and the world did not end, unless I missed that.
At least here in Washington, something that was a drain on the state's coffers (arresting all the pot smokers) has turned into a big money maker for the state. The state taxes on the stuff are pretty steep, but the stores are still busy.
I'm allergic to THC, so I am not interested in the recreational stuff, but there are a number of CBD products that are quite useful to keep around. It reduces inflammation, and works as a good sleep aid too. We have a friend with fiber mialgia and CBD has worked better for her than anything else she's tried. She's another one who bought into the anti-drug memes and it took her a lot of courage to go to a store. She still won't go without one of us.
When we go to the stores, over half the customers are over 50.
That's understandable. Although I'm betting there was liquor in the CEO's cabinet.
The CEO was way above my pay grade. I have no doubt he probably had some top shelf stuff in a cabinet in his office. I wouldn't know though, the top brass were very remote from the peons. I got to see Bill Clinton while I was there (they taxied Air Force one up to the hanger and he gave a speech). The mayor of Seattle, and governor of Washington were at the event, but the chief of engineering for commercial aircraft was the highest executive I ever even saw.
+1
This was one puff, and probably mostly tobacco. Ridiculous! So, if it's about anything, it's solely about image. Like Nancy Reagan "just say no" bullcrap.
Education about the reality of drugs is very different depending on what circles you travel in and what part of the country you live in. The friend who was predicting doom and gloom about legalizing marijuana lives in Texas. He's politically fairly liberal, but he is retired from the oil business (though he strongly approves of Tesla and plans to get a Model 3) and he's lived in Sugar Land, TX for decades. His wife is very into being the Southern Lady, so his social circle is a mix of progressives and very conservative people. He has picked up a lot of memes about drugs from the culture he lives in.
I've lived most of my life in fairly progressive areas and I've known quite a few people who experimented with a lot of drugs as well as some who got hooked (I can think of three ex-heroine junkies I know off the top of my head). Which ones were really bad news and which ones were not that harmful kind of permeated into my consciousness without really trying. Not that I am all that interested in any of them, the one time I tried marijuana I was violently ill for 6 hours and hungover for another 24 and I generally don't like the feeling of being intoxicated on anything.
Different people saw Elon smoke that joint and saw very different things. Some saw Refer Madness in the flesh and others saw a guy puffing a joint with no more negativity attached than if he was drinking a beer.
