It’s Christmas. Many of you reading this celebrate the holiday, whether for religious reasons or out of tradition or a little bit of both. For a lot of you it’s kind of like Thanksgiving, but with presents; family gatherings are commonplace.
And while traditions endure, the world that surrounds them is always changing. A hundred years ago, hardly anyone knew what cannabis was. Now millions can buy it legally for any reason. Whether as part of a political discussion or a joint shared with cousins on the back porch or a gift that is marijuana-related, cannabis is sure to be a part of many Christmas celebrations.
This is truer this year than it has ever been. Marijuana is now something we talk about openly. Giving a friend a bong for Christmas is something much more accepted than it would have been even 5 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an uncommon gift so don’t run out and get Nana a glass skull she can smoke marijuana out of just yet (unless she specifically asks for it, of course). But things are clearly trending in one direction – culturally speaking.
Giving marijuana as a gift can be an iffy proposition, and not only for cultural or familial reasons. The laws vary from state to state and even town to town, depending on what state you’re in. For example, this man in Florida was arrested for giving out marijuana in the street, claiming it was “because it was Christmas”. A fringe example, to be sure, but illuminating and entertaining at the same time.
The point of all this is that it’s important to recognize the cultural and legal shift we are currently undergoing, and Christmas is a great time to do that. It’s also important to keep the sensibilities of family members in mind, no matter what the legal status of cannabis is where you celebrate. Being around an annoyed or offended family member can be like a jail of its own.
Now, when it comes to your friends who partake with you the rest of the year, the gift options for Christmas are almost unimaginable. New and better technology is emerging all the time, and the variety of gift ideas grows every year (assuming you haven’t already settled on the skull bong mentioned earlier).
In the future, marijuana will be at least as much a part of Christmas as alcohol is. Cannabis goes hand-in-hand with celebrating, and someday no one will have to hide that.
