A Puff of Nostalgia: Remembering the 90s Cannabis Culture

Ah, the nostalgic 90s! It was the time of Nirvana and Snoop Dogg, dial-up internet, flannel shirts, Jnco jeans, and an entire sub-culture focused on weed. It was a world without dispensaries, medical-grade cannabis, and bags free of seeds and stems. Let’s head down memory lane and remember what it was like for the 90s stoner in a puff of nostalgia.

The Weed Guy

Compared to today’s legalized and regulated markets, scoring weed in the 90s was a wild ride filled with mystery. Today, you can hop online, check out a menu, place an order, and head down to the dispensary and pick up your weed. You can even grab a pipe while you’re there. This is nothing like it was 30 years ago. In the 90s, the illegality of cannabis made obtaining ganja sketchy business.

Once you found a weed guy (or girl) from your friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s cousin it was a waiting game, wondering if your source was gonna come through. You’d find yourself in dimly lit parking lots, making surreptitious exchanges like something straight out of a spy movie. The whole process was shrouded in secrecy. You had to be cautious, keeping a low profile to avoid any unwanted attention. And forget about getting home and weighing the bag, if it was short – too bad for you.

If you were lucky enough to have a weed guy that let you come to his house, you better have some time. For some reason, these guys liked holding us ransom. They knew we wouldn’t leave until we got our bag. This means we had to listen to his weird stories, look at photos of his dog, and kick the hacky sack around before we could get out of there. Walking out of the dispensary 10 minutes after we walked in is a true blessing.

The Dime Bag

The weed scene was a different ballgame in the 90s. Buying cannabis wasn’t about precise grams – it was more like a dice roll. You’d snag a nickel bag for five bucks or a dime bag for ten, but there was no guarantee to how much you would get in the bag. An eighth still weighed 3.5 grams, and a quarter tipped the scales at 7, but we paid half the price we do now. Yet, quality? Consistency? Those were wildcards.

You’d roll the dice and get whatever strain your dealer had on hand. There wasn’t much room for preferences. Terms like “indica” and “sativa” weren’t tossed around casually – unless you happened to be kickin’ it on the West Coast. Most of our green came from dried-out bricks smuggled in from south of the border, changing hands through more middlemen than you could shake a joint at. There was no strain traceability. You were getting Northern Light because your weed guy said so, even though the guy who sold it to him called it OG Kush, you get the picture. And when you got home you would spend a good 10 minutes picking the seeds and stems out.

The Spot

Before legalization, location was everything. It wasn’t just about the herb; it was about the adventure. Each smoke spot was like a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered. We weren’t just passing a joint; we were passing stories, secrets, and laughs in those clandestine corners.

Finding a spot to blaze meant hiding from the authorities. It was a quest that often led us deep into the woods, where the rustling leaves and the distant sounds of the world added to the thrill. We’d gather in tight circles, sharing not just the joint, but a sense of camaraderie and rebellion.

And let’s not forget our friends’ houses – the ultimate safe havens. Behind the garage, in a treehouse, or even in a basement with the music turned up, these were the spots where memories were made. Every spot had its own vibe – the abandoned building with its mystery, the park’s quiet corner with its serenity, or the rooftop with its breathtaking view.

For those of us who lived it, finding a spot to smoke weed is the most nostalgic part of it all. It wasn’t just a matter of convenience; it was a rite of passage, a daring exploration. We still remember our favorite spots. They are a testament to the creativity and camaraderie that defined our generation’s relationship with cannabis.

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Today, we are extremely happy with the way the cannabis world has changed. We no longer have to wait on the weed guy, our weed is of much higher quality, we can select it by terpene profile, and we know it weighs correctly. But we can’t help missing the adventure of getting a bag and then finding a good spot to enjoy it, no matter how mid-grade the quality was. Let this article be a reminder to make your next smoke session an adventure…like it used to be.