If you heard a fellow parent say they couldn’t wait to bust open a bottle of wine later that evening, you probably wouldn’t think twice.
Wine is not just socially acceptable in white Western culture – it’s encouraged. Wine and other alcoholic beverages are practically pushed on those of us who prefer to abstain.
But tell a group of PTO moms you’re excited to head home and light up a joint or take some delta-8 THC or CBD oil for some self-care, and you might get some serious stink-eye. Even though cannabis is now legal or at least decriminalized in many states, and is proven safer than alcohol, it’s still not as socially accepted.
So why is it that alcohol is so acceptable in polite company, yet cannabis and its derivatives are so scorned? It can be easily summed up in one word: racism.
Feel free to do your own research and don’t just take my word for it. There’s no way cannabis would be illegal if it weren’t for racist, white supremacist leaders and lawmakers associating the herb with immigrants and people of color.
The facts are clear: alcohol causes about 88,000 deaths per year, while cannabis causes none . That doesn’t mean young people should smoke pot – on the contrary, before age 25, cannabis should be avoided entirely, just like tobacco (and, of course, alcohol).
But here’s my hot take: adults over 25 with fully developed brains should be free to smoke pot, take edibles or enjoy delta-8 THC in the privacy of their homes if they wish.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, delta-8 THC is a derivative of hemp or cannabis and is legal in many states. In my opinion, it should be legal in all states as it has many benefits and few drawbacks.
Does delta-8 THC get you high? Yes – but it’s a milder, smoother high than cannabis or delta-9 THC. And it certainly is not as damaging or destructive as alcohol.
I don’t know whether I feel more strongly about being pro-cannabis or anti-alcohol, but I realize both biases are coming through loud and clear in this post. And I’m okay with that!
It just seems crazy to me that one substance is praised and welcomed in our society, while the other is still somewhat ostracized despite a clear shift in public opinion in recent years.
So, dear reader, where do you land in the weed vs. alcohol debate? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or over on Instagram or Facebook.
