I just got back from shopping at my neighborhood Whole Foods with all the other middle class white people in San Francisco and as usual, the parking lot reeked of pot. Seriously, every time I go, that place smells so bad I can taste it in my throat. This time, my 11 year old daughter told me the smoker was a guy on the stairwell. (She takes the stairs, I take the elevator to get to my car.) I’m sick of smelling pot everywhere I go in San Francisco. I mean, you can’t drink a beer in the Whole Foods lot, so why is it socially acceptable to smoke pot there?

I ask myself, is my irritation due to my age? I am 45, after all. But it’s not just young people who smoke pot in the Bay Area. It seems like everyone does, even middle aged people like me. It’s the new Chardonnay. Like many of these habitual pot smokers, I totally agree that pot is better for you than alcohol. You don’t drive drunk on pot, you don’t get violent and beat up your girlfriend on pot. But you know why? Because you don’t do shit on pot except lie around on a couch. In my old age, I’ve seen marriages and careers destroyed by the mental and physical lethargy exacerbated by pot smoking. In my experience, pot fucks with your emotions, your drive, and your inner-compass to know what’s right and what’s wrong, just like alcohol does. Obviously, I’m referring to regular pot use, but in my world, I see more and more people using pot all the time, like it’s totally cool. Almost like it’s good for you and good for society. It’s a nice drug. I don’t smoke pot, I don’t drink either, and I’ve got to say, I feel like a fucking superhero. When I’m around people who start to slur their words, repeat what they’ve said, and get uncoordinated, it feels like I have special powers. I’m super-articulate! I can remember what I’ve said! I don’t trip! Also, I sleep well. I wake up not hungover. So yes, at 45, I feel like I’ve grown out of alcohol and drugs. They were fun but they’re not fun anymore. Maybe that will change for me. Maybe when I’m 50, I’ll have another epiphany, but I’ve got to say, right now life is so much better and happier without alcohol or pot bringing me down. I’m writing this blog I guess because I live in the Bay Area where the tide is turning the opposite way. I wish more people would try not using drugs, not because you should, but because life can be so much better without them.