By Charles “Uncle Chuck” Duncan
The marijuana cigarette, spliff, Jay, doobie, joint, stick and blunt are just some of the names that refer to a few pinches of herb rolled up in a small thin sheet of wood, rice or hemp paper or even tobacco.
I sometimes get strange looks from people when I tell them that I smoke every day. I believe this stems from the “all cannabis is party cannabis” crowd. I base this opinion on the knowledge that for many centuries before cannabis became illegal, people consumed it both by eating it and smoking it on a daily basis. It was not seen as something odd until we made it illegal and stigmatized it. Through tv and movies, we molded what a “stoner” should look like and act like. Through racist laws and greedy politics, we received false narratives and taught our children the same. None of which existed before the period of cannabis prohibition and the war on drugs. And don’t forget cannabis history goes back to a time before man could even write a single word.
Some of the people I have met over my thirty-five year cannabis journey are not so optimistic about the glares and stereotypes. This brings me to the subject of this article. The cannabis family is a very diverse group. I would argue that as a whole, the cannabis community is the most diverse group on the planet. While I already covered the topic of people from different backgrounds and social classes having a common love for cannabis in my article “Judging a Cover by its Book”, this time I want to talk about something a little different. Namely, cannabis smokers’ love for the “joint”.
The “joint” originated by some accounts when Mexican workers mixed cannabis with their traditional tobacco cigarettes. Joints typically contain between ¼ to 1 gram of cannabis. It is also worth noting that some research suggests that up to 90% of the THC content in a joint goes up in smoke. Literally. Never passing through the user’s lungs. That information has little to no effect on the very large percent of cannabis users that prefer to smoke their cannabis rolled up in a doobie. It is nostalgic for some. It is easier to control for others.
The joint became the peace pipe at events and gatherings. Friends openly participating in the famed ritual of puff, puff, pass. Sparking a doobie is an experience executed by a group of people wanting to relax and have fun. Alcohol sometimes has the opposite result. I find it painfully ironic that major sporting events will take sponsorship of beer as a wholesome weekend but if you tried to hold the same events using cannabis companies as sponsors, there would be some government hurdle stopping it. I guarantee crowd control would be much easier if cannabis was as available as beer.
Cannabis in joint form has done more to bring about world peace than any other single item known to man. In my humble opinion. It deserves a little more respect than being seen as just something a dazed and confused high school kid enjoys. Not only the cannabis plant itself but more specifically the widely enjoyed joint. So grind your herb, select your favorite paper and roll a traditional fatty, a cone or even an origami level turkey leg. Let us smoke together in honor of the mighty, mighty joint.
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