While you were busy mowing the lawn or teaching your kid how to throw a baseball like a total square, the cool kids in Seattle were all attending this year’s Hempfest over the weekend, in order to “advance the cause of Cannabis policy reform through education, while advancing the public image of the Cannabis advocate or enthusiast through example.” I think that means that they want people to take the legalization of marijuana debate more seriously and to stop thinking all pot smokers look like this guy.
Another goal of Hempfest is to get pot smokers and public officials on the same page now that marijuana is legal in Washington, and the Seattle Police Department wanted to show that officers were capable of not harshing the buzz by handing out 1,000 bags of Doritos to people at the event, and each bag came with a reminder that exercising caution is a two-way game of hacky sack.
According to Forbes (via Ad Week), one of the brains behind this and other efforts to make the Seattle police seem cooler is Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, who explained why they chose Doritos. As if anyone ever needs a reason to hand out Doritos.
MH: You tweeted that Bugles would not be an option. Were there other snack foods that your group considered that didn’t make the cut? If so, which ones?
JSL: We literally considered everything but Bugles. That would’ve just been cruel.
… We settled on Doritos pretty quickly, and then debated the merits of Cool Ranch vs. Nacho cheese. I wish they still made Jumpin’ Jack Flash, but that’s just me. I mean, I think that’s an actual flavor and not just a Whoopi Goldberg movie, but my snack chip memory isn’t what it used to be.
Whoa, what’s with the Bugles hate, pal? I love Bugles. Maybe not as much as Spicy Nacho Doritos, sure, but I’ll still put some pointy corn snacks on my fingertips if the occasion presents itself. The first step in encouraging awareness and education is inclusiveness. If we start shunning Bugles eaters, then we’ve already made our goal more difficult to reach.