Ban Weed Smoking In Public Places

Especially where kids are around

Earlier this month I took my family to a bluegrass festival outside of St. Louis. The event was held on a serene, 200-acre country space alongside the Meramec River, with a swimming hole, hiking trails, and camping in a big open field.

It was steamy, but the main stage viewing area was shielded by the canopy cover of a walnut grove. It was hard to imagine a nicer setting for the event’s banjo-meets-jam-band vibe, highlighted by 86-year-old headliner Del McCoury.

And yet the moment we arrived and I saw a local dispensary was the main sponsor, I knew we were in trouble. This was the first big music festival I’d attended since Missouri legalized weed two years ago, and it’s clear that the whole game done changed.

Now, the marijuana wasn’t being sold clandestinely by dreadlocked white guys in Rasta hats, it was being sold by legitimate cannabis businesses, operating out of food trucks. You could buy everything from flower to pre-rolls to edibles to THC-infused cocktails. Even the smoothies had CBD.

The average age of attendees was maybe 35; women in floppy hats and bikini tops and overly tattooed guys in sandals, with pipes in one hand and beers in the other. But families and kids were well represented too, even toddlers. “Please be respectful of our all ages community,” read the event’s website.

And yet, no one was. People smoked weed just about everywhere one could smoke weed: by the lake, in the campground, near the stages. As a result, entire areas were hotboxed, particularly the walnut grove. The clouds of smoke near the stage were so thick that my eleven-year-old said it was giving him a headache, and requested to go back to the tent.

This irritated me, in a way I couldn’t immediately articulate. It’s not like I’m not used to people using drugs at music festivals; I’ve practically made a career out of documenting their shenanigans. Besides, attendees were also drinking copiously — one bar had a sign that said, “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning” — and that didn’t bother me.

I guess it’s because, well, you can’t get children intoxicated on second-hand alcohol.

The marijuanification of America is well under way, and it’s just getting started. Before long we’ll have weed pool halls, weed arcades, weed sporting events, weed WeWorks, and 5Ks where you have to smoke a joint every mile.

Yet legalization states are already starting to stank. According to the New York Post, “NYC’s disgusting pot stench is keeping tourists away.” Minneapolis, according to friends there, stinks throughout, and I’ve also heard this about everywhere from…