So my friend is worried about her husband who will need to have surgery this week. She is preparing the house so that when he returns from surgery it will be extra nice for his recovery. She is trying to get out of her head. In 10 days school will start. She is a teacher. She inhales Skywalker cannabis oil from a Bloom vape. It is the new one her husband bought today. She also has a Northern Lights which she sometimes partakes in. Not very often, usually it is when she is PMSing. Most of the time, she doesn’t indulge. Last semester after long days of distance teaching she would nap on their sofa. It is L-shaped. She has a fuzzy pillow in her corner. Lavender. When she peeks up she sees her husband blowing smoke over her head. She smiles at him. He tells her he is glad she can finally relax.
Medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are running along in Cali during the pandemic While the bars are closing, the dispensaries are still operating. Thankfully. However, many of her neighbors are drinkers and not just occasional. They are loud and they gather maskless. Pooling people they sink in their drinks. The stoners are on the inside introverts inhaling while the pandemic looms. The groceries are scrubbed and stored.
She listens to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Her husband is in his Man Cave playing video games and listening to music. She aches for him thinking of the surgery that he will have to go through. She is glad that he is chillaxing. She just made him a batch of vegan chili fries. Her oven is still hot. The sun is out, but the masks are off. The shades are drawn upwards and the door is closed.
She tries to find a way to BE while she thinks of all she has to DO.
California. Geography and perceptions of pot. Generations pirouette. Growing up in the 1970s her parents did drugs. She remembers when she was in school when President Regan had his Say No to Drugs campaign in the 80s. She was the 6th grade. She was bused across town to an industrial neighborhood from the suburbs. The school had a police officer and he was talking. Her friend looked quietly at her block friends as the policeman spoke about people and drugs. She was not sure if she was supposed to feel shame, or if it was already there.
She thought of the clouds of smoke in the evening time. She was a latchkey kid who let herself in, made a snack, and sat with Gilligan before going out to play until the streetlights came on. Occasionally, the moms would come home early, sit under their macrame hanging lamps and smoke. It circled and weaved. Some of the moms eventually brought out mirrors. She is thankful her mom did not. It was too expensive. That was a good thing.
She doesn’t want to be like her. She loves her though.
The dispensaries are filled. When she first got to California she got her medical marijuana. Her husband already got his. He guides her thought it. She met with the doctor at an outside mall where the door pushes into a bell that rings. Welcomed by a receptionist and vinyl seats she waits and then gets called back. The doctor asks her a couple of questions, signs and they thank one another. The girl at the window takes her picture and she gets a card. She is glad she is glad she wore her polka dot jacket, but wonders if she should have worn something different, more flowery perhaps.
She goes with her husband to the dispensary on the East Bay. They lived near Oakland. She isn’t sure if she should enter. She didn’t want anyone to see her there. She was a teacher after all. It is legal in California. She had her card and walks through. The green lovelies were potted in place. She perused at all the items, edibles, and smokables. When she arrived to the counter she asks the budtender for hash. His eyes open wide. She told him it was for her husband. He just smiles and shows her the collection. Her husband still chuckles at the story of her first visit to a dispensary from 7 years ago.
2020 Hindsight and nowsight, she bakes. During the pandemic, she has been watching the Bong Appétit show and learning recipe ideas. Her husband puts on his mask in the morning. He has a new mask from Vera Bradley that his wife bought and is glad that her husband is wearing it. She is especially glad when he said that he put it over the surgical mask. He blows her a kiss.
He tells her he has an order from IHeartJane.com. When he returns he surprises her with Starbucks. He sets his masks in the UV filter contraption to disinfect them. He tells of how someone tried to cut in the line while he was trying to social distance. They shake their heads and talk about how dispensaries used to be different when they were medical marijuana dispensaries vs. recreational. Living now in a tourist town there are so many out-of- towners without masks. This week, California has passed NY as the state with the most cases.
He was nervous because the security guard asks each person to lower their masks while checking IDs. He stood 6 feet away as he showed his ID. She was glad to hear that.
He shares about the local dispensaries. There is the one at the corner across from the McDonalds that got blown up by a flying car. That is the one he went to today. It used to be in a rich area. Since the store moved it is more like the supermall of pot. Plexiglass is at all the dispensaries now. That is good. While the employees wear mask some don’t wear it over the noses. There is one that people take selfies in front of. That is a no-go. And then there is another one that is more boutique like. It is small and more personable. It is a bit of a drive. You can order online and the budtender will deliver it curbside. That is a better option. The surgery is upcoming.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzWZ9HmG-U