The 420 Games: Doping Encouraged

September 1, 2015 9:20 AM

The 420 Games were established to show that cannabis users are not lazy, unmotivated or “stoners” and to de-stigmatize the millions who use cannabis in a healthy and responsible lifestyle.
posted by BuddhaInABucket (21 comments total)

Look at all that brand name promotion on the 420 games site! Looks exactly like all the similar athletic participation events, but to promote the budding cannabis industry.
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 9:26 AM on September 1, 2015

Reminds me of the Olympic snowboarder some years back--pretty sure he was Canadian, can't remember his name--who was pinched for having THC in his blood, but not disqualified because they couldn't prove that he didn't get it from someone else's second-hand smoke.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:33 AM on September 1, 2015

This really seems like a solution for a problem that doesn't exist. Now, for the sake of the players in pro sports who like to smoke a little weed, obviously not a performance enhancer, yet constantly run afoul of league drug policies, despite it being legal in places, i wish it weren't so stigmatized, but, seriously, having a 26 mile cruiser bike 'race' isn't going to change anyone's opinion on weed.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:44 AM on September 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Reminds me of the Olympic snowboarder some years back
That would be Ross Rebagliati, who has his own "international cannabis super brand" called Ross' Gold.
posted by Kabanos at 9:51 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I look forward to the Marlboro Marathon.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:52 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

This really seems like a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.

I don't think it's really a "solution", it's just niche advocacy / community building. There's a lot of power in just knowing that there are other people who share your interests, regardless of whether those interests are political or recreational (or, in the case, both). If you can combine them, then you can make your advocacy tent bigger.
posted by Etrigan at 9:58 AM on September 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

I was a little disappointed to read this on the site: "While some of us use cannabis, some of us do not use it at all."

So they don't do random urine tests to ensure they're all partaking?
posted by RobotHero at 10:00 AM on September 1, 2015 [10 favorites]

a problem that doesn't exist

This is definitely a problem that still exists. In places where medical marijuana is available, patients are often discriminated against (e.g. custody, Oregon; employment, everywhere, including California and Rhode Island; medical treatment, California)

How many newspapers headlines have you read about "pot clubs" (i.e. cannabis dispensaries)? Would they ever call a regular pharmacy an "opiate club"? How many people actually take marijuana seriously as a medicine? Cops hassle me ALL the time ("Oh, I guess you're too sick to know the law ..." In California you can smoke cigarettes outside .. but not marijuana?!

Yes, this is a problem that still exists. Presenting medical marijuana users are top-level athletes would be a strong image to counteract the negative stereotypes.

But yeah, this "solution" looks more like a marketing event for Weed Maps than an actual community-building exercise. I'll pass.

Also, "at the finish line of each event competitors are treated to a two hour beer garden hosted by Lagunitas" - I love beer; I love drinking beer; I love Lagunitas, to be honest (I love Sonoma), but let's take alcohol out of any events that promote medical (or recreational) marijuana, imo.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:30 AM on September 1, 2015 [7 favorites]

I'll echo Etrigan's sentiment

I've told everybody I know that yoga and running while high is a wonderful, joyous experience and won't they please join me for a romp around a park

I've met exactly zero people who have been interested in this while the dudebros who get high and play video jaymes all day long numbers in the dozens

I smoke because it helps me feel great after an especially depressive episode. I don't do it because I want to be a lazy do-nothing all day. I don't see any issue with replacing that dominant stoner lifestyle narrative with one that is much more in line with idolized mainstream cultural attitudes (ie fitness and health)
posted by runt at 10:36 AM on September 1, 2015 [8 favorites]

When I was in university, people in undergrad psych courses had to participate in various studies run by senior students. As luck would have it, I went for a spliff with someone before the one where you had to play a bunch of different arcade games while they tried to distract you. It was fun!
posted by sneebler at 11:01 AM on September 1, 2015

I smoke because it helps me feel great after an especially depressive episode

Hey, me too. I've been on a pretty even keel for a long while now (thankfully), but I found that when I was depressed, getting especially high (like, seriously brain-twistingly high) left me feeling pretty good for days or even longer afterwards. It was like hitting a reset switch.

The other thing to consider about pro athletes using cannabis is that many do or would, use it for pain relief. How many fewer opiates would athletes use if they were free to medicate with cannabis?
posted by uncleozzy at 11:18 AM on September 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

This is a spoof, right? A take off, a send up, a parody? Surely this is not meant to destigmatize recreational pot use. Its a bit like the Alcohol Industry sponsoring a bumper care derby or a 2.6 walk (of shame) to highlight the healthy and responsible use of alcohol.
posted by rmhsinc at 1:14 PM on September 1, 2015

mrgrimm: "a problem that doesn't exist

This is definitely a problem that still exists. In places where medical marijuana is available, patients are often discriminated against (e.g. custody, Oregon; employment, everywhere, including California and Rhode Island; medical treatment, California)"

I live in Illinois and work at a non-profit that gets federal funding, and, at an HR meeting yesterday, we were told that it didn't matter whether or not a doctor prescribed medical marijuana and if we failed our randoms, we were fired.

On a more personal note, I kind of can't see how anyone can function high. All I wanted to do was lay around and eat.
posted by Samizdata at 1:22 PM on September 1, 2015

Why would I want to spoil a good buzz with exercise? I mean, we could walk around. Look at trees and stuff, I guess. And birds. Birds are neat. Are you hungry?
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:30 PM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Halloween Jack: "Reminds me of the Olympic snowboarder some years back--pretty sure he was Canadian, can't remember his name--who was pinched for having THC in his blood, but not disqualified because they couldn't prove that he didn't get it from someone else's second-hand smoke."

For the record, he kept his medal not because they couldn't prove that it wasn't second-hand smoke (which probably would have been irrelevant anyways). It was because THC wasn't on the prohibited substances list. It has since been put on the list but I'm pretty sure that it's not listed as a performance-enhancing drug, at least for snowboarding.
posted by mhum at 2:20 PM on September 1, 2015

Speaking from experience, THC is totally a performance enhancing drug for snowboarding. It gives you like +2 bonus points for sheer steeziness and at least +1 for hucking.
posted by loquacious at 3:05 PM on September 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Hey, me too. I've been on a pretty even keel for a long while now (thankfully), but I found that when I was depressed, getting especially high (like, seriously brain-twistingly high) left me feeling pretty good for days or even longer afterwards. It was like hitting a reset switch.

Yep. I theorise that it can give you a bump on your introspective smarts, which helps you currrrrrl your way around and between the mental blockages that have been holding you up. Just make sure you take notes...
posted by Sebmojo at 6:50 PM on September 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

And again, one of the prime arguments for legalization is that it'll finally shut up the stoners.
posted by pseudocode at 2:38 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'll echo Etrigan's sentiment

Clearly not.
You did not rhyme.
posted by Mezentian at 6:48 AM on September 2, 2015

So golf, stand-up paddleboarding, and boardwalk bikes?

I know cannibis users that are black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you're looking to portray stoners as active, this isn't doing it.
posted by prepmonkey at 7:08 AM on September 2, 2015

I'll echo Etrigan's sentiment

Clearly not.
You did not rhyme.

It all rhymes in the original Demonic. Your puny earth-languages can't handle the rhymes of the true tongue, so I mostly transliterate.
posted by Etrigan at 7:15 AM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]