Why did "It's Complicated," a romantic comedy for the boomer crowd, get an R rating when the sex scenes were tame and there wasn't a hint of violence?
You might say it was reefer madness.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Motion Picture Association of America (M.P.A.A.) had concerns about one of the movie's funniest scenes, in which 60-year-old Meryl Streep and 64-year-old Steve Martin smoke a joint on a date. Neither character had smoked in decades, and by the time they get to a family party, they're acting so silly Streep's adult children are dumbfounded.
According to the L.A. Times, the M.P.A.A.'s rating decision had to do with the fact that the scene "features pot-smoking with no bad consequences." In other words, they did something illegal, but weren't arrested, humiliated or horribly mangled in a car crash. They simply had fun, with impunity.
" 'Terminator 4,' one of the most violent movies I ever saw in my life, got a PG-13 rating, but 'It's Complicated' got an R rating," scoffs Rick Cusick of Upper Montclair, associate publisher of High Times magazine and a board member of the New Jersey chapter of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). "It's amazing."
No matter what your stance on pot smoking – and I'd love to hear your views – marijuana has definitely been in the news lately, in stories that resonate for boomers.
On Jan. 18, his last day in office, Gov. John Corzine signed legislation granting patients in New Jersey legal access to marijuana for alleviating pain and other symptoms of diseases such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
Boomers at risk?
"Certainly people over 50 are at a greater risk for cancer than those under 50, and when it comes to those undergoing chemotherapy, that probably is going to have a greater impact on those over 50," says Chris Goldstein, a board member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ). Glaucoma is also a growing threat to boomers' eye health, he notes.
As for non-medical use of marijuana, on Jan. 8 the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its latest short report, which showed a dramatic rise in levels of illicit drug use, especially marijuana, among the aging baby boom generation – and projected that the need for drug abuse treatment services for this population will double by 2020.
There have been many studies, often conflicting, about the effect of marijuana on various aspects of users' health, with some even concluding it may have a protective effect against lung and other forms of cancer.
For SAMHSA, the issue is that "there are a number of different physiological or psychological problems that are unique to the older population, and that makes them a little bit more vulnerable to the effects" of marijuana, says Peter J. Delany, director of SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies. He also cites its potential interactions with prescription medications for high blood pressure and other problems.
The report, based on data collected nationally on nearly 20,000 adults 50-plus from 2006 to 2008, estimated that 4.7 percent (about 4.3 million adults) had used an illicit drug in the past year. The use of marijuana was more common than non-medical use of prescription-type drugs for those 50 to 54 (6.1 vs. 3.4 percent) and 55 to 59 (4.1 vs. 3.2 percent).
Delany notes that while the overall percentage is not huge, the baby boom population is large, and "as the number of people in that age group increases, even if it stays at 4.7 percent – and it may go a little higher – we still have a lot of people who are using.
"The baby boomers tended to use more drugs when they were younger, and what we found was most of the people that are using now, especially marijuana, were using when they were younger, and they never really stopped."
An alternate view
But Cusick, 55, describes a different trajectory.
"The baby boom generation brought marijuana back into the mainstream as young people. As we got older and the boomers became yuppies, we got ourselves children and mortgages and jobs. ...We became more like our parents in a lot of ways. And so a great deal of people stopped smoking marijuana," he says, adding that now, "for many of us, returning to marijuana is a comfort in our golden years. It's a sensual enhancement, and it beats the hell out of Viagra."
Cusick first smoked marijuana when he was 17, then experimented with other drugs. But he developed a serious problem with drinking – until he gave it up at age 30. "I stopped drinking, and when I did, marijuana was there for me," he says. "Marijuana saved my life in a lot of ways."
Cusick – who worked as "a stoned vice president of a bank" during the Eighties – says that in his position at High Times, he has "been a prominent advocate for marijuana law reform" and has "smoked in a variety of very public places."
Why did "It's Complicated," a romantic comedy for the boomer crowd, get an R rating when the sex scenes were tame and there wasn't a hint of violence?
You might say it was reefer madness.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Motion Picture Association of America (M.P.A.A.) had concerns about one of the movie's funniest scenes, in which 60-year-old Meryl Streep and 64-year-old Steve Martin smoke a joint on a date. Neither character had smoked in decades, and by the time they get to a family party, they're acting so silly Streep's adult children are dumbfounded.
According to the L.A. Times, the M.P.A.A.'s rating decision had to do with the fact that the scene "features pot-smoking with no bad consequences." In other words, they did something illegal, but weren't arrested, humiliated or horribly mangled in a car crash. They simply had fun, with impunity.
" 'Terminator 4,' one of the most violent movies I ever saw in my life, got a PG-13 rating, but 'It's Complicated' got an R rating," scoffs Rick Cusick of Upper Montclair, associate publisher of High Times magazine and a board member of the New Jersey chapter of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). "It's amazing."
No matter what your stance on pot smoking – and I'd love to hear your views – marijuana has definitely been in the news lately, in stories that resonate for boomers.
On Jan. 18, his last day in office, Gov. John Corzine signed legislation granting patients in New Jersey legal access to marijuana for alleviating pain and other symptoms of diseases such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: NorthJersey.com
Author: VIRGINIA ROHAN
Contact: NorthJersey.com
Copyright: North Jersey Media Group Inc
Website:NorthJersey.com: Marijuana issues waft through the air for boomers
You might say it was reefer madness.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Motion Picture Association of America (M.P.A.A.) had concerns about one of the movie's funniest scenes, in which 60-year-old Meryl Streep and 64-year-old Steve Martin smoke a joint on a date. Neither character had smoked in decades, and by the time they get to a family party, they're acting so silly Streep's adult children are dumbfounded.
According to the L.A. Times, the M.P.A.A.'s rating decision had to do with the fact that the scene "features pot-smoking with no bad consequences." In other words, they did something illegal, but weren't arrested, humiliated or horribly mangled in a car crash. They simply had fun, with impunity.
" 'Terminator 4,' one of the most violent movies I ever saw in my life, got a PG-13 rating, but 'It's Complicated' got an R rating," scoffs Rick Cusick of Upper Montclair, associate publisher of High Times magazine and a board member of the New Jersey chapter of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). "It's amazing."
No matter what your stance on pot smoking – and I'd love to hear your views – marijuana has definitely been in the news lately, in stories that resonate for boomers.
On Jan. 18, his last day in office, Gov. John Corzine signed legislation granting patients in New Jersey legal access to marijuana for alleviating pain and other symptoms of diseases such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
Boomers at risk?
"Certainly people over 50 are at a greater risk for cancer than those under 50, and when it comes to those undergoing chemotherapy, that probably is going to have a greater impact on those over 50," says Chris Goldstein, a board member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ). Glaucoma is also a growing threat to boomers' eye health, he notes.
As for non-medical use of marijuana, on Jan. 8 the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its latest short report, which showed a dramatic rise in levels of illicit drug use, especially marijuana, among the aging baby boom generation – and projected that the need for drug abuse treatment services for this population will double by 2020.
There have been many studies, often conflicting, about the effect of marijuana on various aspects of users' health, with some even concluding it may have a protective effect against lung and other forms of cancer.
For SAMHSA, the issue is that "there are a number of different physiological or psychological problems that are unique to the older population, and that makes them a little bit more vulnerable to the effects" of marijuana, says Peter J. Delany, director of SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies. He also cites its potential interactions with prescription medications for high blood pressure and other problems.
The report, based on data collected nationally on nearly 20,000 adults 50-plus from 2006 to 2008, estimated that 4.7 percent (about 4.3 million adults) had used an illicit drug in the past year. The use of marijuana was more common than non-medical use of prescription-type drugs for those 50 to 54 (6.1 vs. 3.4 percent) and 55 to 59 (4.1 vs. 3.2 percent).
Delany notes that while the overall percentage is not huge, the baby boom population is large, and "as the number of people in that age group increases, even if it stays at 4.7 percent – and it may go a little higher – we still have a lot of people who are using.
"The baby boomers tended to use more drugs when they were younger, and what we found was most of the people that are using now, especially marijuana, were using when they were younger, and they never really stopped."
An alternate view
But Cusick, 55, describes a different trajectory.
"The baby boom generation brought marijuana back into the mainstream as young people. As we got older and the boomers became yuppies, we got ourselves children and mortgages and jobs. ...We became more like our parents in a lot of ways. And so a great deal of people stopped smoking marijuana," he says, adding that now, "for many of us, returning to marijuana is a comfort in our golden years. It's a sensual enhancement, and it beats the hell out of Viagra."
Cusick first smoked marijuana when he was 17, then experimented with other drugs. But he developed a serious problem with drinking – until he gave it up at age 30. "I stopped drinking, and when I did, marijuana was there for me," he says. "Marijuana saved my life in a lot of ways."
Cusick – who worked as "a stoned vice president of a bank" during the Eighties – says that in his position at High Times, he has "been a prominent advocate for marijuana law reform" and has "smoked in a variety of very public places."
Why did "It's Complicated," a romantic comedy for the boomer crowd, get an R rating when the sex scenes were tame and there wasn't a hint of violence?
You might say it was reefer madness.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Motion Picture Association of America (M.P.A.A.) had concerns about one of the movie's funniest scenes, in which 60-year-old Meryl Streep and 64-year-old Steve Martin smoke a joint on a date. Neither character had smoked in decades, and by the time they get to a family party, they're acting so silly Streep's adult children are dumbfounded.
According to the L.A. Times, the M.P.A.A.'s rating decision had to do with the fact that the scene "features pot-smoking with no bad consequences." In other words, they did something illegal, but weren't arrested, humiliated or horribly mangled in a car crash. They simply had fun, with impunity.
" 'Terminator 4,' one of the most violent movies I ever saw in my life, got a PG-13 rating, but 'It's Complicated' got an R rating," scoffs Rick Cusick of Upper Montclair, associate publisher of High Times magazine and a board member of the New Jersey chapter of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). "It's amazing."
No matter what your stance on pot smoking – and I'd love to hear your views – marijuana has definitely been in the news lately, in stories that resonate for boomers.
On Jan. 18, his last day in office, Gov. John Corzine signed legislation granting patients in New Jersey legal access to marijuana for alleviating pain and other symptoms of diseases such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: NorthJersey.com
Author: VIRGINIA ROHAN
Contact: NorthJersey.com
Copyright: North Jersey Media Group Inc
Website:NorthJersey.com: Marijuana issues waft through the air for boomers
