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Cannabis Guide 2020: How Portland Protesters Use Cannabis to Cope
The air at the ongoing Portland protests—which have continued for more than 100 days in response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police—is often filled with burning, peppery smoke from tear gas, or fragrant sage from activists. But a wide variety of attendees also use cannabis—smoked, vaped, imbibed, or otherwise—to maintain their cool or treat aches and pains associated with the ongoing days of marches and the threat of unpredictable violence.
Even journalists, like reporter and podcast host Cory Elia, keep a vape pen on hand. “If I’m out there and it’s getting too intense, I’ll take a drag to calm down a little,” Elia says. “I started using it after the first month, mostly for PTSD. The funny part is, after getting shot with munitions for the last hundred-odd days, I pulled the disc in my back and pinched a nerve from coughing off the joint.”
Other activists and journalists commented that a joint or vape session at the end of the night was the only thing that helped them sleep after running from flash bang grenades or seeing their colleagues tackled forcefully and arrested. But not many were willing to actually go on the record, perhaps for obvious reasons. One exception is Elia who co-hosts a KBOO podcast with journalist Lesley McLam called TRIPP-P (“trippy”) which focuses on “politics, protest, and potpourri”—the last being a tongue-in-cheek play on cannabis and the eclectic mix of cultural commentary Elia and McLam provide.