So as I was looking through my news feed on Facebook the other day, and I scrolled past an article about the recent passing of the medical marijuana bill in PA. Personally, I thought it was a blog post from a hippie site of sorts, but since marijuana politics seems to be a common theme in news recently, I checked it out. I was surprised to learn that the article was legitimate, and yesterday the House passed a medical marijuana bill for the state of Pennsylvania. This step might be small considering the amount of states changing their legislation in favor of medical marijuana, but I believe this trend could be more significant in terms of also showing a transition into more open minded politics.
Back 20 or more years ago, mentioning marijuana in any context was always negative, even if it was regarding its medicinal properties. People back then believed the typical pot user to be a teen or someone in their early 20s, of color, without a job prospect, and one who was involved in other criminal behavior, so basically a junkie. However, in our current world there has been a change in the demographic of pot users. Sociologists found that the average medical marijuana user is actually a white, middle-aged, educated and fully employed male. These change in marijuana stats is a notable one, as this same group 20 or so years ago, would be the most opposed to any type of marijuana legislation. This shift in opinion could be a result of the politics we see in the news today. For example, 20 or so years ago, having a candidate like Trump or even Sanders might have appeared to be too extreme, or even having females running for the presidency would not have seemed like a plausible option. And this change can be seen in other aspects of politics and law such as the change of marriage laws for homosexuals. It is no longer taboo to think of a gay couple getting engaged or a female president. And the shift has been specially apparent in marijuana in that it is no longer seen as a “gateway” drug or horrible illegal substance. The stigma is definitely not completely eliminated, but it has decreased greatly. There is now research on its medical use whereas in the past, it took years for scientists to be allowed even a small sample to test. Even more significant is its legal recreational use found in a few states, but is being considered in others.
etn5024 says
The posts pertaining to this bill caught my attention as well. It was not very surprising that the bill was passed in Pennsylvania, considering the number of other states who have passed such bills already. Marijuana is legal is some states for recreational use as well, so it is hard to be surprised by any legalization at this point. I agree with you that the stigma has not been eliminated but has shifted significantly over recent years. In many ways, marijuana has become common place for teens and college students nation wide. This has lead to a different cultural perception of users and the drug itself. It will be interesting to see how this culture develops in years to come.
Cecilia says
I think the way media presents issues is one of the biggest factors in a nation’s opinions–it’s very disturbing that a group of people can affect an entire country. The media is biased and presents certain issues under a certain light–the attacks in Paris, for example, were much more talked about than attacks in Baghdad. I’m not surprised that marijuana now is being seen in a more positive light, because marijuana itself hasn’t changed, it’s how the media has presented it and how people have perceived that have changed.