AFTER DARK
story by Megan Foster photos by Andy Rios design by Ileana Rea Martinez
A flick of the lighter. A quick puff of smoke. Inhale. Exhale. “Ahh.”
The Power of Plants
The cannabis plant — otherwise referred to as marijuana, weed, bud or Mary Jane — has been around for centuries. The dried, leafy green buds from the plant can elicit different effects that intrigue a range of consumer needs, as well as societal stigmas.
Cannabis “is an important herbaceous species originating from Central Asia, which has been used in folk medicine and as a source of textile fiber since the dawn of times,”
Marijuana Misconceptions
One Molecules.”
“I mean, if you’re a stoner you’re lazy…” Dave Hubbard says, a lead budtender for The Fire House and The Station dispensaries in Ellensburg. “You get that all the time, you’re stupid…I think the biggest [stigma] is just laziness.”
Within each cannabis plant lives cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are responsible for the high that is often associated
The cannabis industry has its fair share of stigmas. This has been a common thread throughout history. Propaganda surrounding marijuana began to surface in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
“The word cannabinoid refers to every chemical substance, regardless of structure or origin, that joins the cannabinoid receptors of the body and brain…” according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF).
“After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Mexican immigrants flooded into the United States, bringing with them the recreational use of marijuana,” according to Alexander Campbell King Law Library website. “The drug became associated with the immigrants and the fear and, in turn, prejudice about the newcomers became associated with marijuana.” Whether they are directed at those who partake or at the product itself, there are plenty of opinions. “[Many] still think it’s a hard drug, like ‘Oh, you smoke weed you must do all this other stuff,’” says Aleana Bower, a budtender at The Fire House and The Station dispensaries in Ellensburg. “That’s not the case.” Regardless of any explanation or excuse, Hubbard expresses that stigma will likely always be present within the cannabis industry. “You can try arguing with them all you want, but I mean, the only thing I tell them is try it…” Hubbard says. “You can tell someone whatever, but until they try it and actually see, you know, it’s stigma and mindset.”
74 PULSE SPRING 2024
according to an article from the National Library of Medicine entitled “Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and
with marijuana.
Cannabinoids elicit effects within the human body by interacting with specific receptors within the central nervous system. “To stimulate these receptors, our bodies produce molecules called endocannabinoids, which have a structural similarity to molecules in the cannabis plant…” Peter Grinspoon says in an article with Harvard Health Publishing. “The cannabis plant, which humans have been using for about 5,000 years, essentially works its effect by hijacking this ancient cellular machinery.” The two most common cannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). While these cannabinoids are increasingly similar in terms of chemical structure, they have vastly different effects. “THC is the psychoactive part of it, that’s the part that’s going to get you stoned,” Bower says. “CBD is more of the relaxing,