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01/22/2007 Archived Entry: "If Cannabis were legal..."

IF CANNABIS WERE LEGAL...

Blogispondent Ian here. I'm in the middle of taking a class on bartending, and I'm really rather surprised by the complexity of the subject. It's all about one single chemical - alcohol - but there are innumerable different variations. What plant matter was used to get the alcohol? What flavors can be added? How does color affect the drink? What is the proper glassware to serve something in? What is the appropriate garnish? What quality of booze should be used? How do different flavors interact? How to properly measure the volumes? How to best serve the drink? Are the ingredients mixed in proper order, so the different specific gravities work to mix the drink? And, of course, a bartender needs to be able to call all this information forward immediately for hundreds of different drinks. Can't make the customer wait, y'know!

Now imagine what society would demand if weed were legal. Your friendly (or surly) neighborhood bartender would be an expert on plant genetics, understanding which strains of cannabis produced which subtle effects, and how those subtleties interact with each other. What types of ignition sources are socially acceptable for which varieties (really, only an ignorant savage would light that with a wooded match!). What glassware should be used with each smoke (this type is best experienced through a water filter, while that one is particularly intended to be used in a basic pipe). What foods and drinks went best with which strains. How to pack the herb for ideal combustion. And so on...

There's a whole world of sophistication that will come to cannabis when it is eventually legalized. I, for one, look forward to it. It'll be fun to be a geneticist as well as a chemist.

Posted by Ian @ 04:29 PM CST
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