Medical Marijuana Inc (MJNA)

[Jungle_Trader]

Potheads

http://dscriber.com/greenzone/1471-potheads-unite.html

'Boisterous potheads at city council meetings' unite! By Greg Campbell l Published: Monday, April 05 2010 12:08

I recently wrote an article for Salon.com about the King of Pot, Bruce Perlowin. He more than earned the title, having run more dope into the West Coast market than anyone in U.S. history, employing a fleet of fishing vessels that ferried weed into San Francisco Bay for years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Prosecutors estimate he put more than a billion dollars worth of Colombian pot on the streets over the life of his operation.



Perlowin was eventually arrested and spent almost 10 years in prison, but he’s back in the marijuana biz as the CEO of Medical Marijuana Inc., a somewhat shady venture that was at the heart of my article. I knew the story would be controversial if only because Perlowin is a controversial guy.



What I hadn’t expected was to cause a flap over the use of a certain word in the article: “potheads.” It seems I offended an entire legion of, shall we say, marijuana aficionados who saw the term as a slur. One fellow began his comments with the salutation, “F--k you, idiot.”



Here’s the offending sentence, wherein I described the scene faced by many a politician when grappling with the issue of marijuana dispensaries in their towns: “Municipalities considering banning such businesses are met with standing-room-only crowds of boisterous potheads at city council meetings.”



That was certainly the scene in my hometown, but to be fair, the meetings were also attended by strident prohibitionists, patients with clear medical needs, addiction counselors and entrepreneurs looking to make a buck. There was also a busload or two of bona fide potheads, dudes who could barely articulate why they were there. I remember thinking that the City Council members were surely earning their paltry salaries while enduring what at times resembled a casting call to fill Dennis Hopper’s role in Apocalypse Now.



Aside from the politicians, no one seemed to mind the three-minute filibusters that took us all on a rambling journey through the speakers’ streams of consciousness. Hell, I appreciated the potheads the most, if only because they provided some needed levity during six-hour meetings.



Still, I worried that I had inadvertently used a derogatory term, so I punched “pothead” into Google to see what came up. In addition to the 53 definitions offered by Urban Dictionary (the best being “a person who when not even smoking pot still shows effects that he has, and will in the next 24 hours”) I ran across something called The Pothead Society, who’s motto is “Stay High.” Its mission statement looks to a future where one day everyone can “smoke in peace.”



Sounds good to me. Who wouldn’t want to be called a pothead, if peace is the goal? But just to be on the safe side, I hit another site, AskAPothead.com and sent an email asking if it’s insulting to be called a pothead.



I’ll be sure to report the answer as soon as I hear back, but it might be awhile. In true pothead form, the site’s owner hasn’t answered a question in nearly two years.



Meanwhile, anyone who thinks “pothead” is synonymous with Nazi is encouraged to explain why. Just smoke the peace pipe before replying, willya?