But man this thread really shows how dumb people sound when they talk about it. As I said, it really has nothing to do with the drug or the people who do it, but rather the culture and vocabulary that surround it and this now subsequently makes me wonder if this is a majorly contributing factor to its difficulty in gaining acceptance in mainstream Western culture, after all tobacco and alcohol both have thriving high-class cultures and vocabulary through cigars, whiskey, wine, and beer.
Discuss.
Gladly. I think this falls under "product of circumstance" more than anything. For every retarded pothead that blurts out "durpa durr i totally bogarted several fatboys last night" there are just as many alcoholics that discuss the number of brews or jagerbombs they trashed the night before. The terminology is completely different but if you take into context the number of different ways people can describe drinking, the only difference is in the particular words themselves. Shots, brews, cans, tallies, "getting shitty," truly the only difference between marijuana and alcohol under a microscope is semantic at best. Marijuana, or hemp products in general suffer due to the select few that ruin it for everyone. A business suit can discuss the medicinal, economical, and financial benefits of legalization/whatever changes you can argue to the status quo, and have it completely derailed by a hippie in a tye dye shirt hurp-a-durping "and its fun to smoke too" bringing all previous arguments to a roaring halt. Likewise, a doctor can endorse the benefits of a glass of red wine, but the masses of people drinking 120 budweisers a week do nothing to misrepresent the legitimacy of alcohol sales.
Alcoholism in general is far more destructive than chronic marijuana abuse, in collateral effects such as car accidents, domestic disputes, etc. That is not to say that I am a tenant of the "well weed is totally great for everyone durrrrrr" mentality, as marijuana is a substance like any other, waiting to be abused in the name of escapism, but I would definitely argue that alcohol has just had the better rep of the two, throughout political movements as prohibition, and through economical conflicts akin to newsprint being printed on either trees, or hemp. I would say ultimately, it has more to do with the long running history of context and social stigma than anything else.
When it comes to vernacular, I would even go so far as to say that it stems entirely from the inspiration of marijuana causing ridiculous goofy thoughts and words like "doobie," and alcohol blotting out all cognitive process and resulting in random sex and vomit-filled toilets. While both have their place, it is simply a matter of perspective.