It was inevitable.
The "Look at me! I'm cool! I can smoke pot legally!" generation has traded in the toast for the toke. Instead of "tying the knot," they are now "trying the pot." Want the new couple to kiss? Forget about clinking your glass. Just inhale some gas. Tossing the bouquet? What a waste! If the bride is going to toss something that a bunch of single women will pounce on like a tiger on a baby antelope, it might as well be a brick of cheeba.
Perhaps this fad will even reach into the world of Jewish marital tradition. Can stepping on a bong instead of a wine glass be far from reality? A hookah under a chuppah.
It's not all bad news. The munchies might even make the rubber chicken taste good.
This (and more) silliness comes from (hold on-you're going to be shocked) Oregon. A new cottage industry marijuana bars at weddings (weedings?), has sprung up. And if there is any universal truth about weddings, it is that the dirty, unspoken secret is that in some circles they exist only as an excuse to outdo the most recent wedding (See: The Hamptons).
A story on KGW in Portland, focuses on the all-important issue of marijuana bars popping up at weddings. This, of course, requires a new specialist the "budtender." Sounds like a pretty good career move. Let's see if this job gets exported to China.
There is a "barely" serious side to it. Seriously warped, that is:
John Elledge, who was recently married at a Christmas tree farm in West Linn (no- I'm NOT high) talked about his recent reception: "I'm still getting a couple of texts a day from guests who enjoyed the weed tent."
No doubt. But the craziest of the crazy is yet to come:
Elledge also noted "A caterer with a liquor license cannot legally serve alcohol at an event where marijuana is also being served to guests. Caterers should be aware there cannot be bartenders and budtenders."
And, "We made sure we were legal. We know the limit is 8 ounces so we had small amounts of 13 varieties with a budtender controlling consumption."
It is now 11:42 AM in New York, and I have not yet scored any H. I can usually hold out until 1, but it is looking doubtful today.
Josh Bloom
Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science
Dr. Josh Bloom, the Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science, comes from the world of drug discovery, where he did research for more than 20 years. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry.
