Slog
News & ArtsMonday, September 14, 2009
Politics / Drugs Old Stoners
Posted by Dominic Holden on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Daniel Engber has a lovely article in Slate about the awkwardness that ensued when his parents asked if he could—pretty please—score them some weed. Are his parents a couple of flower-power freaks, or is there a generation of older pot smokers?
The baby boomer drug uptick turns up again in the recent data. According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, almost 6 percent of all adults between the ages of 50 and 59 reported smoking marijuana in the past year. That's up from about 3 percent five years earlier. Meanwhile, the number of recent users over the age of 50 has climbed to 2.65 million people nationwide (and we can assume the real prevalence is somewhat higher, since these figures are based on self-reported drug use). Here's something to think about: There are about as many boomers using cannabis today as there are high-school students doing the same.
Voters are old, old, old. In King County last month, the primary electorate's median age was 59 years old. Polls show that the oldest voters and people who have never tried pot tend to oppose legalization. But those older, anti-pot voters are dying, and old, pro-pot voters are living.
Soon the post-DARE generation will join pot-friendly baby boomers in the voting booth to pass a slew of pot-legalization initiatives over the next decade. Washington has a chance to do it next year. The state legislature has an active bill that would decriminalize marijuana possession. But if the bill's sponsor, Senator Jeannie Kohl-Welles, can't persuade Speaker of the House Frank Chopp to let the bill get to a floor vote, they need to run an initiative. The aging pot smoking electorate is ready.
Hat tips and curtsies to Slog tipper Rick.
1
Let me preface by saying that I myself am not a pot smoker - I have done it many times in the past but never enough to call it a habit, and it's been several years. But I have been actively encouraging my mother to start smoking pot, because she suffers from chronic pain and nausea and has no appetite. She has lost 15 pounds in the last two months.
She has mentioned this to a few of her friends, who upon hearing it, confess that they have recently gotten high, sometimes for the first time, either with their kids or even with their grandkids. There seems to be an attitude of, "Oh what the heck, I'm 70 years old, I'll do whatever I want" and/or "I've heard of this my whole life, and I just want to see what all the fuss is about."
My mother and her friends are very conservative and constrained people - they are not at the sunset of wild and crazy lives. They are mainstream, everyday suburban grandmothers. It's pretty cool.
She has mentioned this to a few of her friends, who upon hearing it, confess that they have recently gotten high, sometimes for the first time, either with their kids or even with their grandkids. There seems to be an attitude of, "Oh what the heck, I'm 70 years old, I'll do whatever I want" and/or "I've heard of this my whole life, and I just want to see what all the fuss is about."
My mother and her friends are very conservative and constrained people - they are not at the sunset of wild and crazy lives. They are mainstream, everyday suburban grandmothers. It's pretty cool.
3
Right... and once the Woodstock generation finally takes over the government....
wait... what? They did? Oh.
wait... what? They did? Oh.
4
Funny. My 67 year old dad asked me to get him high during a recently family vacation.
So, I packed us a fat bowl with the last of my weed. He took a hit, coughed directly back into the pipe, and sent my weed flying all over the place. He felt bad. I wasn't too happy about it either.
I'll guess I"ll give him a another shot sometime.
So, I packed us a fat bowl with the last of my weed. He took a hit, coughed directly back into the pipe, and sent my weed flying all over the place. He felt bad. I wasn't too happy about it either.
I'll guess I"ll give him a another shot sometime.
5
I just had an interesting drugs conversation with my parents (who are 62) during my trip to visit them a few weeks ago.
I had always, always assumed that they were anti-drugs, and have never so much as even hinted that I have done anything (even now that we're getting to the "sharing funny stories about our younger selves' antics" point). They are generally socially liberal, but are still pretty small-town straight-laced (they weren't hippies back in the 60s, that's for sure).
But, we were talking about marijuana legalization, and my dad seemed to be all for it. What's more, he even said that he thought that if someone could be a functioning member of society as a heroin user, he wouldn't have a problem with it. I was pretty shocked, since that even goes beyond my views about legalization. My mom had more traditional views -- she was a school teacher, so I think that colors her views a bit. But still, she didn't come across as completely anti-drugs as I would have expected.
I had always, always assumed that they were anti-drugs, and have never so much as even hinted that I have done anything (even now that we're getting to the "sharing funny stories about our younger selves' antics" point). They are generally socially liberal, but are still pretty small-town straight-laced (they weren't hippies back in the 60s, that's for sure).
But, we were talking about marijuana legalization, and my dad seemed to be all for it. What's more, he even said that he thought that if someone could be a functioning member of society as a heroin user, he wouldn't have a problem with it. I was pretty shocked, since that even goes beyond my views about legalization. My mom had more traditional views -- she was a school teacher, so I think that colors her views a bit. But still, she didn't come across as completely anti-drugs as I would have expected.
6
the revolt against Prohibition will be fought by the young people of today, and financed by the young people of yesterday.
Legalize it, tax it, sell it like we do far more addictive drugs, and downsize the bureaucracy of police, prisons, and syndicates that get rich off of it today.
Legalize it, tax it, sell it like we do far more addictive drugs, and downsize the bureaucracy of police, prisons, and syndicates that get rich off of it today.
9
Many of the older, anti-pot voters were probably KIA in the War against Drugs. Casualties of war.
Semper Fi, old anti-pot voters!
Semper Fi, old anti-pot voters!
10
Can we just get the people under 30 to register and vote? They have all the power in the world but they're not using it.
12
I'm in my mid-30's, I have a job that entails being responsible for 10 (that's 10,000 if you're a right-wing nut news-hack), married and own my own home. Why the hell can't I smoke a little pot now and then to take the edge off?
13
Why does smoking pot make you a "stoner"?
Does drinking a glass of wine or a beer make you a "boozer"?
The Slate article talks about "Puff Daddies" and "Pot mammas".
I know it's meant to be cute and get page views or make it more readable or whatever, but all it does is play into a stereotype that people that smoke are weird, giggly, odd, funky, whatever.
Basically, we can't talk about smoking pot without in SOME way referring to strangeness, weirdness, off-the-wall characteristics.
Yet we don't routinely talk about the average person who drinks a few beers while watching football as "boozers" or "beer swillers" or "booze dadies" or "martini mamas".
I know it's all glib around here but how we talk about things does impact the overall dialogue.
Does drinking a glass of wine or a beer make you a "boozer"?
The Slate article talks about "Puff Daddies" and "Pot mammas".
I know it's meant to be cute and get page views or make it more readable or whatever, but all it does is play into a stereotype that people that smoke are weird, giggly, odd, funky, whatever.
Basically, we can't talk about smoking pot without in SOME way referring to strangeness, weirdness, off-the-wall characteristics.
Yet we don't routinely talk about the average person who drinks a few beers while watching football as "boozers" or "beer swillers" or "booze dadies" or "martini mamas".
I know it's all glib around here but how we talk about things does impact the overall dialogue.
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