Has The Southern Tier’s Acceptance of Weed Changed Over The Years?

I recently read an article on the internet about the origin of the word Marijuana, and all the slang terminology.

Growing up as a 1970’s teen, I lived through the marijuana lifestyle, and the years leading up to the pending legalization, my introduction to reefer, as we called it back then, was around 15 years old.

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Like most kids in that day, I was introduced by peers and older friends, it was more of a social awakening for the music, movies and foods of the time.

I remember my first time, it was after a concert at the arena, I think maybe Three Dog Night, we were walking home and someone pulled out a joint and lit it up.

I remember one of my friends saying, “it smells like the foundry”, referring to a factory where I think his dad worked.

My first experiences with a lot of things, some I probably shouldn’t have been doing, was under the influence.

The mindset of marijuana was different back then, I remember walking around with a yellow t-shirt with a big glittery green pot plant on the front.

There were places like Charms Boutique located in downtown Binghamton, where all the teens would go to buy, pot pipes, bongs, water pipes, and refer rollers.

The concerts were big in Binghamton back then, and we weren’t searched or subjected to metal detectors when we entered the arena, it was common for many of the spectators to have marijuana on them, and once the show started, if you weren’t token, you were still reaping the benefits through second hand smoke.

We didn’t have cell phones, or helicopter parents and so we didn’t have to check in as frequently.

Marijuana was a lifestyle in the 1970’s, but as I grew into adulthood, it kind of faded from mine.

I have mixed feeling about the legalization of marijuana, I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but today’s youth are so detached from reality, that giving them another way to zone out could be harmful.

New York State is still working out the logistics of legal marijuana, but it has been approved and soon New Yorkers will be lighting up.

Take a look at my favorite stoner movies below.