Marijuana.com

glasseyes

to me, the terms pothead and stoner are negitage and i dont like being called them. ok, i smoke once a week, that doesnt mean i am a pothead or a stoner. those terms i think refer to someones inteligence. its just like being called a burn-out. i need to face it, marijuana is not accepted by the majority of society. it is by me and you guys, but were only a very small portion. i tihnk that pothead and stoner mean the same thing, which is that the person smokes in a quantity in which it effects thier real life (eg: school, jobs, friendships). and that they would rather have thier dope then thier education, a job, or friends...

 

Suabakey

Yeah I think when a non-smoker calls you and stoner or a pot-head or a druggie, chances are they're using the terms in a deragatory(sp?) manner.

There was this one guy on the boards a while back who had this vision that all marijuana smokers in the future would be referred to as "Cannabists". Sounds almost religious, eh? But it's got a nice ring to it...

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maryjane420

I'm almost 32, and I remember when people in school called the mj smoking people "stoners", so 15+ years later, I'm finding that term to be pretty antiquated.

I smoke everyday, I push for new legislation on legalizing it, and I'm proud to say that I'm a pothead AND a contributing member to society with a great job.

Call me what you will - it's just a lable. It's human nature to try, even subconsciously, to lable everybody that you meet. My friends call me by name, and if somebody calls me a pothead, then they don't know me well enough to use my name.

As for being derogatory, it's no worse than calling some people "ravers" or "hippies". Those categories also include terms of social interaction (i.e. some people think ravers are into ecstacy and hippies are pot smokers).

Personally, I think that, once in your 30's+, the "namecalling" (for lack of a better term) just gets ignored.

PaTweeKaJonz13

i am glad to read that some of you are concerned about legislation and legalization. it is good to be an activist when it comes to something you believe in, especially when that something is illegal. i am in a unique situation as a stoner. after 32 years of smoking i have done my share of promoting weed and i have been a productive citizen with a good job. now i work for a grower for weed and for the last 9 years have been able to smoke everyday if i chose to. doesn't longevity count for something?

suede

I prefer to be called a "conniseur of fine herb".I will accept being called a "Terminal Toker". I am not a Stoner,nor a drug addict,or a menace to society.I do not sell marijuana,and I don't condone its use by minors.Other than for my illegal use of the herb,I consider myself to be as honest,and law abiding an individual as the POPE.!
B.suede

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End World Hunger

 

shadefoot

I think in our community the word "stoner" holds a similar position as that of "nigga" in the other communities. At least as far as outsiders using the term. If I go up to my man, all 'waz up, nigga?' and i'm not black, I'm in a world of pain. Course, the consequences of calling me a stoner when you ain't are probably less severe. Apparently it doesn't take one to know one. But I call my friends 'stoner' all the time and they recipricate, no problem, which reminds me of places where 'nigga' is tossed around just as frequently.

Now about the term 'pothead'. Does anyone else think the word 'pot' is stupid? I'm trying to decide if this is an aesthetic thing or something having to do with the area I live. Lots of people call weed pot, but I never do. I think there are many words to refer to the ganj, but pot really trips up my ear. Don't know why... Reefer is another one. Who came up with these words?

What are other people's favorite words for cannabis? I'm particularly curious to learn of idiosyncratic names; my friends and I frequently refer to the cue. or the Q. I also like calling it "the product". or "the ganj". "herbage" is cool. i could go on all day...

Nasarius

"Pot" seems to be the favorite slang term of the prohibitionists, so I try to avoid it most of the time.

Greenman

Stoner was a word that took me quite some time to get used to. At first, stoner and pothead were pretty much the same thing, and both were very negative. Calling someone a stoner and an alcoholic were the same thing in my eyes. Simply because it meant that you were around the substance long enough for it to become part of your identity, and hence you were called stoner.

Provided that the context in which the term "stoner" is used remains the same, I would think it depends on what level you are on as well as who it is coming from I think for most people, atleast this is just my theroy. For people who are not comfortable with themselves and their vices (whatever they maybe) will more than like be much more defensive about being called stoner from anyone, and will resist it even from their friends.

As a person becomes more comfortable with marijuana, the term starts to loose its defamatory punch. At first with the people who know him/her well or smoke with often, and then after a while from less familar people as well.

Of course, if stoner is used in an insulting context then it will be defamatory by nature. Any word can be used in a negative way. But I think that when someone finally realizes that they are not doing anything wrong and that they are, comparitively, doing less damage to themselves and those around them than those "less familar people" that are hurling the term, you cease to care. I don't care if people call me a stoner. Let them. Because I know the facts behind marijuana, and could throughly pound them into the pavement in a debate on marijuana any day of the week, at any time of the day. Kinda Dirty Harry'ish

"Go ahead punk, make my day"

Peace.

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PeacePipe

in my eyes, between too smokers, pot head can be anegative word, and stoner can be somewhat a positive word, pot-head can mean someone who NEEDS weed to get through the day. a stoner, again to me, can mean that you enjoy smokin herb, and you can handle you sh*t, a stoner to me is a responsible laid back smoker. but any of them coming from a non smoker is negative.


~peace~

Greenman

What about a non-smoking friend of yours? Expecially if he does not have a problem with your habit? It is the context that is important. Who is saying it, where they are saying it, and how they are saying it.

Words, just by themselves, are very subjective. Inflection of the words, and other non-verbal communication such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and stance play a large roll in communication.

I personally don't feel pot-head is, in and of itself, a derogatory word. Although, it is normally used more often in a derogatory manner than stoner, still if a good buddy of yours laughing lookes over to you and said "Yeah, me and this pothead/stoner here are going to go get some KFC anyone want anything" it would not be inflamatory or as inflamatory as a bible thumping anti prohibitionist sneering "Look at that pothead/stoner, its people like him that are a cancer on this country."

One pothead/stoner signing off