From the days of prohibition and smoking weed in an airtight basement, to celebrities publicly posting pictures on their social media with a tightly rolled joint; weed has come a long way and we partially have pop culture to thank for that.

Since the 1978 release of “Cheech and Chong”, artists and filmmakers started pushing the boundaries around weed and new narratives slowly started forming. Of course the film had its own challenges back then, one of which was the lack of advertisers willing to back the now stoner cult classic. That however didn’t stop the producers; it simply made them more creative. Well it was either the challenges they faced or the hours and hours spent inhaling all that smoke, but their creativity gave birth to the idea of advertising through comic strips on bus benches. Their persistence paid off and their little stoner film was catapulted into cult classic fandom.

Next up was the classic “Fast times at Ridgemont High”. This coming-of-age film was released in 1982 and although “Cheech and Chong” had paved the way, weed was still mostly looked down upon. In fact, it was still seen as such a big taboo that a dream sequence that was supposed to play off on the Today Show had to be cut because no talk show wanted to be associated with it.

Fast forward to eleven years later and the release of “Dazed and Confused” starring the ever popular Matthew McConaughey; the trailblazer of the 90’s… Pun intended! Although the movie might not have been a blockbuster hit, it cemented its place in stoner history through its portrayal of cannabis.

Of course several years later a little track called “Because I got high” was released and the world went nuts. To this day Afroman’s hit remains popular with its catchy tune and the laid back attitude towards smoking weed. By now the world had started to notice that marijuana was more mainstream than anyone could have imagined.

The final blow to the stigma of lazy, uneducated pot heads received another hard blow when the Showtime original “Weeds” was released. The portrayal of a suburban housewife who loses her husband and resorts to selling weed to maintain her posh lifestyle struck a chord with many women who didn’t want to be dragged down by the stigma. In fact Nancy Botwin, the show’s main character actually brought class and elegance to the world of weed.

Weed has become so main stream and prevalent in modern day media that it is finally getting the recognition it deserves as a natural medicinal herb for people from all walks of life. Many celebrities and instagram models have had no issue posing with a weed vaporizer in the form of a stealth oil pen. And getting high has never been sexier!