The wheel was a great invention. Maybe one of man’s best. But let’s be honest…the wheel has been reinvented and improved upon a million times. The tire itself has come along way, not to mention the insane amount of rim choices we have these days. Big wheels and little wheels for big jobs and little jobs. While all wheels generally perform the same function, the wheel itself is reinvented almost daily to serve a new purposes.
The weed game is a wheel that is at a point of desperately needing some reinvention. It will require a new way of looking at things to make a successful transition from the underworld to the mainstream. It is a new terrain and it would serve us well to examine our wheels to make sure they are the best option for the road ahead. We have a great opportunity to change the entire landscape of weed culture as we emerge from Outlaw City. If we do not want to reinvent the weed wheel entirely, we should damn well consider some serious upgrades.
There are all sorts of areas where we can change the way weed is understood and accepted. What we see is a growing willingness to consider weed as a part of the everyday lives of our community. The great experiment of medical cannabis has allowed for people to see that there are few dangers associated with weed shops, and that the mere presence of weed in the community does not decrease anyone’s quality of life. If anything, even if just a few boozers lightened up on the liquid poison and smoked a little weed instead of getting blitzed chances are quality of life greatly improves.
We have an opportunity to shed the lazy derelict stoner image and offer cannabis as a sophisticated and responsible alternative to other common intoxicants in our society. Without the legal stigma of weed being a criminal activity we will actually look like the grown-ups at the table. “Yeah. I just smoke weed. I don’t drink booze or anything.”
We can reinvent the way major corporations do business by demanding a conscious corporate model that is considerate of our cultural norms and expectations. We do not have to support companies or individuals who do not have the best interest of weedheads and the planet in mind.
We are coming in at a position of great power…we have already devised the black market for over 40 years and we can go back there if weed companies decide to become corporate asshole scumbags. We have a great network and as time goes on the hucksters and charlatans will be exposed. Free-market capitalism goes both ways….what it really means is the gloves are off.
A lot of assholes fly under the radar now because no one wants to call them on their shit in public and risk possibly putting their ass in prison for decades…but we all know some unscrupulous people are lurking in this industry trying to position themselves and embed their creepiness amongst the tribes. But that wheel will be reinvented as the gloves come off. There will be no pulled punches or cooperative competition. It will be game on Coke and Pepsi style. I for one cannot wait.
The cannabis market will be reinvented, as well. Right now there is a large emphasis focused on the retail aspect of the industry, but the natural shift to branded products and more traditional distribution channels will change the game. While there will certainly be small specialty markets of cannabis, there will be a need for a larger production and distribution module to feed global demand. There will be a need for new packaging schemes and labeling requirements. Why do we still sell 1/8ths anyways? What a stupid measurement that is for inventory control. Why not 5, 10, 0r 20 gram options? It just seems much easier for us all to track and do the math on. Regardless, there will be huge room for improvement in packaging, and the production and marketing of weed products will be a wheel that will be reinvented many times as the game goes on.
Consumption patterns will be reinvented too. We already see the dab craze evolving into its own beast, and separate but equally cool community of enthusiasts complete with their own holiday…7.10. Dabs will continue to grow in popularity, and will likely become the hard booze option of the cannabis market. Vape pens are huge, as more low cost options come onto the market and people become familiar with their ease of use. Edibles will be an interesting market to watch grow, simply because the possibilities are endless. But as weed continues to travel the road to legitimacy, the way people consume and enjoy their weed will certainly be a wheel that is reinvented.
We should not shy away from our responsibility to bring cannabis back into the every day routine of our society. We should embrace the opportunity and ensure that it is done with style and class. We should own that shit and demand that weed be respected and cherished. We will admonish the drug warriors and create a space for weed to thrive. Think about how you want cannabis to be understood and dealt with in our society, and then begin talking as if it already is just like that.
#legalbysummer