Welp, kids, it’s Valentine’s Day again. It’s that one day a year where, if you are dating someone or perhaps even married to them by now, you are required by the laws of Hallmark Corporation to buy them candy, flowers, jewelry or some other gift that says, “Hey baby, sorry I went so cheap at Xmas, I hope this makes up for it.” This is the day when people in relationships must tell the ones they are sleeping with that they love them, can’t live without them, would be devastated without their presence in their life, blah, blah, blah. You get the gist of it.
So, if you have someone like that in your world, well, what can we say? You had better make damn sure that you have dinner reservations somewhere better than Cracker Barrel. Still, there is a legion of outcasts out there who will undoubtedly spend this holiday alone. Not because they aren’t a catch. But because they have special circumstances that make it exceptionally difficult for them to find love. No, we’re not talking about a wooden leg or anything like that. It’s just that, due to the stigmas associated with cannabis, it can sometimes be harder for the average marijuana user to track down a love interest that shares in as much enthusiasm for the leaf as they do.
In the old days, marijuana users had to try pretty hard to find people they could vibe with on a romantic level. We’re talking about the days before weed was legal anywhere in the United States, a time when stoners were considered the dregs of society, troublemakers and burnout, good-for-nothings. You had better believe there was always some overly protective father ready to kick the ever-living crap out of any druggie who showed up at his doorstep trying to date his daughter. And that didn’t make it any easier for the free-thinking hippy chick to find her kindred spirit, either.
But that was then, and this is now. Sure, there are still protective fathers out there to beware of. That’s never going to change. Thankfully, though, technology has made the whole freaking world more accessible, which has opened up new ways for people from all walks of life to meet each other, regardless of lifestyle or kink. Of course, we are talking about online dating. It’s a brave new world, some might say, one that has made it easier for marijuana users to connect based solely on their passion for pot.
If you’re sitting on your couch right now reading this column and thinking, “Meh, I don’t know, Cannabis Now, I don’t think online dating is for me,” here is something to consider. Around 30% of the U.S. population is using the computer to get a date, according to a recent study from the Pew Research Center. Yep, long gone are the times when it was necessary to hang out in bars, go to church or join a community organization in hopes of finding someone to have dinner with and eventually see naked.
Now, lots of people are just logging on.
It’s 2020, so all one has to do is sign up for an onli
