The future of the decriminalization of marijuana in our nation continues to hang in the balance, with advocates and naysayers alike keeping a close eye on the early adopters in Colorado and Washington. A recent study by online legal resource Avvo found 70% of Colorado and Washington residents out of nearly 2,200 polled believed that in the not-too-distant future, bringing pot to a dinner party will be as routine as a bottle of wine.
Colorado and Washington in many ways are the guinea pigs for the marijuana industry as it stands as a decriminalized entity. The two states have enacted laws that allow for recreational use of marijuana, the first to do so. These newly passed laws demonstrate a growing contingent of Americans that see cannabis use as becoming more and more normalized. With the normalization of marijuana use comes the comfort of seeing pot in settings in a new and creative way. Enter pot substituting for wine as a dinner party gift.
The ramifications of the results from surveys such as these are potentially quite vast, especially from a resource such as Avvo – the web’s largest legal marketplace for consumers and attorneys. Almost more interesting than this singular statistic are the other findings produced by the survey: despite the increasing acceptance, smoking pot in front of the kids is still taboo (89% would not consider it, including 75% of those who intend to purchase pot in the future).
While these results may not be particularly surprising, given that the constituents of each state passed laws for recreational use, pot as a gift at a dinner party still provides a striking image. No doubt the survey demonstrates a shift in thinking, as pot continues to move from its status as taboo, and moves ever closer into the mainstream.