as more counterculture than does downing a pint, and its effects leave one with less of a hangover.

Marijuana is very popular in the media, between politicians and church leaders condemning it and rappers, comedians and celebrities smoking it, marijuana gets a lot of coverage. A common theme in music, from the Beatles to Tech-Nine, Mary Jane's influence is everywhere. Stoner comedies are also a popular genre of film and television, with such movies as Half-Baked, Up in Smoke, MallRats and shows like Workaholics or Broad City. You can't walk into a Hot Topic, Spencers or a Newberry Comics without seeing the famous leaf on a shirt, hat or sticker.

Where ever it is legal dispensaries and cafes have been popping up, allowing for people to purchase and consume the plant. I have even heard of a driven tour in Colorado that visits different dispensaries to test and savor the different strains.

Marijuana culture is very alive in America.