Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Massachusetts, but those looking to grow it at home still have a social hurdle to beat.
"They show people in the paper and on TV that have dreadlocks, and they have nose piercings and tattoos on their faces," a Milford resident and new marijuana home grower said. "That's not me."
The 58-year-old said he works 40 to 60 hours a week, shaves every day, and that his memory is "sharp as a tack."
"I guess I'm not sure what the official reaction would be from (a volunteer organization), but I guess it's just not a chance that I'd be willing to take," a Westborough resident said of worrying what would happen to her volunteer efforts if it was known she grew marijuana.
These are two new growers of many, however, who say they don't want their names associated with growing cannabis, for fear of damaging their reputation or seeing backlash from work.
"You can't undo a lifetime of someone's core beliefs with an election," Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council President Peter Bernard said, pointing to marijuana's negative connotation in generations of anti-drug campaigns. "People have been taught this all their lives."
Bernard said his nonprofit has trouble booking venues once managers work out that the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council advocates for the cannabis industry. He said halls will tell him nothing is available, and one manager told him to raffle liquor "like normal people."
"Yeah, there's a stigma," said Wayland-based Gardens by Renee owner Renee Bolivar. "Of course there's a stigma."
Gardens by Renee teaches people how to sow, grow, and use organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Bolivar is intrigued by new opportunities to connect customers with nature and natural living, recently starting work with Boston-based Best Bees Company to that end.
Until recently, though, that intrigue did not include cannabis.
"I voted no," Bolivar said of the statewide vote last fall to legalize marijuana. "I can't say enough how totally against it I was."
She was afraid for her teenage children, she said. Almost as soon as marijuana was legalized, however, her business started getting calls and emails asking for growing advice. Then a close friend of hers with advanced rheumatoid arthritis told her she was concerned about an opioid she was on for pain, and that her doctor had advised cannabis oil instead.
So she checked in with her teenagers' comfort level, and started to experiment with growing her own marijuana, looking at it from a gardener's point of view.
"I'm just trying to wrap my head around it's a plant," Bolivar said. "People want to grow it, and people have a lot of different reasons why they want to grow it, and not all of that has to do with getting high."
The stigma associated with growing marijuana still weighs on her, she said. She doesn't want her children to be teased, and her own mother was so disgusted that she's planning to write a magazine article on the subject.
That impression extends to people who are medically able to take marijuana, Bernard pointed out.
″(There are people who) have every right in the world to get their medical card, but because of that stigma they go to the black market," Bernard said.
Bloom Boss President Chuck Siegel said he thinks the medical side of marijuana is changing. Bloom Boss develops equipment for indoor gardening.
"I think the stigma, that side of the stigma, is very quickly eroding," Siegel said.
The recreational vote made the medical vote more acceptable, he argues, and he said he knows people who can now grow marijuana they use medically, without having to pay for and fill out discouraging paperwork for a medical card.
"I just think we need to give it some more time, and things will change," the anonymous Westborough volunteer said, comparing home growing marijuana to home brewing beer. "It took us a really long time to get to this point. I'm willing to be patient in that regard."
Major change, Bernard said, is going to take commitment from people outside the stereotypical pot smoker to normalize marijuana.
"I think they need to be more open about what they do," Bernard said of everyday people who smoke. "Say 'You know what, I smoke weed. I'm a bank teller .... I'm always on time for work, I'm never late, I don't take sick days.'"
To help things along, his organization is one of the sponsors of a cannabis competition Dec. 16 and 17 at the DCU Center in Worcester — the Harvest Cup. Milford testing facility ProVerde Laboratories is also a sponsor.
Bolivar said she knows some people will never come around to the idea of marijuana cultivation as an ordinary hobby, but she thinks the interest is there for majority acceptance someday. She wants to be a knowledgeable source of information when that happens.
"I just think here (in Massachusetts) there's a huge interest in it, huge," she said. "If cannabis is on the list of things people are growing in their backyard, then I'll know how to grow it, too."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana: Legal but not yet acceptable - News - Milford Daily News - Milford, MA
Author: Alison Bosma
Contact: Contact Us - Milford Daily News - Milford, MA
Photo Credit: Art Illman
Website: Milford Daily News: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Milford, MA
"They show people in the paper and on TV that have dreadlocks, and they have nose piercings and tattoos on their faces," a Milford resident and new marijuana home grower said. "That's not me."
The 58-year-old said he works 40 to 60 hours a week, shaves every day, and that his memory is "sharp as a tack."
"I guess I'm not sure what the official reaction would be from (a volunteer organization), but I guess it's just not a chance that I'd be willing to take," a Westborough resident said of worrying what would happen to her volunteer efforts if it was known she grew marijuana.
These are two new growers of many, however, who say they don't want their names associated with growing cannabis, for fear of damaging their reputation or seeing backlash from work.
"You can't undo a lifetime of someone's core beliefs with an election," Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council President Peter Bernard said, pointing to marijuana's negative connotation in generations of anti-drug campaigns. "People have been taught this all their lives."
Bernard said his nonprofit has trouble booking venues once managers work out that the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council advocates for the cannabis industry. He said halls will tell him nothing is available, and one manager told him to raffle liquor "like normal people."
"Yeah, there's a stigma," said Wayland-based Gardens by Renee owner Renee Bolivar. "Of course there's a stigma."
Gardens by Renee teaches people how to sow, grow, and use organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Bolivar is intrigued by new opportunities to connect customers with nature and natural living, recently starting work with Boston-based Best Bees Company to that end.
Until recently, though, that intrigue did not include cannabis.
"I voted no," Bolivar said of the statewide vote last fall to legalize marijuana. "I can't say enough how totally against it I was."
She was afraid for her teenage children, she said. Almost as soon as marijuana was legalized, however, her business started getting calls and emails asking for growing advice. Then a close friend of hers with advanced rheumatoid arthritis told her she was concerned about an opioid she was on for pain, and that her doctor had advised cannabis oil instead.
So she checked in with her teenagers' comfort level, and started to experiment with growing her own marijuana, looking at it from a gardener's point of view.
"I'm just trying to wrap my head around it's a plant," Bolivar said. "People want to grow it, and people have a lot of different reasons why they want to grow it, and not all of that has to do with getting high."
The stigma associated with growing marijuana still weighs on her, she said. She doesn't want her children to be teased, and her own mother was so disgusted that she's planning to write a magazine article on the subject.
That impression extends to people who are medically able to take marijuana, Bernard pointed out.
″(There are people who) have every right in the world to get their medical card, but because of that stigma they go to the black market," Bernard said.
Bloom Boss President Chuck Siegel said he thinks the medical side of marijuana is changing. Bloom Boss develops equipment for indoor gardening.
"I think the stigma, that side of the stigma, is very quickly eroding," Siegel said.
The recreational vote made the medical vote more acceptable, he argues, and he said he knows people who can now grow marijuana they use medically, without having to pay for and fill out discouraging paperwork for a medical card.
"I just think we need to give it some more time, and things will change," the anonymous Westborough volunteer said, comparing home growing marijuana to home brewing beer. "It took us a really long time to get to this point. I'm willing to be patient in that regard."
Major change, Bernard said, is going to take commitment from people outside the stereotypical pot smoker to normalize marijuana.
"I think they need to be more open about what they do," Bernard said of everyday people who smoke. "Say 'You know what, I smoke weed. I'm a bank teller .... I'm always on time for work, I'm never late, I don't take sick days.'"
To help things along, his organization is one of the sponsors of a cannabis competition Dec. 16 and 17 at the DCU Center in Worcester — the Harvest Cup. Milford testing facility ProVerde Laboratories is also a sponsor.
Bolivar said she knows some people will never come around to the idea of marijuana cultivation as an ordinary hobby, but she thinks the interest is there for majority acceptance someday. She wants to be a knowledgeable source of information when that happens.
"I just think here (in Massachusetts) there's a huge interest in it, huge," she said. "If cannabis is on the list of things people are growing in their backyard, then I'll know how to grow it, too."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana: Legal but not yet acceptable - News - Milford Daily News - Milford, MA
Author: Alison Bosma
Contact: Contact Us - Milford Daily News - Milford, MA
Photo Credit: Art Illman
Website: Milford Daily News: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Milford, MA
