By Annette Mackay, MA
Cannabis has been part of American society since the inception of our country at Jamestown, however, few plants have had such a controversial history. Yet despite varying stages of legality, consumers have been able to acquire paraphernalia, or devices needed to consume cannabis at specialty stores called head shops. Head shops became more than retail spots. They created a meaningful social space for cannabis users and others seeking community and identity, especially during times of rapid social change. Now, after decades of criminalization, cannabis is re-emerging in many states for legal recreational or limited medical use. A new industry is forming that caters to a formerly illicit market at the same time as cities experience another form of social change: gentrification. Gentrification introduces younger, whiter, wealthier, and more creative types to previously disadvantaged minority neighborhoods. Not only is there a mix of racial and social classes, but old and new cannabis users are learning how to co-exist in the same space during unsettled times. One of the projects at Think Tank for Social Research on Cannabis examines the function and identity of head shops in neighborhoods of different social classes. This article looks at the business of cannabis, its history, and how larger social forces affect the retail and social environments of head shops. Brief History Cannabis Use and Head Shops Examining cannabis use and procurement reveals a complex history replete with both political motivations and cultural appropriation. Cultivating cannabis for drug and commercial use occurred as early as 1600 with the first colonial settlers. It was readily available in apothecaries (pharmacies) and general stores, although not widely used. However, cannabis users spanned the racial and social class spectrum. Recreational consumption increased around 1910 due to immigration following the Mexican Revolution. By 1920, cannabis was a legitimate alternative to alcohol after the passage of the Volstead Act. Eventually, cannabis became associated with the black “hepster” and jazz culture where users, often middle-class whites, would visit “tea pads” to smoke cannabis in a private social space. However, by the 1930s social activists and politicians began to associate cannabis with other derogatory stereotypes accorded to blacks and Hispanic males. News accounts of violent crime used the Spanish “marijuana” to connect cannabis with anti-Mexican sentiment, poverty, and illicit drug uses. By 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act fully criminalized the production and sale of cannabis. The law criminalized all uses of hemp (a form of cannabis), including non-psychoactive forms such as paper, cloth, and rope. Yet, while cannabis became an illegal substance, paraphernalia like rolling papers and pipes remained legal provided they were sold for tobacco use. Demand for pipes, bongs, and papers increased in the 1950s in part from the beatnik culture and nascent counterculture movement. As artists and activists developed a social consciousness, consuming cannabis and other drugs became part of the process to create community and expanded awareness. The first head shops opened in New York and California in the mid-1960s. The term “head shop” refers to several meanings deriving from slang usage for drug users as “potheads” or addicts. But the term “head” also refers to human existential thinking, creativity, and reason. Sources reference the Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit” where the concluding chant to “feed your head” was a call for critical examination of constraining social norms. Like the ‘tea pad’ of the 1920s, head shops became gathering places for young people to commune with others. The social feel coming from incense, colors, and an easy-going atmosphere encouraged lingering and conversation. Patrons could hang out, listen to music, read literature about social issues, art, and religion. The headshop was a place of inclusion and acceptance, especially for those who found themselves questioning the traditional social structure. The number of head shops grew nationwide during the 1960s and legally sold paraphernalia under the guise of tobacco use. Then a 1973 Supreme Court decision in Miller v. California held that local communities could ban head shops under the First Amendment. Many shops closed. However, High Times magazine helped save the head shop industry by creating a communication platform for cannabis users to find shops and products. Despite the Supreme Court setback, head shops continued to thrive although cannabis remained illegal. However, over time many head shops downplayed countercultural activism and now many commercialize hippie culture nostalgia instead. Head Shops and Gentrification Gentrification produces a cultural transformation as newcomers bring demand for businesses that satisfy their upscale tastes. Gentrifiers are of a certain type. They buy lattes and paninis while their poorer urban counterparts have coffee with cream and grilled cheese. Among cannabis users, the “hepcat” of the jazz age became the “hippie” of the counterculture who is now the “hipster” in the era of high tech. Yet the purpose for consuming cannabis is largely unchanged. So, does the old fashioned head shop have a place in a changing social landscape of cannabis users? The head shop of the sixties and seventies may be a cultural artifact. Today’s head shops are less about the counterculture and more about the art and variety of paraphernalia. In the 2011 film Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipes, director Marble Slinger documents how making glass pipes and bongs have become a subculture enjoining the free spirit of cannabis users and technical skill in producing paraphernalia. While not every head shop is a gallery, many showcase products that embody style and artistry whether the pipes and bongs are handmade or commercially mass-produced. In fact, many paraphernalia stores have discontinued psychedelic merchandise. Shops reference “glass” in their names, rather than words suggestive of drug use. Many specialize solely in artisanal glass. This kind of headshop is apparently enjoying legitimacy with legalization as the number of shops and amount of sales increase. Ultimately, the counterculture is no longer the existential core of paraphernalia retail, and psychedelic paraphernalia from the old head shop days may be relegated to low-end, kitchy retailers. Most of the current analyses of cannabis and paraphernalia retail has focused on the intersection of legalization and gentrification. That is, academic and journalistic research looks at the effects of gentrification where cannabis is legal for recreational use. Findings show that problems associated with gentrification now apply to cannabis and paraphernalia. For example, racial injustice is paramount as white entrepreneurs enter into the lucrative cannabis market while minority males finish serving prison sentences. Economic injustice also occurs when small mom and pop businesses get displaced and the poor have no recourse but to pay higher prices at upscale stores. For cannabis and paraphernalia, this means buying products at boutiques that cater to bourgeoise and expensive tastes. The old head shop that was previously the neighborhood hang out might not survive if it does not upgrade the quality of its inventory. This will further marginalize non-gentrifiers who may not want or cannot afford artsy paraphernalia. What do we know about head shops and gentrification in states where cannabis is not legalized? Gentrification is happening in cities nationwide and independently of cannabis legalization. Yet few studies look at gentrification and paraphernalia shops exclusive of cannabis-containing products. Examining headshops in states that still ban recreational use of cannabis will show the exclusive effects of gentrification on the retail market. One of the projects of the TTSRC looks at head shops in gentrifying and non-gentrifying neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to see how social class and demographic composition affect the retail market for cannabis paraphernalia. Findings from our research will inform the public about where the cannabis industry is headed and for whom it is intended. To learn more about TTSRC, visit our social media pages and website. 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