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The oldest Gen Xers are turning 60 in 2025 — hard to believe if you happen to be one. In My So-Called Midlife, KJZZ takes a closer look at this generation and what they’re up to — or, rather, up against.
Gen Xers grew up in a time when smoking marijuana was illegal. A lot has changed. First, medical marijuana was legalized. Then recreational cannabis was legalized, and dispensaries now dot the Valley.
This Gen Xer played a role in that transformation.
If you’re of a certain age, you know the commercial where a man take an egg, cracks it and fries it up in a sizzling frying pan.
The egg, he says, is your brain; the egg that’s being fried is your brain on drugs. Then he asks, “Any questions?”
Ryan Hurley remembers those days.
“I grew up in the DARE generation, right, and the ‘Just Say No’ generation, and you know, the drug education we got was scare tactics,” Hurley said.
Hurley, an attorney, is now 48 and was involved in the effort to legalize medical cannabis more than a decade ago.
“I was in a weird spot in my career where I kind of needed something to do, and I saw an opportunity to help people that needed medical cannabis,” he said.
So, he dove right in. And in 2010, medical cannabis became legal in Arizona. Barely.
“Those first two years were making sure that the vote got fully counted. It only passed by 4,000 votes; and then making sure that the administration actually implemented the law as it was written,” Hurley said.
He also helped craft the regulations used by the state Department of Health to regulate the program. Hurley has even ben called “Arizona’s Father of Cannabis Law.”
My So-Called Midlife: Generation X Turns 60
The oldest Gen Xers are turning 60 this year — hard to believe if you happen to be one. In this series, KJZZ takes a look at this generation and what they’re up to — or, rather, up against.
“}]] Gen Xers grew up in a time when smoking marijuana was illegal. A lot has changed. First, medical marijuana was legalized. Then recreational cannabis was legalized, and dispensaries now dot the Valley. Read More
