Story by Spencer Clifton | Photos by Casey Rothgeb | Design by Sara Roach

Unmotivated. Stupid. Dangerous. These common negative labels have plagued marijuana consumers for decades.

With new marijuana laws still being passed and the recent birth of the legal marijuana industry, these labels that are usually negative in connotation and may be getting a long overdue update.

Dealing with the Law

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that police officers have seen the negative sides of marijuana that few others do. Cops deal with marijuana criminal offenses, which could shed a negative light on marijuana consumers.

Marc McPherson, patrol lieutenant for Central Washington University police department explains that these marijuana violations are more frequent than you might think. “Over the last several years, the shift has been to significantly more calls to investigate potential marijuana law violations [while] calls for liquor law investigations have dramatically declined.”

The rise in marijuana violations can be explained for two reasons, according McPherson. The demographic of people in which he is responsible for are often all under the age 21 and all students living on campus are succumbed to strict university marijuana guidelines.

Interactions with underage users have provided some interesting and diverse experiences for McPherson. “I have contacted a number of folks that would fall right into the Hollywood stereotypical ‘pothead,’ but I have also contacted some 4.0 students who you would never guess smoke frequently,” claims McPherson.

“The thing that drives those stereotypes are when people … put a priority on their substance use to the point that it consumes their lives and seems to interfere with the balance of being a responsible, functional adult,” he adds.

McPherson explains that although he is required to deal with the negative side of marijuana consumers, he makes sure to push any personal bias or negative stereotypes aside.

“We get to the point where a change in the law is just part of growing within the profession,” explains McPherson. “A good officer is capable of performing the job within the parameters that the citizens of the state, the legislature and the courts have set forth and [is] able to keep their personal feelings out of it.”

The Legal Weed Industry

The legal marijuana industry, according to the Washington State Treasurer, made 395.5 million dollars in marijuana sales and license fees in 2019. The booming industry, which was legalized in 2012, is making millions of dollars from the plant that has held negative stigmas since the beginning of the industry.

With the start of this booming industry comes millions of careers that are specialized in the legal marijuana field.

Morgan Fox, media relations director for the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), an organization dedicated to representing the rights of legal cannabis businesses as well as protecting state cannabis laws, says, “The cannabis industry is made up of a wide variety of skill and training backgrounds and the people involved in it are dedicated, innovative and professional.”

The training and dedication that are required of cannabis employees can be almost as extensive as the amount of positions that the legal weed industry provides to job hunters. “Dispensary employees must receive a minimum of sixteen hours of continuing education for each two-year licensing period,” according to the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy.

Fox claims that the NCIA represents packers, growers, programmers and even plumbers in the marijuana industry.

The positive impact that the legal marijuana industry has provided to those seeking careers and the amount of economic profit have helped to improve stigmas surrounding marijuana, according to Fox.

“While the stigma against cannabis and its consumers still remains in certain age and geographic demographics, it has greatly decreased overall in recent years, largely because of the relative successes of state-level legal cannabis markets and increasing public education,” explains Fox.

Allison Trulson, budtender at The Green Shelf, and girlfriend of PULSE photographer Casey Rothgeb, explains further just how essential the marijuana industry has become. “The fact that I am still an essential worker in this whole COVID-19 pandemic should show that obviously the stigma has reduced,” she says.

However, just because in recent years the stigma surrounding marijuana has gone down, does not mean it does not still exist. “I have family who I have not even bothered telling about my job yet because I am worried about their responses and facing their judgment,” explains Trulson.

A Responsible Consumer

In light of these new laws and this new industry, this may be the perfect time for the community to consider defining the new consumer — a responsible cannabis user.

Jordan Hoadley, a former packager for Orange State Marijuana Producers, expresses that the harsh stigma behind marijuana could potentially come from people’s unfamiliarity with the substance. “I would say most of the people that have a negative stigma towards it, [have] not tried it,” he says.

Jordan O’Dell, Washington resident and avid marijuana consumer, adds, “If the user can still carry out a normal life and still be a functioning member of society, hold a steady job, all those things, then what is the problem?”

Though, even people such as O’Dell that are a proponent of safe recreational marijuana use hold reservations for people who misuse the substance. “It is honestly one of those things that you have to use in moderation,” he explains. “It is not something that you should always smoke 24/7, every minute of the day. That is not what it is there for.”

The stigma of marijuana may be harder to beat than simply leading by example and being a conscious user.

Your Choices Define the Community

Marijuana consumers are not bound to the stupid, lazy stereotype that they have commonly been portrayed as. However, in some cases, those stereotypes may have some truth to them.

Ultimately, the choice is up to the consumer to think about what kind of representation they want to be for the marijuana community. “You can abuse anything, so it is up to the individual to moderate,” says Hoadley. “They need to decide their dosage and what works for them. You can very easily be a productive member of society and smoke weed every day.”

If you are a marijuana consumer, consider taking a moment to think about the kind of stoner you want to be to redefine stigmas of cannabis culture.