Intro
I write this as a 37 year old male, who’s used cannabis off and on over the years (first tried, age 16). Back then, it felt bad. No-one made me feel bad, other than it being a by-product of scare stories and negative news from the media & adults / teachers in life in general.
Now, at 37, I can see weed in a different light and I think the world is waking up to this too. The medical use of the plant is now overwhelmingly positive and can probably be seen as the key driver towards legalisation across the world. Some states in America have now legalised it fully, but here in the UK we are a fair bit away, both in terms of attitude and legality.
This Guardian article from 2016 has some interesting stats in it claiming 47% are in favour (2016 figures) of legalisation.
Indicators of more general acceptance
Personally, I feel the UK has become more accepting of cannabis and there is less of a stigma towards it. It’s now been less quoted alongside the harder drugs that are out there, although some US Politicians still spout that it’s the same as heroin, ecstasy etc and most other class A drugs.
One of the main indictors of attitude change has been recent TV programmes and mainstream media companies in the UK. Here are 3 that have offered up some hope that cannabis is about to become mainstream, in the same way that alcohol is.
1 – Hemp company wins investment on Dragons Den
Although the Daily Express item here focusses on Peter Jones concerns of making an investment, the pair of entrepreneurs secured investment from another dragon, for their Hemp based product.
Is this the start of a new era in the wolrd of cannabis?
Time’s, they are a-changing.
2 – Gone to Pot. British Celebs go on a cannabis journey
This link to the radio times piece is actually a very funny take on the programme. The point for me isn’t really about the quality of the programme but the fact that it’s in the public domain, being aired to a Sunday night, elder age audience.
I can vouch that this reached the intended mainstream audience, as I sat and watched it with my 70 year old parents (they didn’t bat an eyelid). Another positive sign!
3 – Coronation Street: Viewers praise show for medicinal marijuana storyline
You probably can’t get any more mainstream that Coronation Street. They say the TV drama imitates real life and you can see here that the producers at Corrie have done that very thing.
In one storyline, wheelchair bound Izzy Armstrong, gets acquires some cannabis to ease her pain! The general feedback from the public (on Twitter) was positive with comments such as:
While a user called Leroy ?tweeted: “Good on Coronation Street for doing a good cannabis storyline.”
Another person echoed similar sentiments: “Yay coronation street promoting cannabis for pain.”
Summary
So, overall, in my personal opinion, things have changed hugely – BUT, there is a long way to go especially in the UK. Perhaps in the next 5 years, things will change, but we won’t hold our breaths (probably because we are doing a bong).
As ever, we always like to get your opinion. We are running this poll on Twitter to gather your thoughts!
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