I wonder if the US should change the slogan "melting pot of the world" to "smoking pot of the world"? This Time magazine article reports pot smoking as the American pastime: Researchers found that 42% of people surveyed in the United States had tried marijuana at least once, and 16% had tried cocaine. About 20% of residents surveyed in the Netherlands, by contrast, reported having tried pot; in Asian countries, such as Japan and China, marijuana use was virtually "non-existent," the study found. New Zealand was the only other country to claim roughly the same percentage of pot smokers as the U.S., but no other nation came close to the proportion of Americans who reported trying cocaine. An American Pastime: Smoking Pot - TIME I didn't even know what pot was until I turned 16. Of course, being from the US, I quickly made up for lost time.
I think this just proves the theory that the more you fight something, the stronger that thing becomes (eg. War on drugs, War on terror, etc.) It's far more productive to support something positive than to fight something negative.
People have smoked marijuana for thousands of years. I dont think it is much more common (if any) in the US now than it was 100 years ago. "They" just dont usually include it on old movies and in history books. It wasnt outlawed here until 1933 and at that time a lot of people grew it. During the days of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington etc it was actually required that land owners grow a certain amount. Of course, they only grew it for the hemp fibers. (ha ha ha, yeah right). In early America other drugs such as opium, laudenam, and cocaine (among others) was commonly used. The original Coca Cola actually contained cocaine, but later laws were passed to have it removed. The earliest known use was in Asia about 2000 BC. They constructed buildings similar to a sweat lodge and a pile of hot stones were placed in the center. The stones were then covered with marijuana.
I think its even more common here in UK. If you get caught with weed you will probably get away with a verbal warning unless you had a lot on you. Back in college you could see the smoke clouds coming from the field just on the other side of the fence because everyone used to go to smoke there. Including myself. I think all my friends tried it. The only guy who did not, used to grow it.
Smoking Marijuana NormaL for people that Smoke Marijuana..............It's not normal for those that do not.