Earlier this week, while visiting my parents in Palm Springs, my mom and I decided to stop by a dispensary in the area. Being a loyal patient of Harborside Health Center (and more importantly, girlfriend of the GM/co-star of "Weed Wars," Andrew DeAngelo), I hadn't frequented many other dispensaries and was interested in seeing what was available to my parents and friends in the desert. I was careful to enter the small shop without preconceived notions, and instructed my mom to not "brag" about me and my illustrious connections. I very simply wanted to see what other patients see when they enter such an establishment. Plus, I love my parents very much but a medicated brownie was becoming necessary...
Once inside, reception was warm and welcoming, giving us cautious tips on compliant traveling and driving with medicine in tow. But once the owner caught sight of my Oakland address, things turned a little sour--and I don't mean of the "diesel" variety (a little dorky cannabis humor for you).
"Oh yeah, in Oakland you have Harborside and 'Weed Wars' so it's all mainstream there," said the owner, with more than a hint of derision. I kept my mouth shut, steeling myself for what soon became a tirade of disparaging remarks about Harborside's success. Trying to ascertain the source behind the bitterness, and trying to stop the flush from overcoming my face, I calmly replied that Harborside is where I like to go in my hometown, and the owner backed off--just a bit--vaguely acknowledging her onslaught of negativity with a self-deprecating chuckle.
Although the owner was quite helpful and generous with product recommendations after that, I couldn't shake the feeling of being misunderstood and attacked--even subversively. It's a feeling I've grown accustomed to as of late, what with the broadcast of "Weed Wars" and the many hours I've spent online since, scouring critical reviews, blog commentary and endless tweets about the show, about Harborside, and about my beloved boyfriend and his family.
Despite its legal, medical uprising in certain states, cannabis remains a hot-button topic. And because Harborside Health Center is the largest medical cannabis dispensary in the country, it already receives a lot of media attention and public scrutiny. I expect critical backlash from people who haven't been educated about cannabis' medical merits or those who simply choose to hang on to their conservative "all drugs are bad" stance. But what I didn't expect was that the majority of "haters" would come from within the medical cannabis industry itself.
When "Weed Wars" debuted, I obsessed with people's honest and immediate reaction to the show and mainstream perceptions of the industry. Naturally, I turned to Twitter. The majority of tweets were favorable and/or incredulous (mainly in non-medical cannabis regulated states and countries), but of course I fixated on the negative criticisms. And what struck me were the blatant hypocrisies...
"Let's Get High," aka @PokerStoned, who in his profile pic is wearing a green t-shirt with a smiley face smoking a joint, tweeted that "sometimes the people on weed wars don't help the image of a stereotypical pothead." Along the same lines, "Stoner Simpson," aka @PapersNoBlunts, who cites himself as a "verified weed smoker...modern day hippy...smoke something bitch..." tweeted that "this weed wars shit making potheads look bad."
I realize that public figures must regularly face this kind of critique, both good and bad--and none of it has to necessarily make any sense. And it has made me reassess how I judge celebrities in general. But Harborside is not the Kardashians. And it is especially difficult to accept this kind of blind badgering from people within the industry who realize all too well the political and social obstacles they face on a daily basis. Any success, done legally and with beneficent intent for the medical cannabis community at large, should be encouraged within that community. Open discussions, instead of one-sided attacks, will only propel that larger success.
This is somewhat strange for me, as I've never claimed to be a cannabis activist. But I guess I'm reacting to the pattern of social injustices that we often fall into because we're afraid of change, or we're quickly lacking control of our own lives, or we fail to see that someone else's success does not negate our own.
I'm hoping that through this process, I can keep my ears and eyes open, and not be too discouraged by humanity's great law of entropy. Maybe this wasn't my battle to fight, but it's definitely teaching me how to win with grace.
