Shirley Halperin - Pot Culture: The A–Z Guide to Stoner Language & Life

The statements made by the individuals interviewed in this book reflect their individual viewpoints and should not be construed as the views of the publisher. The material contained in this book is presented only for informational purposes. The publisher and the authors do not condone or advocate in any way the use of prohibited substances or illegal activity of any kind.

Cover and end paper images, title design style, and Pot Culture Picks design style copyright Bambu Sales

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ISBN: 978-0-8109-9440-9
Text copyright 2007 Shirley Halperin and Steve Bloom
Published in 2007 by Abrams Image, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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Contents

A Z

Foreword (or Forward)
BY TOMMY CHONG

H EY MAN, the dude and dudette requested I lay down a taste for their take on the way homies rap and get down in the hood. In other words, they asked me to mention a few unknown facts about the way language has been affected by pot or at least thats what I am going to do. To begin with, let us realize pot, cannabis, marijuana, hemp has been with us longer than we have been with it. God mentions it in the Bible when He says, I will raise up for them a plant of renown. And Saint John the Divine describes a tree whose leaves were for the healing of the nations.

So pot was here when man first began to communicate with the spoken word. One could imagine our early ancestors warming themselves beside a fire of hemp cuttings, laughing all red-eyed at some stupid caveman acting out a funny hunting sequence while munching on a dinosaur bone. And probably the first word uttered could well have been ere as he passed the bone to the guy next to him.

In our modern day society, however, I would venture to say that jails, prisons, and places of incarceration have contributed more to the hip language style than we care to admit. Prisoners have always had their own secret language in order to hide their activities from the authorities. Look how the baggy clothes favored by rappers and young black teenagers came directly from the city jails in this countrycaused by uncaring prison trustees giving new prisoners oversize clothes, and boots, and no belts to make their stay in prison more uncomfortable. This clothing insult turned into a badge of honor by the homies on the outside, emulating the homies on the inside. The language took on the same slant. The term man for instance as in hey man, a phrase used a few million times by me and my old partner Cheech, was a reaction in the forties and the fifties by the black jazz musicians to the derogatory term boy, which was used by white racists when they addressed black men.

I imagine many phrases used by jazz players derived from prison because so many jazz players were incarcerated for various drug-related offenses including the smoking of reefer, mary jane, tea, etc. The writers of this book, Shirley Halperin and Steve Bloom, will take you through this very hip journey, and when you come out the other end, you will be able to understand the language and culture mo better so if you ever find yourself in the slammer for any reason you will be able to get down wid the brothers (or sisters) and maybe save your ass in more ways than one.

One word of advice though before you hurt yourself. Be very careful where you use this vocabulary. Try one phrase at a time and only among friends. People in this culture tend to be very territorial when it comes to their language and since we are dealing with an outlaw culture, violence factors into the equation as in, Say what? Ill pop a cap in your ass or you talking that fake shit. And as I learned in jail, dont make eye contact with someone unless you know them, and remember that everyone is a potential snitch, including you. Oh yeah! If you are going to jail, wear extra underwear when you self-surrender because sometimes it takes days before you get a change of clothes.

I really feel that Shirley and Steve have hit upon a good thing with Pot Culture because by the time the book hits the shelves the language will have changed and a new edition will be needed. In the meantime, though, enjoy the read, and if you finish this book and feel like reading another book, check out The I Chong. It is available and I really need the money for my support a dumb ass lawyer charity that I have been running for the past few years...

Ya all stay cool now... ear?

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Pot Culture

Something weve learned, after years of working in magazines and traveling all over the world, is that stoners are naturally drawn to other stoners. And when they find themselves in an unfamiliar environment, they seek each other out. Those with experience learn a fail-safe mating dance, where common reference points and a unique language decide who doesor doesntpartake. Its sociology in action, and after seeing it time and time again, it became the inspiration for this book.

When we started writing Pot Culture, we had a lot of preconceived notions of what the book would end up being. We didnt want it to read like a deep discourse on botany or politics, but rather, a more light-hearted approach to the culture surrounding pot as a pastime. First and foremost, we thought of a compendium that would itemize and define the various tools and terms that any self-respecting stoner should knowlike how to differentiate between a pipe, a poker, and a pope, or how to transform an apple into a pipe. Then, we thought of a manual that would show not only how to roll a joint, but what to roll it with, where to smoke it, what to listen to while youre puffing, how to make the most out of the roach, and so on. And lastly, we thought of a manifesto that would list, explain, and illustrate the basic tenets of a stoners lifebasically everything youve ever wanted to know about pot but were too stoned to ask. As these elements started coming together, we turned our attention to popular cultureto movies, music, and television, three media that have a long history of stoner-friendly entertainment, mostly good, but some really bad. As our brains spat out ideas, we kept a singular mission in mind: Its about the person as much as its about the plant.