Buzzkill

 I should have seen it coming. When my son walked into the room and asked his mother and I how we felt about people smoking pot, we both assumed that he was heading in a more personal direction. I said that I would much rather have someone around me who was smoking pot than drinking, in general. My wife and I were pretty much on the same page when it came to the responsible use of marijuana. Which is why we might have been a little more prepared when our little boy reared back and suggested that maybe we should be telling that to our president.

He was referring to the White House staff members who were fired, put on probation, or asked to work from home for their cannabis use. After an initial assertion by the powers that be suggesting that they would be much more chill than previous administrations, at least five staffers were let go because of pot. The extra-grinding part of this little dust-up with authority is that recreational use of marijuana is legal in Washington D.C. 

Now comes the tough part: Even though smoking dope is legal in the District of Columbia, it is still against federal law which shapes most of the employment guidelines of employees working for the federal government. Which makes sense, but not weed-sense. Double standards are not cool and can be seen as pretty harsh even if you're not high at any particular moment. The message sent to young folks lining up to be part of the Biden administration was that they would be much more chill about pot use in general, which turns out may still be true, but not for those who were asked to resign. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki asked us all to remain calm, insisting, “The bottom line is this, of the hundreds of people hired, only five people who had started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy.” Presidential aides were quick to point out that things were much more strict even back in the Obama White House, a former commander in chief who admitted to prior recreational use. As a matter of fact, three of the past five presidents have fessed up to their high times. Which makes them pretty cool in some ways, but pretty hypocritical in others.

So, what do I tell my son? Things are a lot harder to parse in the world of security clearances and government hiring. Does that mean I would rather have a weekend drunk driving our policy bus instead of the periodic pot smoker? I'm pretty sure your average pot smoker would not come up with our current immigration policy, or sit by while the first dogs are sent off to boot camp. It's disappointment time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right in the middle of what ought to be our honeymoon. Not exactly encouraging for a young man who is looking forward to voting for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in an upcoming presidential election.

Or maybe we'll all be so stoned on COVID vaccine to notice.