This summer, many of you will be enjoying weekends packed with camping, cookouts and, let's not kid ourselves, cannabis. This isn't a bad thing.
If your summer plans involve becoming one with the couch while getting hiiiiiigh, salute, and you should partake however you see fit. Haul that OG Graffix out, do knife hits off the stove, hot box your entire home with footlong blunts.
But when venturing out into the world, cannabis consumption can become an issue. Even nine years into our regulated Adult Use program, Oregon's laws and regulations make getting high vexing once you leave your home. For a state that profits so handsomely from the production and sale of cannabis, the Pacific Wonderland maintains restrictive rules around enjoying what you have just been taxed 20% on.
The quick and easy answer to this can be simply popping a gummy, using a vape pen or hitting a fat joint with one hand while lifting your middle finger to any badged individuals in the vicinity.
While those are all valid options, reviewing the rules for public consumption as we officially start the summer is worthwhile. It's also worth exploring some options to elevate your elevating process.
Into the great wide open
Once you have exited your domicile, your options for legal consumption are fairly limited. You can't light up in city, county or state parks, or on the beach, or on public sidewalks, or on city, county, state or federal properties. On a river or lake is a no, as are campgrounds.
Of course, you could. Doing so is not going to result in prison time, and the vast majority of law enforcement is more concerned with fentanyl versus a flower (and alcohol consumption has, and always will, result in more issues than cannabis).
It's possible, but not very probable, that you could receive a citation or fine for public consumption. But it's a buzzkill to be chastised, so blazing a king-sized cone while walking by the local sheriff's HQ may not be terribly well thought out. Maintain some awareness of your surroundings, and be cool.
Won't someone PLEASE think of the CHILDREN
It's not that children and cannabis don't go together. While they should never consume it, many adults find their little-people time is enhanced if they consume it. Camping and barbecues often mean children will be present, and CPS is not going to swoop in because they see you smoking in their presence. But as with nicotine, cannabis should not be consumed in proximity to young people. Secondhand smoke is a thing, even outdoors, and distancing yourself when partaking is a responsible move. It's possible to both educate and normalize cannabis with children, while still minimizing their physical exposure. If you have edibles, double down on securing them.
Puff, puff, ...hard pass
Passing that dutchie pon the left hand side may be met with a polite no, as COVID cases once again creep up. Don't be offended if someone turns down a shared joint, pipe or bong. If it's the former, consider rolling half-gram jays that others can smoke solo. People love having their own joints, and it's a fun way to smoke with others. For any glassware or apparatus, consider a $3 box of alcohol wipes, so users can sterilize between users. If you want to go full tilt, grab a box of disposable mouthpieces designed for hookahs for $10. They fit the mouthpieces of many portable and desktop vaporizers, and paired with the alcohol wipes, reassures the most germaphobic stoners amongst us.
This is the time the Red Solo Cup company lives for each year, and the drinking of alcohol will result in some lovely times for some, and some horrible, hazily pieced together, cringe-inducing memories for others. Consider making canna-mocktails with a solvent-free rosin syrup, or full extract tincture. Great with sparkling water or any mixer, but mind your dose; they go down easy.
