A Brewing Culture Clash within the Counterculture?

[alflud]

Are the names "Green Crack," "AK-47" and "Trainwreck" representative of a culture clash in the medical marijuana establishment? Should medical marijuana be treated as something more than a street drug? This article discusses whether or not there is a clash between the way good ol' marijuana used to be marketed and the new "professional" look of some medical cannabis dispensaries.

Get a load of that. I'm all for keeping it clean and maintaining something of a good rep for our beloved herb but man - there's such a thing as going too far, ya know? I wonder how many more medical users look at the recreational users and the wheeling and dealing and would say it turns their stomach. That's not fair. The bottom line is that without those wheelers and dealers the medicinal properties of hemp might well be forgotten about by now. It's those wheelers and dealers - the ones who are out to make that quick buck - who continued to defy these outrageous laws all these years and kept the green growing. In any case, not every doctors clinic has a cd of some calm new age music playing out of a speaker - some got the local radio station pumpin away. Not every clinic is POSH in other words. I suppose that posh wannabes will look down their noses at others every chance they get anyway but still - it ruffles my coat to see it in action.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704784904575111692045223482.html

 

[AOD2012]

yea i have to agree with you. if it wasnt for the guys selling dime bags, most of us on this site (in my opinion) would never have had that first beautiful encounter with this wonderful medicine. at least i know i wouldnt have. and in most states, where it isnt legal yet, if it werent for these guys and girls doing something very illegal and risking their freedom, the people who really need it would not be able to get it.

 

[Norkali]

If anything, this is a sign that things are definitely going in a positive direction for marijuana. The Wall Street Journal doing a piece on the marketing of marijuana?! Oh wow, how times have changed in my lifetime!

We have arrived ladies and gentlemen!

 

[FunkBomb]

Yes, I do think some strain names are a little over the top. But it never hurts to get more publicity right?

-Funk

 

[alflud]

ah but c'mon ... of all the strains there are they latch on to 3 that have names that might not be 'peaceful' sounding??? White Widow, Ak-47 and Trainwreck. That's it. Jesus man - talk about nitpicking. Ye might not believe it but I didn't think they were 'wrong' sounding names at all and I still don't. Let's ban cowboys and indians outfits shall we? And cap guns? They're using those 3 strains to brand the rest of us recreational users - plain and simple. It's not the names they have a problem with - it's the 'other' users. It's more about the neon signs and the big cannabis leafs than anything. Well hey - I'm quite proud of my cannabis leafs man. I love them.

It's like wine and beer. It's all alcohol but we've always got the wine drinker who looks with disdain upon the neon beer signage, ya know? I've never needed to smoke for medical reasons though I do believe that smoking it has had a preventative effect in a lot of ways but still, for the main part, I grow to sell. I'm no criminal, I don't rip people off - they get plenty good value for their money and no sticks, leaf or seeds, and I've always felt like I was providing a good service. I've sold to people who want to resell and also make a few quid and I've also sold to people who just want to smoke it, medical users and non-medical users alike.

I had one customer though who has multiple sclerosis (edit: not multiple sclerosis - cystic fibrosis) and ya know, he spoke to me one day some years back. He told me how he really shouldn't be alive, that the doctors had given him only a year to live about 3 years previously, and that it was all down to the weed. There'd been a shortage of dope in the area at the time and he wasn't shy about telling me he was starting to freak out about it and how glad he was that I'd provided him some dope. Now, I didn't get into this whole thing to help others - I got into it to help myself - but ...... it's become something more than that. I wouldn't deny anyone who needed it some dope. I can go without but I know now that some people cant and sure I'd go without if it meant someone else got to stay alive. Like I said - I'm no criminal nor a scumbag either.

Having said that though I grow for the money and what's wrong with that? I'm about as proud of what I do as a farmer who brings his produce to the market. I get the same pleasure from seeing people walk away happy with their purchase that the farmer does. The fact that this sort of thing turns some peoples stomachs turns MY stomach. It's just not fair.

 

[chef]

They probably all drive a Prius too....

 

[Tylor Durden]

names like "vicodin" make as much sense?...maybe "iceblock to the head" would be the name of the strain I want to use.

I say we start using ben and jerry names....

 

[donny darko]

Some good points guys. You know what makes me fucking sick is the legislators and the medical pot patients that sell out the people(growers) that took the big risk when pot was not so trendy or medical and still grew for the market and fought for what they believed in and now a lot of them being “drug felons” cannot be part of the new emerging medical scene in a lot of states and have the career they always wanted and fought for, which is now being run by a bunch of better than you mentality yuppies. All real pot smokers should boycott the fuck out of these scumbags. And no I am not a drug felon.
darko

 

[!!!]

I don't think strain names are a big deal, but there's definitely a negative association with Cannabis and gangster rap. I'm not saying rap or hip-hop are bad (they aren't) but the general public still assumes that the only people who smoke weed are hoodlums and losers. A lot of people were surprised when that "Stiletto Stoners" article came out, about well off successful women toking daily. My friends were shocked when I took them to a headshop here in the city and there were students from NYU and older people buying bongs.

 

[Balazar]

I don't like dispensaries period! The vast majority of these businesses are making a negative image for mmj and conducting business in a manner that retards our progress towards full legalization. I live in Denver and I'm gonna name some names here.

Natures Kiss on Broadway and Quincy is appalling. They put adds in Westword that mock native Americans and even a full page add of one of the owners dressed up as Santa Clause hitting a bong! The whole place is decorated in high stoner fashion. Two bud tending rooms are sectioned off from the main area where there are couches, public bongs, a TV and a PS3 for your stoner enjoyment. I'm not saying that this isn't cool. I'm saying that it's unprofessional, unethical and in no way represents to the public people being medicinally treated. It shows the uneducated soccer moms that a bunch of stoners got together and made a clubhouse to do their drugs in with a legal loop hole.

This industry is like a teenage kid that is too egotistical and ignorant to listen to his parents and dress nice when he goes to a job interview. That's what stage we are in right now; the interview. All of these "dispensaries dressed like a punk" are not helping us get the job... Shit I'm wasting my time typing here.

No one here is going to do a damn thing about this. Money will remain to be the only driving force for anything to happen. Unless the government has us under their thumb they will never allow us to do what we want. We are not free. We are ruled by corporations with lobbyists. Do you think any government representative will actually listen to you and represent you over a lobbyist that pays them? If you disagree have fun being one of the sheeple. The problem has never been public opinion or ethics in our society. It has been the government spreading propaganda and trying to bury the truth and why? MONEY & POWER. Corruption is at an all time high. They are on a downward slide. They will not be making a comeback. You guys know just as well as I do that its time to start over from scratch.

 

[Hydrosun]

Some good points guys. You know what makes me fucking sick is the legislators and the medical pot patients that sell out the people(growers) that took the big risk when pot was not so trendy or medical and still grew for the market and fought for what they believed in and now a lot of them being “drug felons” cannot be part of the new emerging medical scene in a lot of states and have the career they always wanted and fought for, which is now being run by a bunch of better than you mentality yuppies. All real pot smokers should boycott the fuck out of these scumbags. And no I am not a drug felon.
darko

I am and will continue to be a drug felon until the US Govt. changes their laws. If they want to call pot growers and smokers felons so be it. Frankly I don't want the government's approval. I am a free born adult and if I choose to grow weed so be it.

Also real marijuana growers will find partners and employment. I could care less if the state of CA or any where else says some guy isn't allow to work in my weed garden. I'll employ him if I so desire, and I'll give him cuts so he can overgrow their government. Make up some more rules about how I should live my life and I'll ignore them too.

Peace,

 

[alflud]

The whole place is decorated in high stoner fashion. Two bud tending rooms are sectioned off from the main area where there are couches, public bongs, a TV and a PS3 for your stoner enjoyment. I'm not saying that this isn't cool. I'm saying that it's unprofessional, unethical and in no way represents to the public people being medicinally treated. It shows the uneducated soccer moms that a bunch of stoners got together and made a clubhouse to do their drugs in with a legal loop hole.

I understand how you feel but what makes that 'type' bad for the rep of marijuana? They're just people playing games and having some semblance of fun. Would getting stoned and going off to a chess club be considered a worthless activity that would sully the rep of marijuana?

It's interesting too that you call it mmj - medical marijuana - as if that's all it ever was. I don't doubt the medicinal value of the plant - in fact I readily agree that it is the greatest benefit to be had from it but there's a spiritual aspect to be considered too and people are entitled to that. So, you know, it's NOT just for physically sick people. It's great for them but hey, it's a big ole world and we're not all the same. It's plain old marijuana and it's there for everyone.

I don't view myself as a 'stoner' but I am fairly active promoting the use of hemp as being harmless. I don't go around wearing cannabis leaf t-shirts or handing out flyers or things like that but I don't ever hide the fact that I smoke and love it too. I make it my business to let as many people know as possible. It began with my extended family and moved on from there. I view it as being part of the normalization process. Quite a lot of smokers get stoned and carry on like any other 'normal' member of society and people need to see that smokers can be high and still lead a normal life, still have an intelligent conversation and still build a house if need be.

Look at all the talent present here at this site man - most of the DIY we see around here is done while high. 'Stoners' are intelligent, innovative, creative and friendly. So, we don't all lay about playing games but ........ for those who do - what's wrong with that? What makes them a worse kind of smoker? A lower class of smoker if you will? What harm are they doing to anyone? At least they're not out waiting for the next vulnerable person to rob so they can hit on their next rock of crack.

The bottom line here is that smoking hemp isn't reserved solely for those who might portray the best image possible. Hemp is for everyone - anyone who wants it. Fuck it man if some guys wanna hit a bong and lay around playing games well that's fine by me. It's not what I do (not all the time anyway ) but hey, I'm not gonna look down my nose at them just because they're different.

Some good points guys. You know what makes me fucking sick is the legislators and the medical pot patients that sell out the people(growers) that took the big risk when pot was not so trendy or medical and still grew for the market and fought for what they believed in and now a lot of them being “drug felons” cannot be part of the new emerging medical scene in a lot of states and have the career they always wanted and fought for, which is now being run by a bunch of better than you mentality yuppies. All real pot smokers should boycott the fuck out of these scumbags. And no I am not a drug felon.
darko

This is what I'm talking about - the 'better than you' mentality. This is what get's up my nose too. Before the laws making it legal to use medically growers were like the lifeline of some people and now what? We're been seen as something that is 'bad for the rep of mmj'? Fuck that.

 

[alflud]

Also real marijuana growers will find partners and employment. I could care less if the state of CA or any where else says some guy isn't allow to work in my weed garden. I'll employ him if I so desire, and I'll give him cuts so he can overgrow their government. Make up some more rules about how I should live my life and I'll ignore them too.

Peace,

that's why you love your life HS! The fact that you can ignore a stupid rule while others blindly abide by it is what sets you free. It's this freedom - which is taken and not given - which has kept the marijuana scene alive all these years. To be honest - I've only ever seen what Obama has been saying as hot air. I don't think marijuana is about to become legalized any time soon because of the lost money it would mean for big pharma. Wait til you see though - when the shit hits the fan and people begin to realize it, when the politicians begin back-peddling it's the 'stoners' who'll be blamed for it all. People will say "oh well, if it wasn't for the hippies in such and such a dispensary this shit would never have happened and it'd be legal now" but that's a load of BS. The fact is that if it ain't legalized it's down to the medicinal aspect and the lost revenue it would mean for the big boys - the lobbyists Balazar is talking about. Number 1, they're not about to let people have an effective medicine and number 2, they're not about to let people have medicine that they can produce themselves.

 

[B. Friendly]

this guy would strangle skate borders for their baggy jeans. Or strangle minorities for having accents. He's the type of guy who when vacationing in Japan wonders what language they're speaking because it's foreign. Not realizing he's the foreigner.
Douche Bag that's all, love to see his kind find good herb, the only way they can is by paying rediculous Dispensary prices and then bitching about the scene, names, tattooes...

 

[kmk420kali]

I don't like dispensaries period! The vast majority of these businesses are making a negative image for mmj and conducting business in a manner that retards our progress towards full legalization. I live in Denver and I'm gonna name some names here.

Natures Kiss on Broadway and Quincy is appalling. They put adds in Westword that mock native Americans and even a full page add of one of the owners dressed up as Santa Clause hitting a bong! The whole place is decorated in high stoner fashion. Two bud tending rooms are sectioned off from the main area where there are couches, public bongs, a TV and a PS3 for your stoner enjoyment. I'm not saying that this isn't cool. I'm saying that it's unprofessional, unethical and in no way represents to the public people being medicinally treated. It shows the uneducated soccer moms that a bunch of stoners got together and made a clubhouse to do their drugs in with a legal loop hole.

This industry is like a teenage kid that is too egotistical and ignorant to listen to his parents and dress nice when he goes to a job interview. That's what stage we are in right now; the interview. All of these "dispensaries dressed like a punk" are not helping us get the job... Shit I'm wasting my time typing here.

No one here is going to do a damn thing about this. Money will remain to be the only driving force for anything to happen. Unless the government has us under their thumb they will never allow us to do what we want. We are not free. We are ruled by corporations with lobbyists. Do you think any government representative will actually listen to you and represent you over a lobbyist that pays them? If you disagree have fun being one of the sheeple. The problem has never been public opinion or ethics in our society. It has been the government spreading propaganda and trying to bury the truth and why? MONEY & POWER. Corruption is at an all time high. They are on a downward slide. They will not be making a comeback. You guys know just as well as I do that its time to start over from scratch.

Why hate the Stoner?? Many O Tie-die wearing....long hair freaky ppl...have $$ and influence...and the ones that don't...still may have "Morals & Good Intent"-- I would guess at least as many as proportionate to the "Posers"--
We do not need to fit into Society's "Mold"...many of those who think "We" are bad...use phrases like, "That is what I was like before I grew up"...but did they grow up...or give up??
I am the person I am...fuck pretenses--

 

[Balazar]

alflud - You are right. There is nothing wrong with using marijuana for recreation.

But is running a recreational marijuana club under the guise of a medical service for the ill right? That's like opening a pharmacy that caters to people that like to use pain killers for recreation. Maybe they would have a lounge with jazz music and sofa's to lay on while they do foilies with the pharmacist. Do you think there would be lots of public approval for painkillers if those were popping up everywhere? I used to smoke strictly for recreation without a card because I didn't need one. But now I do and I don't like reading news articles about new bills that are cooking that restrict my rights because of recreational users hiding behind medical cards that are pissing people off. Faking pain to get a doctors recommendation for marijuana is the same as faking pain to get any other prescription drug for recreation. This is a personal ethics issue. Not a "we should make laws and regulations to force them to change their tune" issue. I agree that bullshit laws like the prohibition of marijuana should be ignored by everyone. However abusing the system for protection and screwing over people that need it for medical reasons in the process is not ok. If you need a card cool then get one, but if you just want to go get high with David and Bruce at Natures Kiss; then please do me a favor and go to the kid down the street. Buy your sack from him for cheaper and smoke it in your basement where you wont get harassed by LEO. Or better yet pop some seeds and do your part to overgrow uncle Sam. If this all turns around and they say I can't have a card anymore cause so and so fucked it up I'll just have to be a felon again too and grow in my basement too.

 

[Hydrosun]

alflud - You are right. There is nothing wrong with using marijuana for recreation. But is running a recreational marijuana club under the guise of a medical service for the ill right?

YES

So long as there is prohibition there will be speakeasies, it is really fucking lame to point out that the cover for a speakeasy is illogical while missing the point that prohibition makes the circus the way it is.

Why are you now upset that laws may restrict your rights? Just because you are now better than the recreational smoker you once where? Should you have been imprisoned years ago but now subsidized for you weed smoking or growing?

Faking pain to get doctors to do X. Why don't you go save Michael Jackson and every other pill popper in the world.

This is a fucking personal ethics issue, and I hope you check your hypocrisy and quit judging anyone who smokes or grows this plant. I don't need a fucking note from a doctor, my congressman, or anyone (read YOU); so quit with the language of the opressiors and plant a seed. (hoping you already have, just a little over the top).

But really you should show how pot heads are screwing over those who NEED it for bla fucking bla. NEED, NEED, NEED, GREED, GREED, GREED, SOCIALISM, SOCIALISM, SOCIALISM, lucky fucking for you, you are on the free receiving end now. Us healthy fucks just need to get to work growing and not having any fancy fucking storefront, else anger the entitled fucking class.

Did I miss a fucking fuck? FUCK!

Abusing the system? What the FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The system is what they use to make you a FUCKING SLAVE!!!!!!!!!!!

What the FUCK!

Ok, off to smoke now and mellow a little. I hope you are high as a kite and pain free with or without your FUCKING little card.

Peace,

 

[Balazar]

Damn, I pissed off hydrosun. I got to give it to you though I laughed my ass off when I read the head of your message with the enlarged font. I nearly fell out of my chair. Thanks for that one.

I'm gonna go toke too and let this thread cool down till tomorrow lol.

 

[HempHut]

So long as there is prohibition there will be speakeasies...the cover for a speakeasy is illogical...prohibition makes the circus the way it is.

(Moe's bar is disguised as a pet shop during prohibition)

Rex Banner: Pet shop, eh? Well, I have one thing to say about that. What kind of pet shop is filled with rambunctious yahoos and hot jazz music at 1:00 in the morning?

Moe: Er, uh ... the ... best damn pet shop in town!

Customers: Yeah!

 

[texsativa]

YES

So long as there is prohibition there will be speakeasies, it is really fucking lame to point out that the cover for a speakeasy is illogical while missing the point that prohibition makes the circus the way it is.

Prohibition against one of God's creation at that...

“drug felons” cannot be part of the new emerging medical scene in a lot of states

You're right, it is sick.