Puff, Pass & Ponder: 420 Stoner Types
As the week surrounding April 20th comes to a close, my company, Cannabis Tours/Puff, Pass & Paint, has hosted over 6,000 guests around the country in a mere 6 days. As everyone in the industry knows, 4/20 each year is not merely 24 hours… it lasts from roughly 4/16-4/22, depending on which days of the week the blessed date falls on. On the evening of 4/22, I am absolutely exhausted. Each year I think “god, I have never smoked so much in my life”, but I always manage to top myself the next year.
My assistant and I reflected on the shenanigans winding down, the classes, the tours, the events, the joints passed, the bongs cashed, the times I reminded people “you don’t need to smoke EVERYTHING that gets passed to you, know your limits!”. We both feel so very blessed to be a part of this blossoming industry, with the ability to help bring legal cannabis into everyday conversations and normalized to change the stigma. We get to laugh a lot too, and during 4/20 week, we always run into the most INTERESTING characters.
If you’ve ever been to a 4/20 week event, here are the 5 top types of stoners you’ll run into, laugh with, chat with, and most likely at some point accept a really huge joint from:
The fresh new stoner may be visiting from a non-legal state, or may just be getting into cannabis for the first time and feeling ready to “come out of the cannabis closet” in public. Yay, go Fresh New Stoner! This person is like, my mom, she’s so darn cute. Remind this person to “start low, go slow” with edibles— yes I KNOW that chocolate tastes absolutely incredible but 10mg is a perfect place for you to start, thank you very much, or you’ll be blasting off to a different universe. The Fresh New Stoner should hydrate consistently and should be educated on how dabs will absolutely Blow. Your. Damn. Mind.
The old hippie stoner is, personally, my favorite type of stoner. The Old Hippie/Advanced Stoner has been smoking weed, and possibly HIDING smoking weed, for their entire lives. They’re celebrating legalization whole-heartedly because they’ve lived in the dark ages, and there is literally nothing better than sitting in a Puff, Pass & Paint class next to somebody’s grandpa who has chiefing tales from days of yore. Bonus points if they have a long ponytail.
The happy-go-lucky stoner is the best person to sit next to on a tour or at an event, because they are always grinning and cracking jokes, always willing to share their weed, and if you get too stoned, their cheerful and care-free persona will automatically calm your anxiety. Bonus points if they spend a lot of time staring off into space at absolutely nothing. Everybody knows one of these guys, in fact, I have one in mind right now… hat tip to you, Nick.
The party stoner is, I do believe, the most common type of stoner you’ll find at any 4/20 event. These guys just love the plant and are excited AF to celebrate anything legal to do with it. The party stoner will definitely hit everything that is passed to the m and yet somehow typically makes it through the entire day and night without a hitch. You will never hear them utter the phrase “I am too stoned”. They are incredible to watch, bonus points if they can blow really awesome smoke rings or roll really fancy joints.
Let’s not forget the working stoner, the one who makes it all happen, the one who gives up their days to celebrate to make your holiday fly as hell. These people are tour guides, growers, event hosts, advertisers, politicians, sales people, professionals, joint rollers, marketers, bud tenders, and everyone outside and in between who have worked toward and support legalization and legal cannabis businesses. Please remember, if you’re traveling during 4/20, to be kind to these people, even if they’re busy and stressed and exhausted. Also keep in mind those who have fought so long and so hard for legal cannabis and continue to do so as more and more states legalize, and those who are still incarcerated and have criminal charges because of our favorite plant. We’ve come a long way already, and we still have a long way to go. 4/20 to our industry is like retail around Christmas, and all we want is to give you a happy holiDAAAAZE. Here’s to another year of legalization!
To read more musings to make you ponder, click here.