I haven't smoked marijuana yet
Despite having high school and college friends who smoked pot, been physically passed a joint at a Metallica/Kid Rock concert, toured a marijuana growing facility, and lived in Massachusetts for five years under legal medical marijuana and for seven months under legal recreational pot, I have never smoked marijuana, nor ingested it in any other way.
My decision to engage in a pot-free lifestyle was based largely on the fact it was illegal (a logic I never applied to underage drinking or driving faster than the speed limit). In addition to being taught at an early age all drugs are bad, marijuana is a gateway drug and a single puff on a joint would lead me down the road of addiction and despair ending as a heroin junkie barely subsisting under a bridge, I was adamant to do the right things and not engage in illegal activity.
Over the years, I have mellowed, realizing the law is a living document evolving with new discoveries and changes in culture, but I still never sought out marijuana. Since the recreation pot ballot question passed in November (I voted in favor), I've become more curious. On the rare occasions where I can chill out and not have to worry at being at the constant state of readiness coming with having four young children, rather than drinking a couple of beers and be sluggish with a headache the next day, maybe I could ingest marijuana in a safe way to relax. Yet, I can't really do that under the new law, since growing my own pot seems like a pain and I don't have a safe, legal way to get some otherwise.
On one hand, I understand why towns like Westborough and a dozen others in Central Massachusetts have adopted bans or moratoriums on recreational pot stores (see Grant Welker's story). The drug still carries a stigma. Yet, it is weird to hear Westborough officials last year talk about using extra liquor licenses as economic development tools while saying this year they will never allow a pot dispensary. I understand all neighborhoods are not perfect fits for strip clubs or rail yards, but outright banning an industry from your community is foolhardy. A market exists for recreational pot, businesses can prosper from that demand, towns would receive tax revenue, and it would mitigate people from illegally obtaining their supply.
If a recreational pot store opened near me, I would patron it.
- Brad Kane, editor
WBJ Web Partners
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