Stoner Stigma

Proposition 19 had a lot of attention coming from the national press as it could have been the bill that legalized marijuana in California, marking it to be the first state in the US that has legalized it. But it didn't pass. Some were disappointed, some were relieved and some simply had no opinion at all.





But when you think of marijuana what do you think of? Cheech and Chong? Snoop Dogg? How your parents always justify how they were cool with the excuse "Hey, I went to college too you know?". This marijuana culture or what is perceived to be a culture has taken a life of its own. Those who use marijuana are labeled as "Stoners" or "Potheads" giving them this negative stigma that follows them. But I think that is a little immature when you think about it. Now I'm not saying that there aren't your typical "Stoners" and whatnot but what I am saying is that I think there are more people that smoke weed than you think.

The perception that comes with marijuana is that the people who smoke it are dead beats without any motivation to get a job or grow up. It is portrayed that way in the television, movies, as well as documentaries. But more and more people smoke everyday. It is this stigma that follows the marijuana that gives it a negative connotation which I think is a large reason why proposition 19 did not pass. California didn't want a bunch of dead beat "Stoners" walking around and taking over. I totally agree. But isn't there some kind of middle ground between the "Stoners" and the non-users? There totally is. An example of this is here in this clip from a popular movie a few years ago by Judd Apatow called "Pineapple Express". The story connects a Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) and his drug dealer Saul Silverman (James Franco) on a crazy adventure. This scene shows the contrasts between the two people (both of whom smoke marijuana) where one is a very normal, average Joe and what is seen as a typical "Stoner". The two interact with each other in such a way that it shows that not everyone who smoke marijuana are dumb unmotivated people. Many people smoke marijuana but are just the same as you or me. It is this "Stoner" stigma that is portrayed in our culture that partially influenced the psyche of California voters against proposition 19.