The Weird World of Weed By RALPH BAILEY

What’s with the fickle finger of fate when it comes to Californians and the cheeba, or as it is more commonly referred: weed, Mary Jane, pot, Chronic, grass, ganga, refer, buds, skunk, blaze, herb and Maui Woo Wee. Just six years ago nearly 54 percent of you said no, no, no to making marijuana legal and now in 2016 there’s no surer bet on the ballot than Proposition 64 winning and winning big. Some insist the no on dope crowd over sold their argument, which was to convince Americans that their respective states’ residents would evolve into Cheeto eating stay at home weed freaks. Instead, life in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska and even in our nation’s capitol remained as normal or as abnormal as it was before legalization. Or perhaps the widespread acceptance of so called “Medical cards” has monitoring marijuana such a joke that everyone has finally just thrown their collective hands to the sky and said, ‘Do whatever you want.’ My marijuana friends tell me they don’t even carry their medical cards that’s how lackadaisical sellers have become. So here we are, on that slippery slope that will see the entire nation embrace weed for what it is: a recreational drug probably LESS harmful than liquor, in the long run, one that should not have serious criminal ramifications and one that is NOT a gateway drug to harder substances. Hell, even the Drug Enforcement Administration agrees with me about the gateway deal despite the fact they still rank week with LSD and heroine. I ask you? Who’s really been smokin’ the cheeba?