I’m a baby boomer/grandmother who lived in New Jersey most of my life — until four years ago when I moved to Colorado to assist family that lived out here.
I am not a marijuana user myself, but I’ve been around people who enjoyed what drinkers might call “happy hour,” which amounted to a bud in a tiny pipe or maybe a joint. It’s never been my experience to see someone “stoned” on marijuana, but rather relaxing after a hard day of work, just like my parents did with their own one-drink “happy hour” at home.
Unfortunately, cannabis remains classified a Schedule 1 controlled substance along with drugs such as heroin or cocaine. That label was put on cannabis back in the early 1970s and is as out-of-date as bell bottoms, station wagons and Howdy Doody.
It is so past time to consider cannabis in a different light. Do people get stoned on too much marijuana? Yes, just like they get drunk on beer, wine or any alcoholic beverage. Is marijuana addicting? Maybe — but so are cigarettes, chocolate, soda and other product that, if consumed in excess, can cause problems.