the problem with being a stoner in the US is that American society was invented and transplanted, rather than being an embodiment of strong time-relished traditions and culture. It was sort of a detached hybrid of combined European ideals that solidified as a global power because of capitalism and abundance of resources. As a result, our arrogant culture tends to deflect elements that have foreign origin. When marijuana surfaced in AMerica, it was mainly patronized by working-class immigrants (mostly from mexico), and jazz musicians in the south. There was an existing racial stigma against such groups, and as a weed that those groups introduced, marijuana was looked upon as somthing that prompted people to create crime and societal ills. The innacuracy in usage came from the fact that many of the pot users were already criminals (probably because of the racial stigma and lack of privilege and opportunity available to them), so people short-sightedly labelled pot as a boogey-man, especially with that "reefer madness" movie. White americans didn't want their kids to become societal scum, so they scared them into believing what america currently believes about pot. so if your girlfriend is a racist, this history will only make her hate pot more. But if she is not a racist, she should know that her and most of america's perception of pot is in place because of racial propagandists in the 30's. thanx