Attention Stoners: Help Put the ‘Lazy’ Stereotype to Rest

Here’s the simple truth: I am (obviously) a strong supporter of cannabis, and I don’t think the stereotypical “lazy” stoner is a great spokesperson for the movement. Weed used as a vehicle to justify and promote a lack of ambition or productive drive is a misguided application of an incredible plant.

The fact is that cannabis does do a lot to help put one in a peaceful, no-worries mindset. However, there can be a fine line between using that mindset to be a better you in your interactions with the world in which you live, and hiding in that feeling of well-being, staying high so that you never have to truly look in the face of the less savory parts of life.

Ann Druyan, widow of Carl Sagan, put it best when she said that cannabis is “…something that made a great life sweeter in every possible way.”  That’s an important distinction. To me, cannabis enhances the good parts of life while helping to take the edge off the existential struggles that knock at the door of every soul.

But that’s a far cry from getting stoned to hide from the ugliness of the world, which I feel is a commonly held belief of those who would judge us based on our cannabis consumption. If true, their gripes would be poignant. Obfuscating reality in a perpetual cloud of weed smoke is no better than burying your head in the sand (an unfortunate colloquialism that also misrepresents ostriches).

Though this is likely true for a small cohort of users, from my experience and observations, weed does not install a lack of motivation or create lazy people. But, unfortunately and unfairly, that is a common perception of the typical stoner, and one that pop culture has not really historically sought to dismantle.

In my view, if you’re not actively working to improve yourself and the world, you are harming your potential and passing the buck onto others. As I see it, if you’re not growing, you’re dying. These are exciting and pivotal times and we are all alive to share them. For the vast majority of users, cannabis is not an excuse for why someone can’t get their shit together, and all I’m really asking is that we work to strip marijuana users of the stigma of the lazy stoner.

I do believe that the stigma-breaking stoners (read: most actual stoners) tend to be far less public about their cannabis use. I think that the bulk of us are productive world citizens, but the prohibitionist spotlight loves to linger on munchies and empty Mt. Dew bottles. This is my clarion call to the productive, professional stoners, to embolden your hearts and, if it’s safe for you, start telling people that you smoke weed. You can even keep a punch card of how many shocked looks you get!