Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Virginia Is Not for Weed Lovers… But Maybe Soon

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

Table credit: LawnStarter

by James A. Bacon

LawnStarter has listed 2022’s Best Cities to Get Stoned, ranking nearly 100 of  the biggest U.S. cities where recreational marijuana use is legal. Alexandria is the only one in Virginia that ranks in the top half. Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News, and Chesapeake all rank in the bottom eight.

The ranking is based on access to dispensaries, head shops, consumption lounges, and cannabis-friendly lodging, as well as the availability of tours and events and even munchie relief (fast food), among other factors.

But never fear, potheads. “Virginia’s low rankings this year are probably temporary,” says LawnStarter communications manager Patricia Davis. “It takes time to roll out a budding cannabis program, so we expect to see Virginia’s big cities reaching new heights in future editions of our report.”

I will say that accessibility to cannabis ranks in my list of priorities right up there there with tattoo parlors and pitbull matches. I have zero desire to smoke weed. Wine is my relaxation drug of choice. But I’m a live-and-let-live kind of guy, and if others choose weed, that’s their business. And as long as marijuana is as carefully regulated for health and safety as alcohol is, I suppose a cannabis industry contributes marginally to Virginia’s quality of life.

Share this article

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

Comments

14 responses to “Virginia Is Not for Weed Lovers… But Maybe Soon”

  1. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    “as long as marijuana is as carefully regulated for health and safety as alcohol is…”
    That’s a pretty low bar, ‘ya don’t have to get very high to get over it.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Harrr! High to get over it! Humor.

    2. David Wojick Avatar
      David Wojick

      Very low as happil alcohol it is not regulated for health and for safety the test is after the accident.

  2. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    One down. One to go…
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j_URK08Yee4

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Oh, two down, if not still disputed…
      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LemG0cvc4oU

  3. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    Lawnstarter did not account for Virginia’s totally unregulated and wide open black market. I see it in plain sight on a regular basis down in Fredericksburg. The stoners down there say it has never been this good and this includes low prices. The black market lets your touch the weed, sniff the weed, and even a free sample. I wonder what the ranking would be if that was factored in.

    1. David Wojick Avatar
      David Wojick

      Good to know it is still as it was.

  4. David Wojick Avatar
    David Wojick

    One of my funnest inventions was how to make a pot pipe out of a piece of aluminum foil. No papers, no pipe, no problem. Take a 6″ square and wrap it around your thumb to make a tube. Fold the end to close it off. Poke in a bowl and pierce it with a paper clip, knife, etc. Its a pipe. Plus you can fold it up and carry it, including with what’s left of a toke, then open it up again.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      We used to use empty beer cans. Turn the pop top hole upward. With your thumb, smash an indentation in the side near the base. Use a pin to make holes in the indentation.

      What’s left of a toke? How’s that work?

      1. David Wojick Avatar
        David Wojick

        Even better! Re part toke I am wonderfully sensitive so I might just take a few puffs and save the rest for later. It is a gift.

        Another story: A friend said he could not get high and since he did not smoke I figured he did not know how to inhale. So I built a big hookah from a 3 liter wine bottle and a bunch of industrial tubing. Do not remember the bowl. Told him to make bubbles. We found him talking to the moon (which I still do).

  5. David Wojick Avatar
    David Wojick

    Pot is great! Back when I was a grad student in philosophy (late 60’s) we argued that it should be supplied as a job aide. It was everywhere and welcomed there, despite being highly illegal. Which tells something of the times. A lot actually.

    Mind you it has been a long time since I smoked it, law and maturity/age getting in the way. I love to see its return. A gentle high that, unlike alcholol, does not make you aggressive.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Warning!! This stuff ain’t what we had. If corn had hybridization equal to pot, it would have ears the length of a hockey stick and kernels the size of softballs.

      I hit a vapestick with a “mild” 22% THC content. It was fun for 30 minutes, downright scary for an hour, and still in effective a day later. Must admit though, couldn’t stop grinning.

      1. David Wojick Avatar
        David Wojick

        Wow! Thanks for the heads up. Sounds like hash, to be taken accordingly. Maybe stronger. Progress!

  6. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    I’m amazed that any Virginia cities make the list given the “never never land” in which Virginia currently finds itself. Pot is legal but legally buying it is forbidden.

    DC is in the same boat but can accurately blame the federal government. Virginia has only its own General Assembly to blame.

Leave a Reply

Read More