cannabisnews.com: Unmistakable Smell Grabs Your Attention Unmistakable Smell Grabs Your Attention Posted by CN Staff on August 07, 2002 at 13:42:45 PT By Richard Roeper, Sun-Times Columnist Source: Chicago Sun-Times So I'm walking in the Loop early Tuesday morning when the breeze carries a strong scent to me and nearly stops me in its tracks because it's so . . . unexpected.I know that aroma. I can't figure out where it's coming from--but I know that scent. When you smell this particular smell you immediately recognize the smell for the smell that it is, even if you're not someone who participates in the activity that creates the smell in the first place. I'm talking about marijuana. Cannabis, dope, pot, Mary Jane, chala, reefer, ganja, skunk, kif, herb, gage, grass, Aunt Mary, smiley, mull, Chronic, diggity dank, King Bud, or as they say in some parts of Brazil: Malacachafa. (At least that's what J. Peterman told me.)Somebody was toking up on a weekday in the Loop.I'm not going to pull a Billy Clinton and say I've never inhaled--but the truth is that I've never been a regular pot smoker or even a casual user. My "experimentation," as the politicians like to put it (as if they were chemistry majors working in a lab and not college kids getting wasted on spring break), was confined to some communal pot-smoking way back when. The last time I even toked on a joint, Kajagoogoo was topping the charts, OK?Based on those sketchy, long-ago experiences, my impression of smoking pot was that it makes you feel sleepy, silly and hungry; it burns your throat and pierces your lungs and elicits great fits of coughing; and it robs you of all ambition and drive. But hey, at least you're giggling up a storm while you're planted on the sofa, eating Nacho Cheese Doritos and Zingers while trying to come up with the full names for all the characters on "Gilligan's Island," right?Yet even with my half-baked contact with pot, I can readily identify its sweet-herb pungent aroma in a heartbeat. It's like the interior of a new car or a freshly cut lawn or a Bears defensive lineman after a scrimmage in full pads--nothing else smells quite like it.I never did see anyone smoking a joint Tuesday morning, but I know that somebody in the area was getting high outside. It's not as if I'd become aware of someone shooting up smack or prancing about nude while singing "God Bless America" at a major intersection, but there was something startling and mildly subversive about it. If you smelled pot in the air in Denmark or the Netherlands or Luxembourg, or even France or Italy, it would be no big deal, but here it's still as surprising (and illegal) as a topless woman on a beach or a guy selling shots of tequila on the sidewalk.Nor was this an isolated incident. I won't claim there's some kind of getting-high-in-plain-sight movement going on, but I can think of at least three or four other occasions within the last year in which I saw or picked up the scent of someone smoking pot.A few months ago, I was walking on the Near North Side when I picked up the strong scent of pot in the air. On that occasion I did see the culprit--a guy walking just a few feet in front of me.By all appearances he was a manual laborer of some kind. He had an oversized lunchbox in one hand--and a joint cupped in the other. If you saw him from across the street you might figure he was smoking a cigarette, but this was no Kool Mild. And though this guy wasn't chanting "Irie!" and offering strangers to take a hit, it wasn't as if he was really trying to hide what he was doing, either.Entering the outdoor patio of a Chicago restaurant recently, I picked up the distinct scent of pot--as did the friend who was with me. Maybe it was coming from a nearby backyard, or maybe someone had surreptitiously lit up at a back table, forgetting that the aroma would dominate.And of course, the scent of weed continues to hang over many a concert venue, whether the onstage act is a 60-year-old dinosaur with a leather vest and a snow-white ponytail or a 22-year-old rapper wearing an oversized jersey. (If anything, the concentration of pot smokers seems greater at the oldies shows, as aging Boomers have more cash and can buy a better grade of weed. I was at a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young concert a few years ago and there was so much dope in the air that the building got the munchies.)I'm not shocked by these episodes any more than I'm shocked that you can see movies on airplanes. (That's another columnist.) Although I don't agree with pot and pot doesn't agree with me, I wish we'd take more of a Western European attitude with our laws about marijuana use, and save the prison space for more serious offenders.I am, however, a bit taken aback that anyone would light up in public and risk getting pinched. Let's not kid ourselves, there are tens of thousands of otherwise law-abiding Chicagoans who get high on a regular basis--but 99 percent of them have the good sense to do it in the privacy of their own dwellings.As for the more brazen types who are firing up the joints or the one-hitters in the great outdoors, maybe they're getting high a little bit too often and they're forgetting where they're at. After all, this stuff can mess with your head, especially if you smoke it too often.Why do you think they call it Malacachafa?Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch - http://www.norml.org/Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)Author: Richard Roeper, Sun-Times ColumnistPublished: August 7, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Sun-Times Co.Contact: letters suntimes.comWebsite: http://www.suntimes.com/CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #18 posted by stickyresins on August 08, 2002 at 10:58:52 PT funny to see this While in chicago last month i was walking across a bridge when i noticed three guys smoking on a blunt. They didn't seem to think twice about the people walking by or the constuction workers standing five yards away. I thought to myself that this kinda of thing would never happen where i live. I mean i have gotten high walking down the street, but if i saw someone coming my way i would be putting it out. I can just imagine soccer moms trying to be a "good citizen" and calling leo. I thought that this open smoking must go on more in large urban areas because people are just too busy to care about what you are smoking, and they do not have the time to really do anything about it.Imagine if all smokers decided to take to the streets....it would be so overwhelming there we be nothing they could do. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by Hope on August 07, 2002 at 23:38:48 PT FoM Thank you. I appreciate your concern. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by el_toonces on August 07, 2002 at 22:35:37 PT: Sorry, Dark Star..... ...you're just too funny:) Nota bene: I did not capitalize a thing! [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by freedom fighter on August 07, 2002 at 20:42:26 PT Ahhh, that Sweet Smell of Aroma! Woke up in the morning. I was late..No time for bath, grab a pant and a shirt!No time to comb my hair, grab a cup of coffee..Hitting the road, the traffic were mean!Got to work, 15 min late..Two hours later, came upon a house on one side of the block..Ahhh, that sweet smell of aroma!Went to the other side of the block, ahhh, that sweet smell of aroma!"Sir, you want a hit?"Sorry, but I am a prisoner of WAR! Tomorrow, I'll smoke that sweet aroma of Cannabis!Ohh, Indeed, that sweet aroma of Cannabis is what Freedom smells like!Ahh, that sweet smell of aroma of Cannabis!Got home at 4:20pm, there goes that Sweet Smell of Freedom!ff [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Dark Star on August 07, 2002 at 19:29:00 PT: Slighted Toonces, I'm slighted by that last comment. Don't you know that dark stars form the center of the galaxies!? [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by el_toonces on August 07, 2002 at 18:29:20 PT: Hating Scooby...... Thanks, Industrial. Now, too, I can confess I have ALWAYS hated Scooby Doo. All that decadent eating by Shaggy and Scooby. Next thing you know, their gustatory habits will be accepted by our otherwise 'pure' culture and folks might start getting fat, suffering from coronary artery disease, etc. Hell, it could even get so far out of control that fat people might sue Scooby's producers for disseminating the idea of eating with such gluttony!I have said before -- plagiarizing Elvis Costello -- "I used to be disgusted, but now I am just amused" but today it's the other way around: I'm usually amused, but now I am just disgusted. It's time for a 'pick me up' trick I learned the great activist Gary Storck. I am going to listen to Blues tonight in hopes tomorrow will have fewer dark stars.El [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by null on August 07, 2002 at 18:23:47 PT gary's quote "The aroma of cannabis is what freedom smells like!"I just want to chime in on the "Amen!" to your quote Gary. Hope to pass it around like a good joint. :) [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on August 07, 2002 at 16:10:29 PT Hope It's good to see you. I was wondering if everything was ok. I agree with you and Gary 100%. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Hope on August 07, 2002 at 16:06:17 PT Gary Storck "The aroma of cannabis is what freedom smells like!" I agree! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on August 07, 2002 at 15:54:34 PT ABC World News Tonight It didn't say anything new. Thought I'd mention it if you missed it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 07, 2002 at 15:49:25 PT ABC World News Tonight It's coming on now on the east coast. It's about fighting the drug war overseas. I don't know how detailed it will be but thought I'd mention it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Industrial Strength on August 07, 2002 at 15:44:22 PT flowers dro, hippy crack, my anti drug... [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Gary Storck on August 07, 2002 at 15:37:58 PT The aroma of cannabis is what freedom smells like! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Nuevo Mexican on August 07, 2002 at 15:37:20 PT My favorite is.... Pakalolo, Hawaiian for cannabis, Elephant bud is the other term, both flattering and fun to pronounce! Like Sensi, super-da-kine, sweet leaf, Humbolt, Kona, Mauie wowie, come to think of it, he left out alot of 'killer' names. I'm sure I can think of alot more, but maybe c-newsers would like to add to the list! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Industrial Strength on August 07, 2002 at 15:28:12 PT In public Frequently I smoke "places other than my dwelling". I sort of sheepishly like the luke warm rebellious aspect but you really do seem to recieve more smiles than frowns from any observers. You can tell the author is unhip by his reference to "King Bud". He does understand the concept of "wise mans weed" though, good for him. Fuck I hate scooby doo. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by b4daylight on August 07, 2002 at 15:20:43 PT g hi hay umm it must of been good! ha [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by The GCW on August 07, 2002 at 15:17:51 PT Kaneh bosm, is an important one that was missed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 07, 2002 at 15:10:25 PT Just a Comment I really enjoyed reading this article. I can visualize what he was saying. I'm familiar with Chicago. It seemed like a very interesting observation from a non cannabis consumer. We will share the world with all people and I always want to be aware of how others feel. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment