Miley Cyrus: The New Face of Marijuana?

Like it or not, Miley Cyrus is a weedist. She was not one of our original Celebrity Weedists, but who has brought cannabis into the public eye more than her in recent months? For better or worse, is she the latest face of marijuana?

Now I realize most of you may already be thinking that I am batshit crazy, but hear me out. Ever since Miley twerked her way from childhood Disney star into “adulthood” at the August 2013 MTV Video Music Awards while grinding up on Robin Thicke and utilizing a giant foam finger, the American public has been seemingly obsessed with her every escapade. She has always been popular with the younger generation thanks to her Hannah Montana empire, but Miley, now 21, is well-followed by the older generations as well. Over-sexed publicity stunts like the one at the U.S. VMAs and her music video for the song “Wrecking Ball“, have certainly been large catalysts for that. The woman knows how to market herself!

More recently, Miley has been making headlines for marijuana-related reasons. In a September 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, she was quoted as saying, “I think weed is the best drug on earth.” She also said that she thinks marijuana is safer than alcohol, something both Marijuana Policy Project and Weedist have been preaching for a long time. And just last month, at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Amsterdam, Miley came out on stage to accept an award for Best Video. While doing so, she proceeded to spark a joint in the process. She claims she did it because she had it in her bag and because she thought it would be funny. Regardless of her reasoning and the legality of her antics, I loved it. One of the most popular and recognizable figures in America toking up on stage, and bringing the topic to the lips (and fingertips) of the mainstream media, is a big win in my book.

Sure, some will say Miley Cyrus could be bad for the cannabis movement, because many are tired of her attention-grabbing antics. People may point to her racy videos and her love for the drug molly, and unfairly try to label marijuana a “gateway drug,” but we know that is not true. And still others will point to her younger fans and chastise her for supposedly being a poor role model. But I take the other side of the coin here. People in America can’t seem to get enough of her, no matter what their age. And getting marijuana that kind of publicity is invaluable. It helps it attain more mainstream attention, and hopefully make people less suspicious and generally more accepting of cannabis.

A recent Gallup poll found 58 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization, which is an all-time high and a big jump from 48 percent just a year earlier. And whatever Miley can do to get people talking about the subject, the more people will likely get into the debate, research it, and learn the wonderful medical benefits of this glorious plant.

If you think that sounds crazy, keep reading. Just how popular is Miley Cyrus now? After her aforementioned twerk heard round the world’ at the VMA’s, it was reported that Americans searched stories of Miley 12x more than they searched the horrific Syrian conflict, which at the time, had legitimate rumors of President Assad of Syria using chemical weapons on his own people. Huffington Post noted (citing Google News) that there were 5.5 print and online stories on the Syrian conflict for every 1 on Miley Cyrus at the time, but that makes the discrepancy in actual ‘search’ quantities all the more crazy. It may also say something disturbing about the priorities of our country’s citizens as it pertains to their “news” preferences, but it clearly shows the power of Miley’s brand.

In September 2013, Cyrus’ was the most-watched YouTube channel in the world, with about 270 million views in September alone. It was also reported that Miley Cyrus was one of the most popular Halloween costumes in 2013. And not to stop there, the latest is that sales of her “Bangerz” album recently went Gold, with over 502,000 units sold. The first two singles from that album, “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” have each sold over 2.4 million downloads. Oh, and at the end of October 2013, Miley Cyrus was #1 on the global social media charts, according to Starcount.

Again, whether people like it or not, Miley is a pop icon, sells like hotcakes, and the general public (and Internet) eat her up. So if she wants to use that popularity to inadvertently help get cannabis even more into the minds of the citizens of this country, I am all for it. My feelings are, the more people see uber-popular celebrities smoking cannabis, the more it will become generally accepted. We love our celebs in America. The polls already show that momentum is growing for legalization, and if Miley can help gain awareness and acceptance of cannabis, even just by smoking a joint on stage at a music awards show, why fight it?

During any NFL game on tv, the public is inundated with dozens of beer and alcohol commercials with mostly scantily clad women… and we never blink an eye. So I am not about to knock Miley for similar marketing in her videos and hold that against her, like many try to do. It’s unfair. Why not jump on board and enjoy the great, green advertising she is providing?

Yeah, I realize many still might not agree with me… but I, for one, would love to smoke a fatty with Miley. So Miley, if you’re listening, send a smoke ring my way…