Date: 2017-12-24
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Miles today: 0.0

Of course, there is marijuana use on the Appalachian Trail. Why wouldn¢t there be? I haven¢t found surveys of marijuana use on the AT, but I assume that it mirrors the United States population in this respect. The Centers for Disease Control published a national survey on drug use and health covering the years 2000-2014, available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/ss/ss6511a1.htm. Focusing on the 18-25 year old group, the 2014 rate of having used marijuana in the past year was 31.9%. The percentage of daily or almost daily use in the past month for the same age group in 2014 was 8.6%. There are individuals who hike stoned, something that amazes me, but most of the use that I¢ve seen has come at the end of the hiking day. In general, it creates no more of a problem than the 1950¢s custom of coming home from work and enjoying a martini, a manhattan, or an old-fashioned before dinner.  There is an etiquette surrounding marijuana use on the Appalachian Trail that pretty much respects the seventh Leave-No-Trace principle of being considerate to other visitors. Like tobacco smokers, most marijuana smokers indulge outside of the shelters. Before lighting up in a shelter, most will ask if anyone objects and avoid indulging in front of children. Being generous souls, most marijuana users offer to share, but take no offense if you politely decline, which I personally do. I won¢t pretend that I never used weed, or never inhaled, but it has been decades. I have mostly pleasant memories so I might be more tolerant than some of the resultant giggling and profound conversations that sound inane to the unstoned. Tenting rather than staying in the shelters avoids most of the issue.Marijuana is the preferred intoxicant on the Appalachian Trail. It is very light weight, easily obtainable, and quite potent.  The Drug Enforcement Administration continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD, so research into the health effects of marijuana, compared to tobacco and alcohol, is rarely conducted. Recreational use of marijuana has been approved by two trail states, Maine and Massachusetts, but most of the Appalachian Trail is on federal land. I¢ve yet to see a bust on the Appalachian Trail, but users should be aware of applicable state and federal law.Some hikers carry a flask of a preferred alcoholic beverage or even rarely a celebratory bottle of Champagne. I have a very pleasant memory of being offered more than a wee dram of a boutique bourbon at Velvet Rocks Shelter, just 1.5 miles north of Hanover, New Hampshire, by a southbounder who would be reprovisioning the next day. When I hiked the Long Trail in Vermont, I had a somewhat shaky start on the day I left the Inn at Long Trail after having discovered single-pot Irish whiskies the night before.  Strangely, craft beer is less expensive in Shenandoah National Park than Coca-Cola. And I can truly recommend the Hendricks Martini at Elements in Front Royal, Virginia.  I¢ll end this topic by toasting Oscar Wilde with two of his own sayings:I have the simplest of tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.Everything in moderation, including moderation.Cheers!