Last month, socialite Paris Hilton was busted for cocaine after a policie officer reportedly followed “the vapor trail and odor of marijuana” coming from a Cadillac Escalade occupied by Hilton and her boyfriend.
One wonders what this image of a socialite whom many see as vapid and spoiled hotboxing in a luxury vehicle with her equally wealthy, nightclub mogul boyfriend will do to influence mainstream America’s view on cannabis and the movement to legalize marijuana.
The worry is that it will reinforce the image of cannabis as a gateway drug and something that hard partying types like Hilton puff in between lines of cocaine. If people associate marijuana with spoiled rich kids instead of the more typical users who are just regular people using cannabis responsibly, it could be difficult to convince them that making marijuana legal is the right thing to do.
Of course, there isn’t much newsworthy about every day people using marijuana in a responsible manner, just like the media isn’t knocking each other over to get exclusives with the local man who had a pleasant evening at home with a couple of friends and a six pack of beer. It is because cannabis is illegal that the public gets a very one-sided view of typical use and is overly influenced by more sensational stories.
On the other hand, widely publicized celebrity arrests for possession of marijuana, such as that of actor Chace Crawford could very well help the public realize how much money is being wasted on what is essentially a victimless crime. While it’s difficult for many people to feel sympathy for what they imagine the usual drug violator to be, when they see successful young people being arrested and tried for what is no more harmful than cigarettes or alcohol, it can be a powerful inducement for them to rethink their stance on current drug laws and enforcement.
It will be interesting to look back ten years from now and see how public thinking on cannabis has or hasn’t changed. Will people see it as a gateway party drug for spoiled rich people or will they have a more balanced, nuanced view of the pros and cons of marijuana?
The hope is that the general public will not let the Paris Hiltons of the world influence their view of drugs any more than they do of alcohol or cigarettes.
Tags: activisim, cannabis, case, court, hemp, jail, law, marijuana, News, paris hilton, weed
